Paperback Writer....

Greetings from the attic! This week we feature more Alfred Hitchcock youth collections. Unfortunately, these are not the beautifully illustrated, large, hardbound books. These are the paperback versions that were released in the 80s and 90s. 

I won't be showing you any illustrations out of these for a very simple reason...There aren't any. The cover is all you get, and it doesn't even wrap around to the back of the book. 

Still, these are interesting in their own way, so let's jump in, shall we?

First we have Alfred Hitchcock's Sinister Spies! This book was originally published in 1967. 

 

Instead of a wrap-around cover illustration, you get a back cover teaser. 

Here is the title page...

The ten stories are listed here...

And here we hear from "Alfred...."

Alfred Hitchcock movies are not unually referred to as horror. They are usually simply called "suspense" films. This book attempts to cut to the heart of that genre. This is from 1966.

Here is the back cover teaser...

The title page...

...and the contents. I know a couple of these stories. If you're a Star Trek fan, you might know that "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" was rewritten for Trek as "Wolf in the Fold."

And here's "Alfred" again!

Finally, we have Daring Detectives from 1969. This book features some very popular writers and their creations...

 

Here is the back cover teaser.

And here is the title page...

You'll see those heavy hitting authors here.

And once again "Alfred" chimes in...

So there you have it! I haven't ever seen the large hardback cover editions of these books, but they are probably pretty nice. I think these short stories hold up well enough on their own, though. More large, hard covers next time!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

A Hitch in the Plan

Hello Attic visitors! This week's post is actually late due to a family emergency. Don't worry, it will all work out, but it's taken a whole lot of my focus. Let's just say taking care of aging parents can be a challenge.

Anyway, today we have two more "Hitchcock" youth books based on the strange and scarrrrrry. Ok, maybe not that scary, but they are almost all good stories. They were both actually edited by Robert Arthur, although only the first was illustrated by the great Fred Banbery. Let's look at that one first, shall we?

The beautifully creepy wrap around cover art is classic Banberry. Hitch is EVERYWHERE in this picture! 

The end pages look like a Escher fever dream. Weirdness abounds!

More Hitch! And chairs... What's up with the chairs? Did Banbery have chairophobia?

This book came out in 1962. Sharp eyed readers will note that this should have been the second book I shared. In my defense....Oops!

Here we have our ghostly tales. No, I didn't read them all again, but I can remember that they were pretty fun as a kid. 

And here's "Hitch's" intro. These mirror the introductions to the "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigator" books. As well they should, considering Robert Arthur "ghost-wrote" all of them...

Speaking of Robert Arthur and ghosts, here is his contribution to the tome. This story is more funny than scary and answers the question, "What would happen if you accidently parked your travel trailer on the spot were an obnoxious old hobo died and he decided to ride along with you when you moved on?" The story teller is beside himself by the end...not from fear, but from frustration! What happens then? Well, you gotta read it!

The next book is one that I don't care for nearly as much. I didn't read it as a kid, I don't think monsters are as fun as mysteries and ghosts, and our old pal Fred Banbery had nothing to do with the illustrations. Three strikes right there! But, in a spirit of completeness, I present...

Ok, let me address my biggest gripe right up front. These illustrations by Earl E. Mayan are downright ugly. He seemed to be going for "weird" and "really, mod man" all at once and it just falls completely flat in my opinion. 

Here is the table of contents. I skimmed through some of these and they seem...ok.

At least we get to hear from Hitch again, and these intros are always entertaining!

Oh, by the way, this was released in 1965. Maybe that's why they decided to go all "modern art" with it? Who knows?

Ugly, ugly, ugly....blech!

Ok, that's enough effort on this turkey. They can't all be winners, I suppose. It sits on the shelf next to the others just fine. I guess I just feel like there's no charm to this book. It's amazing how the artwork will change the whole feel of a book!

So that's it for this week! Hopefully next (this?) week's post will be closer to on time!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

 

 

Random Hitchcock

 Greetings, Atticites! The season o' spooky stuff is once again upon us, so I thought I would share one of my "accidental collections." Accidental collections are where, over the years, I purchased items just because I liked them, and not because I was trying to complete a set of anything. So, the items I'm about to show you are in no way complete, but they do live in a special place in my youth. So, let me start this post with a proper introduction...

 Good Evening....

Tonight I bring you a collection of books that, while not terrifying, may have made your youthful slumber slightly more difficult. These are the stories of the supernatural collected for youths by the great Alfred Hitchcock himself...

Ok, maybe he really didn't collect the stories himself, but starting in 1961, kids could get story collections published by Random House that were branded to, and introduced by, Alfred Hitchcock. Here is the first one...

I first found this tome hiding in my school library. The cover alone made it worth checking out...

  

The illustration wraps around the whole book in glossy glory!

The end pages are beautifully illustrated as well. British illustrator Fred Banbery did all the artwork.

A brief description...

The fly pages with more fun art...

Ah, here we are...The introduction by Mr. Hitchcock! Now, I'm pretty sure he never wrote any of these (even for his TV show- which was put together much like these books) but I bet you can't read them without hearing his voice!

Even the individual stories are illustrated. This is from "The Wastwych Secret."

A look at all the stories. Robert Arthur, who created the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series for Random House, collected and arranged these. Interestingly, he didn't pull them all from youth publications, but also culled adult sources as well. He was a firm believer that kids should never be talked down to, and his Three Investigator stories make this point very clearly. The mysteries work for both kids and adults.

In the 1980s, these books were rereleased in paperback. They were not even close to as nice as the originals. Although the cover (non-wrap around) illustration was ok, there are NO illustrations in the book at all. 

And now for a book that was released in 1963...

This book is different in that Robert Arthur actually wrote all the mysteries. They are actually good puzzles, with no cheating and last minute "the butler did it" solutions.

Here is "Alfred" again!

And the Banbery illustrations are just as wonderful as in the first tome. This is for "The Mystery of the Seven Wrong Clocks."

So, these are my first two! The funny thing is that the stories and puzzles still hold up, owing much to Arthur's philosophy on kids' books. For the next couple of weeks, I'll share a few more.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!