Growing up I was a huge book reader, I read anything I could get my hands on, but one of my favorite series was Nancy Drew. Her super girl sleuth style and cool friends like George the tomboy, Bess and Ned her boyfriend had me coming back for more, time and time again. I think I must have read every book written from the 1930s-60s and to this day are part of my fond memories of my childhood.

So it was with delight and excitement that when I saw a collection of 1950s Nancy Drew books for sale on eBay several years ago, I knew I had to buy them right then and there (especially since my books from my childhood were long passed on to others to enjoy).

Today’s post will show off my books, as well as supply you with a bit of history and other vintage goodies on the Super Sleuth herself…Nancy Drew.

Early 1950s Nancy Drew Books

The Brief History of Nancy Drew Books:

Nancy Drew is a fictional American character in a mystery fiction series created by publisher Edward Stratemeyer (who also created the Hardy Boys Series). Stratemeyer believed that a woman’s place was in the home, but he was aware that the Hardy Boys books were popular with girl readers and wished to capitalize on girls’ interest in mysteries by offering a strong female heroine.

The character first appeared in 1930 and was an immediate success. The 6,000 copies that Macy’s ordered for the 1933 Christmas season sold out within days. In 1934 Fortune Magazine featured the Syndicate in a cover story and singled Nancy Drew out for particular attention: “Nancy is the greatest phenomenon among all the fifty-centers. She is a best seller. How she crashed a Valhalla that had been rigidly restricted to the male of her species is a mystery even to her publishers.”

The character of Nancy Drew has gone through many permutations over the years. Despite revisions, “What hasn’t changed, however, are [Nancy’s] basic values, her goals, her humility, and her magical gift for having at least nine lives. For more than six decades, her essence has remained intact.”

The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym Carolyn Keene. They have sold over 80 million copies in 25 different languages (Source).

My Vintage Collection:

Early 1950s Vintage Nancy Drew Book Covers with 1940s Style Binding (1950-53).

Early 1950s Vintage Nancy Drew Book Covers with 1940s Style Binding (1950-1953).

About the Binding:

The 1940s Style binding is one of the earliest types of Nancy Drew library editions. The front covers of most books have a line drawing based on the original Russell Tandy dust jacket art from the 1930s. The overall style matches that of the 1946 regular editions that have the solid blue cover, large blue silhouette, and the dark blue lettering. These books were bound as early as 1950 and as late as 1953. This particular library binding is unquestionably the scarcest and most difficult to acquire of the Nancy Drew library editions (Source).

Front cover of the books:

Inside cover of all the books.

inside 1950s Nancy Drew Book. illustration of Nancy Drew trying to solve a mystery.

Inside image

Another inside image

1950s Nancy Drew inside of the book image illustration

Now that you have seen my collection lets check out some other examples of early years Nancy Drew Covers (1930s-50s):

1930s

The Secret of the Old Clock

The Sign Of The Twisted Candles

1940s

The Secret In The Old Attic

The Mystery Of The Brass Bound Trunk

1950s

The Ringmaster’s Secret

The Mystery of the Fire Dragon (cute yellow 1950s dress on Nancy)

1950s Nancy Drew Book - The Mystery of the Fire Dragon — Source: Series Books

The Haunted Showboat

Nancy Drew in the Movies:

1938-1939 Four Nancy Drew Movies were created, starring Bonita Granville as Nancy and Frankie Thomas as Ted (not Ned! What?!).

1930s Nancy Drew Movies - starring Bonita Granville as Nancy and Frankie Thomas as Ted — Source: NY Times

And in the 1970s there was television series starring Pamela Sue Martin (also featuring the Hardy Boys). Then the last movie version was in 2007 with Emma Roberts as Nancy. It seems from lack of onscreen exposure that Nancy is not too popular in Hollywood.

Nancy Drew Movie starring Emma Roberts — Source: Wikipedia

2020 Update: Nancy Drew is back on TV as of 2019! I have not seen it yet, but it’s still on so it must have a fan base (check out the CW).

The Vintage Inn Final thoughts:

Nancy Drew is an iconic fictional character that will never fade into history. She may go thru more changes on her looks and her who she is as a character (don’t we all) but in the end, she will always be the teenage girl with an eye for super sleuthing and adventure. The stories I fell in love with as a kid (and still love today).

For more reading on Nancy Drew history (and many other cool items and topics) please check out the fantastic website ‘Nancy Drew Sleuth‘.

Question time: Are you a Nancy Drew fan? Or were you a fan of other series of books? If so please share.

FURTHER READING from the Vintage Inn Blog: A Peak Into My Vintage Collection- A 1949 Stocking Dryer

Liz 🙂

There is a little town 2 hours SW of Toronto called Port Dover, known for their famous ‘Friday the 13th’ Biker get together. However between 1921 and 1979 Port Dover had a Dance Hall that people made the trek to Dover every summer for….Summer Garden was its name.

Today’s post is for the Blog Series I started in 2013 from a book I read called “Let’s Dance: A Celebration of Ontario’s Dance Halls and Summer Dance Pavilions” by Peter Young.

Port Dover Summer Garden 1920s vintage photo

Summer Garden Dance Hall

The History & Vintage Photos

Summer Garden Dance Hall # 1

Summer Garden was actually 3 halls overs the years. The first one was built-in 1921 (June 18th) by Ben Ivey and named by his mother (the opening night band was a 12-piece singing syncopated group from Detroit-Charles Cody). Erected on series of wooden supports which had been sunk many feet into the sand below the water (as seen in above image), it was unfortunately demolished by a huge storm (the storm took out its legs) in the winter of 1929 (source).

Vintage Postcard for the Summner Garden Dance Hall in Port Dover Ontario

Source: delcampe.net

I wish the below image was able to be larger, as it shows a lovely couple Ellen and Fred on a beach in Port Dover 1923 with the first Summer Garden in the background.

1920s vintage photo of a man and woman in 1920s fashions, Ellen and Fred on beach, Port Dover August, 1923 with the Summer Garden Dance Hall in the background. — Source: Archives of Ontario

Summer Garden Dance Hall # 2

Summer Garden # 2 opened for business by Ben again in May 1929 (Featuring Emerson Gill on opening night) and was wisely located further up the beach. Built in 19 days by volunteers it lasted 3 years before it was burnt to the ground while the townspeople stood by and cried (source).

Vintage Photo of the Summer Gardens Dance Hall # 2 in Port Dover, Ontario Canada. Vintage Dance Hall.

Here is a song by Emerson Gill I imagine was played on opening night.

Summer Garden Dance Hall # 3

Not letting any of this get Ben down he stood tall and erected Summer Garden # 3, on May 24th 1932.

Don Ivey – “Pop”

In 1936 Ben passed the management torch to his son Don, who would go onto become somewhat of celebrity to those who visited the Garden. He was known for managing the ballroom with Ivey League class — wearing a white suit and ever-present red rose and everyone called him ‘Pop’ (source).

Vintage Photo of Don Ivey manager of the Summer Gardens dance hall in Port Dover, Ontario Canada — Source: Lets Dance by Peter Young

With high energy and an octagonal dance floor, it was the place to go to get down. If you couldn’t afford the cover charge, the walls of the dance hall were so thin, you could stand on the beach and take in the concert (source).

A favorite of Servicemen during WW2 stationed at nearby flying schools, dancers travelled far and wide for a day at the beach and night of dancing. Bands in the 1940s included Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa.

Port Dover Summer Gardens Big Band Poster — Source: Lets Dance by Peter Young

There is a great quote in Peter Young’s book from Margo Kerber who went to Gardens during the 1940s.

“We’d take the trolley in Galt for a weekend in Port Dover and the Friday and Saturday night dances. You couldn’t wait to get back the next weekend. One of my friends is happily married to the boy she met then in Dover”.

Dance of the Roses

The Famous ‘Dance of the Roses’ was a dance that became Don’s baby and the highlight of the summer dance season. With the walls covered in roses and the best big bands playing the night, it was the “Biggest Dance Affair in Port Dover“.

1950s and on…

1950s and on, saw bands like Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks, Guess Who and Lighthouse play the venue, all who speak with great fondness of the venue.

vintage photo of Don Ivey at the Summer Garden Dance Hall Port Dover, Ontario Canada — Note: Don Ivey is to the Left in this picture in the White. Source: oocities.org

1969-1972 Summer Gardens.

Summer Garden Guy Lombardo and Lighthouse - Port Dover ontario canada — Source: PBase

The End of the Summer Gardens

January 8th, 1979 the fun ended as the Summer Gardens was torched by an arsonist and once again burnt to the ground. It was sadly never rebuilt and now is a summer garden picnic area where families enjoy ice cream and picnics.

Summer Garden Farewell

The night is chill, the ballroom deserted
The sound of dancing feet is gone
The sound of music has faded away
There is no sound of voices, they have disappeared
There is no laughter
Farewell, dear old lady Summer Garden.
There are tears I cannot hide, so I smile and say as the flames die
Smoke gets in my eyes…

– Don Ivey, January 9, 1979. (Source)

I recently visited Port Dover for the first time and while I could not find this picnic area personally (I don’t think I looked hard enough), I did take the picture below and day dreamed that this was the view that many dancers saw while taking in summer air, after a night dancing to some of the biggest bands in the world.

Please share any memories, comments & thoughts about this Vintage Dance Hall in the comments section below.

February 2023 update: I recently stumbled upon this podcast on the Summer Garden by ‘Curated Past‘. It was well done (and goes much deeper into the history then I did)! Take a listen below.

Thank you for dropping by!

Other ‘Lets Dance’ Posts: Kenwick on the Lake, CNE Tent, Palace Pier