NEW BOX SET

Last month I came across something quite interesting at a local Barnes Noble. Occasionally when I visit I’ll scan the shelves of Cussler books in the fiction section. Rarely do I find anything of interest and mainly do so to make certain I haven’t missed any new paperback releases. On this particular visit I noticed a “box set” of Cussler paperbacks. It contained The Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg and Raise the Titanic!, Clive’s first three published novels. They were the newer released Pocket Books editions which can currently be found (individually) nearly anywhere. But the fact that they were part of a box set was exciting—at least to me. I love Cussler sets like these and wish more were available. From what I can determine, the UK does an admirable job of producing box sets, mixing old and new titles while incorporating several of the different series. Of those I have a few of them. After discovering this one at Barnes Noble I went home and researched it online. Evidently, it came out a month earlier on October 23. The bookstore’s retail price was $29.95 (the actual combined cost of the three paperbacks). Amazon listed it at a discounted price. Although I’d have to pay for shipping, the one at Amazon would still be a few dollars less than Barnes Noble. Still, I decided to go back and purchase that one at the store. It was in perfect condition with the shrinkwrap completely intact. I didn’t want to take a chance that the box would get banged up or crushed during shipping. In addition, it was the only one at that Barnes Noble. I did visit another store and found a set at that one as well. It was not with Clive’s books but rather with box sets of other popular authors and was the only one at that store. From what I can tell, it seems to be a bit rare and is, I believe, worth having in a collection.

WHY NO U.S. ARC OF VIXEN 03?

During the 25 years I’ve been collecting Clive’s works, I’ve often wondered why I never came across a U.S. ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of his 1978 book, Vixen 03. I always thought that a bit strange. I pretty much have (or know of) every ARC for every other Clive book. The obvious exceptions are The Mediterranean Caper (Pyramid Books) and Iceberg (Dodd Mead & Co). For years now I’ve come to the conclusion that none were produced for either book. To be honest, I thought the same for the U.S. edition of Vixen 03. There is an ARC for the U.K. edition (published by London: Hodder and Stoughton), but I never saw or heard of one for the U.S. edition. I now think I know why. Recently, I obtained a U.S. first edition of Vixen 03 with an accompanying press release and publisher’s letter. The two-page news release discusses the book’s plot and lists its upcoming release date (October 23, 1978). The release also includes the schedule (and cities) for Clive’s book tour for the book. With this was also a letter from the Associate Director of Publicity (Viking Penguin) indicating the possibility of setting up an interview with Clive. I tend to think the three items (book, press release and letter) have been together since 1978. So with the evidence at hand, I believe that the hardcover book was the ARC, sent to reviewers and editors alike, along with the press release and letter. I know that in lieu of printing a separate ARC, some publishers did sent out copies of the first hardcover to reviews and editors. Although an isolated case—at least for Clive’s work—I’m convinced that’s what happened with the U.S. ARC of Vixen 03. For now, that’s the theory I’m sticking with—unless I discover something else.

ULTRA-RARE CUSSLER COLLECTIBLE

Recently I received an ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of THE TOMBS, the latest book in the Fargo series written by new co-writer, Thomas Perry. Unlike the standard ARCs of Clive’s books with a full-color cover that will eventually grace the hardcover edition, this one had a plain white cover. In addition, its size is not quite the same as the standard one. Unsure exactly what it was, I soon learned that this plain cover ARC was done in a very limited run for the trade publications only. Evidently, the regular ones were held up for some cover art tweaking. And get this, only eight of these plain white cover ones were made. So with only eight in existence, that pretty much makes it about the rarest edition in my collection. While I have a few things in which only a handful may exist now, none of them began with such a low number. At this stage of the game I didn’t think there would be that much rare stuff coming out. It’s nice to see that those kinds of things are still around.

THE SHIPKILLER

Recently I obtained an ARC of the re-release (thirty-fifth anniversary) of The Shipkiller, Justin Scott’s classic story of revenge and love set on the oceans of the world, from the South Atlantic to the oil-slicked reaches of the Persian Gulf. I remember reading the paperback on a trip to Florida I took in 1980. Since then I’ve always known of the book and was pleasantly surprised (back in 2008) when I found out that Justin would be Clive’s co-writer on the Isaac Bell series. When I received the ARC for this new book, I was delighted to see that a Preface has been added to this new edition penned by Clive himself. If you’re like me, you’ll collect (or at least want to know about) books that Clive contributed to via a Foreword, Introduction or Preface like this one. While I’m also interested in books written by Clive’s co-writers, this one is particularly appealing because it’s by one and includes Clive’s Preface—it’s got it all! The new book will be released this coming Father’s Day in hardcover by Pegasus Crime (W.W.Norton & Co.). Pick it up and enjoy!

A LITTLE OUT OF THE NORM

For those of you with a desire to collect a variation of Cussler, here’s something you might be interested in. I first heard of it several years ago and only recently got a copy. It’s a hardcover anthology entitled, 100 Must Read Thrillers, edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner. The brainchild of the International Thriller Writers, the book examines 100 seminal works of suspense through essays contributed by modern writers who (I presume to be) are members of the ITW. Odds are you’ll find some of the essays penned by one or two of your favorite writers. Among them are David Baldacci, Steve Berry, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, James Rollins and Douglas Preston. What makes the book especially attractive to me is that thriller # 70 is Raise the Titanic. Equally appealing is that the essay for that book was written by Grant Blackwood. Also, thriller # 76 is The Shipkiller (Justin Scott) which was written by Lawrence Light—although I’ve never heard of him. I got my copy off Amazon for under ten bucks. I went that route because I thought the prices on ebay were too high. Anyway, the book was described to be in excellent condition. Upon opening the package, I was pleasantly surprised to find it in near mint condition (as well was the dust jacket) and that the book was a first edition. If you’ve hit a dry spell where nothing new (or old) regarding Cussler can be located, check it out.

CATALOGING A COLLECTION

In September, a friend of mine who collects Ian Fleming/James Bond memorabilia stopped by to view my collection in Denver. So you know, he is a major Fleming/Bond collector as I am with Cussler. The difference is that with what he has in his collection it could easily fill a small airport whereas mine could only occupy an average-sized house. My collection may be worth in the six figures but his is in the millions. The point is to demonstrate the caliber of his collection. Anyway, upon seeing my collection he was impressed with how it was displayed and asked if I had everything inventoried. To his surprise, I answered, “no.” But then he confessed to me that neither had he. That, and an incident that occurred earlier this year got me thinking about cataloguing my collection. One of the more prominent Cussler collectors passed away earlier this year in Arizona. The family contacted Bruce Kenfield and myself and asked if we would assist in liquidating the collection on their behalf. We agreed to do this. To our knowledge, the collector hadn’t inventoried anything. However, the family hired someone to inventory nearly 650 books. Believe me, that inventory list helped us tremendously. Obviously there are many reasons to inventory a collection and estate matters are one concern. Other reasons include: estimating a collections value, for insurance, weeding out duplicates, planning to sell it, etc. If you’re going to start an inventory, I suggest your get going on it now as it’s never too late to begin. My Cussler bibliography is a good resource to what exists but you really don’t need it to get started. Right now, what you have is more important than what you don’t. There are many basic Cussler bibliographies on the Internet. For now an inventory list doesn’t need to be fancy—just the book’s title, format, publisher and year are enough to get started. Later you can fine-tune it according to condition, edition, dust jacket, ISBN and even include photographs of the book. One thing though, I think the collection should be grouped by book title. And you start anywhere: the titles you have the fewest of or the most—it doesn’t matter. The most important thing is to get something down on paper or in a computer file (or book collecting program). As a result of my encounter with the Fleming/Bond collector, I started (a fairly lame effort I might add) to inventory my collection. To me, it seems like a daunting task that may take years. But for all of you, at least start a notebook of what you’ve got; the earlier the better. Don’t wait like I did.

FIRST EDITION VARIATIONS

A few days ago I was at a Barnes Noble bookstore, looking over their bargain books. On them I noticed a stack of perhaps a dozen hardcover copies of The Wrecker. Being on the bottom shelf, I could see clearly the bottom edge of all the books. From where I stood, I could make out that some had different colored cover boards. Usually the first edition will have consistently the same colored board while a later printing has another color—which is what I thought was the case. But as I examined them, I noticed that all of them were indeed first editions. So I was now looking at a variation which is significant to collectors. Since I didn’t know which one of the two I had in my collection, I would have to return later to get the one I lacked. Well, when I got home, I made a note of which one I had and went to a different Barnes Noble only because it was closer to my home. After I picked up The Wrecker variation that I didn’t have, I wandered through their bargain books and found a stack of Spartan Gold hardcovers. I looked through these and couldn’t believe it—they were all first editions with two different types of boards, just like The Wrecker. So I bought the one I was missing of that title. The following is what I already had and what I ended up adding to my collection. For The Wrecker, it had dark blue headband/tailbands, dark blue paper-covered boards, the spine is dark green paper, and the printing on the spine is silver. The one I purchased has orange headband/tailbands, light blue paper-covered boards, the spine is green-colored cloth, and the printing on the spine is silver. For Spartan Gold, it had orange headband/tailbands, light green paper-covered boards, the spine is blue-green cloth, and the printing on the spine is gold. The one I purchased has white headband/tailbands, dark green paper-covered boards, the spine is dark-blue paper, and the printing on the spine is copper. So of these which is the true first edition? I can tell you that the ones I received came directly from the publisher prior to the book being released. However, that means nothing. The reason is that I believe these books are simultaneously printed at several different printer/binders located throughout the country. I guess for some reason different printer/binders use (on occasion) different board coverings. So the question remains: which is the real first edition? In my opinion they both are and (if you can find them) should really be added to any collection. After all, they’re only $6.98 each.

COLLECTING CUSSLER: AN ETHICAL APPROACH

I recently penned another book on collecting the works of Clive Cussler although its subject is a bit different than the others. This one is entitled ‘Collecting Cussler: An Ethical Approach.’ Basically, it sums up pretty much all of the good, the bad and the ugly that I’ve encountered over the past dozen or so years. In it I try and discuss instances that collectors should be aware of as well as positive and negative dealings from buyers, sellers and even a few collectors. Here’s a breakdown of the chapters: 1. The Clive Cussler Collector’s Society, 2. A Note to the Reader, 3. Introduction, 4. Why Collect?, 5. Representing our Members, 6. Using the Society’s Name, 7. What Makes a Reputable Dealer?, 8. Guidelines for Collectors, 9. Mayday! Is Not Mayday!, 10. Clive’s Signature, 11. Keeping Multiple Copies, 12. Book Club Editions, 13. Ex-library Editions, 14. Establishing Cussler Book Values, 15. Advance Reading Copies [ARCs], 16. CCCS Code of Ethics, 17. Book Grading and Condition. It’s a thin book, only 117 pages and I only have a very limited number of them. If you’d like a copy, send me an email at this address on this blog. Thanks.

BUILT FOR ADVENTURE DUST JACKET COVER

Recently, I obtained a copy of BUILT FOR ADVENTURE: The Classic Automobiles of Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt, in hardcover. It’s a beautifully-illustrated coffee table book featuring the cars in Clive’s collection. As with all my hardcovers with dust jackets (even paperbacks with separate wraparound covers), I immediately wanted to get mine in a protective Brodart-type cover. I use the #10 (10 inches) which reflects the dust jacket’s maximum height and fits well with many of Cussler hardcovers. Actually, they work well with pretty much all the standard hardcovers produced today. What I didn’t consider was how long the jacket was (in inches). The total length of the cover is 35 inches. Obviously one of the covers I use won’t work. I didn’t check to see if a cover exists to fit this size book, so I came up with an idea. I’ll Scotch tape two covers together which is what I did. Of course this new cover (40 inches in length) was now too long for the jacket flaps to fit into the book. So I trimmed the extra amount that extended beyond the jacket flaps and it worked fine. Since the tape is on the outside of where both covers meet (and it’s not touching the actual jacket) it didn’t have to be archival or acid-free. To be honest it worked out quite well. One slight aesthetic concern with this is when the book sits on the shelf spine out, the tape (although transparent) can still be noticed. While I have no plans to redo mine, here’s a suggestion if you choose to do the same thing. Since there’s plenty of cover to spare, offset where the two come together so it’s not on the spine. So should it be moved to the front cover or rear? My suggestion is to move the splice more to the back cover so it won’t distract from the front.

CUSSLER BOOK CLUB EDITIONS

Contrary to many, I personally think that book club editions are an important aspect of my Cussler collection. This also includes BCAs (the U.K. book club version). Overall, I enjoy collecting them as an interesting variation of the tradition hardcover. They're usually smaller in size, compact and have pretty much the same dust jacket (as far as cover art and related information) as the regular hardcover edition. Basically, it's like they're waiting to grow up and be a big book. Unless one belongs to a book club, sometimes they're tricky to come across. While I don't belong to a traditional book club, I am a member of the Doubleday Large Print Book Club. The reason is so I can add to my collection the occasional (although rarely produced) large print book club edition. But the great thing about getting book club editions is that they're usually fairly inexpensive and in terrific condition. Recently, I came across a book club edition of The Kingdom (of the Fargo series) at a thrift store. I don't think it had been read and (with it's dust jacket) was basically in mint condition. I also got a book club edition of The Jungle (Oregon Files) in similar shape on ebay. After getting them, I wonder: are they rarely ever read? Are they simply bought to fulfill a member's obligation in that book club? I don't know and don't really care as long as they remain available to collectors. I've also began looking for a book club edition of the recently released The Race (Isaac Bell series). And a few days ago, while I was spending some time looking through my collection, I noticed I didn't have a BCA (U.K) of Arctic Drift and Crescent Dawn. How did I miss that? So it's back to the Internet to find them.

INSTANT CUSSLER-RELATED COLLECTIBLE?

Last year I placed a hefty deposit for the new NUMA (Cussler endorsed) DOXA watch. Instead of the traditional DOXA orange, the watch face is turquoise, the sort of official color of NUMA. In addition, the NUMA logo (diver over the western hemisphere highlighting North America) is on the face. There would only be 50 of the watches made but then an open edition of blue NUMA DOXAs would come out later. The deposit for my watch was $1,000 and the remaining balance ($695) was due when the watch was ready. In would be months and to be honest I wasn't in a hurry, since I had to save up my nickels and dimes anyway. Rather quickly (before the watch was released), I was under the impression that the edition (of only 50) sold out--which turned out to be the case.
In July of this year my watch was ready and, after sending in the balance, I received watch number 18. It's the 1200 model and I gotta say it looks and feels great. And to be honest I wondered what the demand would be once they came out. It wasn't long before I found out. You see, one came up for sale on ebay. It was number 37 (out of 50) and the seller had kept the watch in all its original packing. I followed the auction and interest for the watch was high. On August 7th it ended up selling for staggering $3,713.69. So I'm thinking: I could have bought two, sold one like this seller did and easily paid off the one I wear. Oh well. Maybe next time. I guess DOXA's tag-line is true: "Wear it for five years, and sell it for more than you paid."
From the looks of this auction, I can't help but agree. That's gotta be 100% increase in one month. Not bad.
DOXA has begun taking orders for the new blue NUMA watch. I gotta admit after seeing the photos, it's pretty impressive. The blue is a deeper hue, more like royal blue and the NUMA logo (in the lower left quadrant) is in white (it's black on mine). The white against the blue is a great contrast. Still, since turquoise is the NUMA color, I have to say I like mine much better. Plus, it does seem to be the same color blue as DOXA has had on their Caribbean edition. Nonetheless, if you're interested in getting one or checking them out, click