'Antiques Roadshow' guest gets stunned after hearing the value of her Nancy Drew books
"Antiques Roadshow" guests usually approach the show with antiques and family heirlooms, but collectibles, including rare coins, sports cards, and literary classics, are also gaining value beyond expectations. One person was stunned when she got a staggering appraisal for a collection of books that she had held close to her heart for years. The owner of the Nancy Drew books was probably among the few people who knew the real identity of the author before it was made public. In fact, she was the lawyer who fought for the rights of Mildred Wirth Benson, who was the ghost writer for the first 25 of the 30 books of the series. The appraiser, Ken Gloss, learned the incredible story of how the guest got the books, and he surprised her with a $10,000 estimate for her collection.
The guest shared the story of how she got the collection of books, which were signed by Mildred Wirt Benson, one of the original authors of the famous series. The guest explained that the books were written by Benson under the pen name Carolyn Keene, a disguise that many authors shared after the original author. "I represented the original author of the Nancy Drew series. She wrote 25 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books under a pen name. And when she signed a contract to do so in 1930, she agreed never to reveal that she wrote the books under the pen name," she shared. "She was told that she couldn't reveal that she wrote the books 60 plus years before that because of the contract she signed. So she was furious," she added.
The guest, who was a lawyer, was approached by the author, who wanted to take the publishers to court to earn her due recognition. "We talked to the publisher, and it was a win-win situation for everybody to acknowledge that she was the person who wrote them," she shared. She added that she then got the University of Iowa, which wanted to give Benson an award for becoming the first woman to get a master's in journalism, to acknowledge her as the author of the Nancy Drew books.
Gloss then noted that the first book was inscribed by the author, and it said, "Mildred Wirt Benson, who wrote the original of this story under the pen name of Carolyn Keene." The guest shared that it was inscribed that way because she had met the author before she got her authorization to acknowledge that she was the writer of the books. "I asked her, 'Would you sign one for me?' She did sign it then at the conference [at the university], and it's something I treasure from that," the guest shared.
The appraiser noted that the book was probably the first one the author could legally sign. He added that some of the other books had additional signatures from illustrators as well. "I'm fascinated by the last book near you," Gloss said, pointing to the book that was signed to Peggy Wirt. The guest explained that Peggy was her only child, and because of the contract, she didn't even tell her that she was the author, so she signed one to her as well.
"Nancy Drew books, there are millions of them. There's a lot of confusion about what editions they are and so on. But that's not what makes these valuable. It's the inscriptions," the appraiser noted. He then shared that the collection would be easily worth $5,000 to $10,000 in the retail market. "Wow, I'm surprised. I really am," the guest said, hearing the number.
"They're sentimental to me. It's a memory of a good time and something I felt proud of doing," she said, adding that it was surprising for her to know that it's interesting for others as well.
You can watch the exciting moments in the video here.
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