The Detective Book Club (DBC) was inaugurated by publisher Walter J. Black with an advertisement in the New York Times on February 15, 1942, coincidentally the same date the New York Times Sunday Crossword first appeared.
Most DBC books are 3-in-1 containing three complete and unabridged titles in each volume. Singles and doubles with the DBC imprint were also produced as promotional items.
The DBC continued through the 1990s, publishing one book per month for a number of years. The Detective Book Club Inner Circle was a second series (though the books are the same in appearance) begun in September 1971 and intended to be bimonthly, sending up to two books per month. The cost of the triple volumes was held at $1.89 through the 1950s. In 1962 the price was $2.29 and 1971 the cost was $3.39 per book.
Michael L. Cook's Murder By Mail: Inside the Mystery Book Clubs, (Bowling Green University Popular Press 1979, revised 1983) gives the history of the various mystery book clubs as well as a checklist of their publications. According to Cook, by October 1983, the club had published 494 regular 3-in-1 volumes and another 97 Inner Circle Triples. Cook's publication dates and volume numbers are listed next to the books indexed here. The last volume indexed by Cook is 494 in October 1983. All books indexed here after that date are approximate based on copyright dates.
Starting about 1974, a number of additional books, identical to the regular 3-in-1 volumes, were published. These are unlisted by Cook and are different combinations from listed books, with duplication from the listed books paired with additional titles. January 1975's Maigret and the Millionaires, for example, exists in two books paired with different titles. Cook explains that these are "introductory volumes for new membership in the club" and goes on to say that these are "apparently signatures of a book in excess of regular binding, or salvaged from damaged or imperfect books." Cook notes that the (1977) volume containing Lew Archer, Private Investigator by Ross MacDonald was only offered in one of these non-regular issues.
The first covers were brown cloth, an open weave light tan canvas. This changed about July 1943 to a smoother closer weave light tan cloth, and then later to a darker tan cloth. The cloth covers gave way to a light tan embossed paper by the late 40s. In April 1945 the stamped cover design was changed from three lozenges containing the titles on the spine with the dagger logo on the front cover to using a more plain straight line text on the spine and the DBC script on the spine and front cover. The next switch was the elimination of the dust jacket with the covers printed in color starting in March 1959.
Earlier dust jacket designs have the artist's signature, "Salter" at the lower right. These covers are the work of designer George Salter (1897-1967). In 1927 George Salter began working as a graphic artist in his native Germany. From late 1934 until his death in 1967, he designed book jackets and books for most major American publishers.
The DBC published a handful of "first editions," i.e. the first published appearance of said book. One first edition was a collection of Matt Taylor's humorous detective stories (The Famous McGarry Stories, May 1958, Cook 193), originally published in the Boston Sunday Herald magazine, "This Week." Vera Caspary's, The Murder in the Stork Club is another DBC first edition (September 1946, Cook 52). Roy Vickers' Six Murders In The Suburbs was the first U.S. book publication in January 1955 and his Double Image was first published in the U.S. in December 1955. Utter Death by John Hymers appeared in it's first U.S. publication in March 1954. Which Doctor? by Edward Candy was first published in the U.S. in 1954.
"In spite of restrictions on materials and manufacturing imposed during the war years, a surprising number of new book clubs got started. Among these was Walter J. Black's Detective Book Club, the second such club in this specialized area. Its forerunner, the Detective Story Club, was one of the very oldest of all book clubs. For $1.89, Black's club offered one volume containing three full-length mystery stories; members were required to buy four or more such volumes during the year. The Club's special editions were only available to members." notorc.blogspot.com/2006/08/book-club-wars-part-two-depression-war.html
There is a leather bound and plain bound reissue of the first DBC book of 1942, with copyright renewals dated 1969. The leather bound edition was limited to 170 copies. Click here for more information. There is also another cover variation, where some three story volumes from the early 1970s have covers printed on black ink on colored paper, in the style of the "two story" promotional volumes.
There are also a number of DBC branded single story and double story volumes. The single story volumes appeared as early as 1948 and double volumes in 1949 and were used for promotional purposes, i.e. as the "free" book(s) you would receive for joining the club. The single story promotional volumes, mostly Erle Stanley Gardner titles, proliferated in the 1950s. Double volumes returned in the 1960s continuing into the 1970s.
Black also started the Erle Stanley Gardner Mystery Library in 1963, a 64 (or 66) volume series which was advertised at least through 1973. There was also a series of 6 or 8 Rae Foley books.
Most DBC books are 3-in-1 containing three complete and unabridged titles in each volume. Singles and doubles with the DBC imprint were also produced as promotional items.
The DBC continued through the 1990s, publishing one book per month for a number of years. The Detective Book Club Inner Circle was a second series (though the books are the same in appearance) begun in September 1971 and intended to be bimonthly, sending up to two books per month. The cost of the triple volumes was held at $1.89 through the 1950s. In 1962 the price was $2.29 and 1971 the cost was $3.39 per book.
Michael L. Cook's Murder By Mail: Inside the Mystery Book Clubs, (Bowling Green University Popular Press 1979, revised 1983) gives the history of the various mystery book clubs as well as a checklist of their publications. According to Cook, by October 1983, the club had published 494 regular 3-in-1 volumes and another 97 Inner Circle Triples. Cook's publication dates and volume numbers are listed next to the books indexed here. The last volume indexed by Cook is 494 in October 1983. All books indexed here after that date are approximate based on copyright dates.
Starting about 1974, a number of additional books, identical to the regular 3-in-1 volumes, were published. These are unlisted by Cook and are different combinations from listed books, with duplication from the listed books paired with additional titles. January 1975's Maigret and the Millionaires, for example, exists in two books paired with different titles. Cook explains that these are "introductory volumes for new membership in the club" and goes on to say that these are "apparently signatures of a book in excess of regular binding, or salvaged from damaged or imperfect books." Cook notes that the (1977) volume containing Lew Archer, Private Investigator by Ross MacDonald was only offered in one of these non-regular issues.
The first covers were brown cloth, an open weave light tan canvas. This changed about July 1943 to a smoother closer weave light tan cloth, and then later to a darker tan cloth. The cloth covers gave way to a light tan embossed paper by the late 40s. In April 1945 the stamped cover design was changed from three lozenges containing the titles on the spine with the dagger logo on the front cover to using a more plain straight line text on the spine and the DBC script on the spine and front cover. The next switch was the elimination of the dust jacket with the covers printed in color starting in March 1959.
Earlier dust jacket designs have the artist's signature, "Salter" at the lower right. These covers are the work of designer George Salter (1897-1967). In 1927 George Salter began working as a graphic artist in his native Germany. From late 1934 until his death in 1967, he designed book jackets and books for most major American publishers.
The DBC published a handful of "first editions," i.e. the first published appearance of said book. One first edition was a collection of Matt Taylor's humorous detective stories (The Famous McGarry Stories, May 1958, Cook 193), originally published in the Boston Sunday Herald magazine, "This Week." Vera Caspary's, The Murder in the Stork Club is another DBC first edition (September 1946, Cook 52). Roy Vickers' Six Murders In The Suburbs was the first U.S. book publication in January 1955 and his Double Image was first published in the U.S. in December 1955. Utter Death by John Hymers appeared in it's first U.S. publication in March 1954. Which Doctor? by Edward Candy was first published in the U.S. in 1954.
"In spite of restrictions on materials and manufacturing imposed during the war years, a surprising number of new book clubs got started. Among these was Walter J. Black's Detective Book Club, the second such club in this specialized area. Its forerunner, the Detective Story Club, was one of the very oldest of all book clubs. For $1.89, Black's club offered one volume containing three full-length mystery stories; members were required to buy four or more such volumes during the year. The Club's special editions were only available to members." notorc.blogspot.com/2006/08/book-club-wars-part-two-depression-war.html
There is a leather bound and plain bound reissue of the first DBC book of 1942, with copyright renewals dated 1969. The leather bound edition was limited to 170 copies. Click here for more information. There is also another cover variation, where some three story volumes from the early 1970s have covers printed on black ink on colored paper, in the style of the "two story" promotional volumes.
There are also a number of DBC branded single story and double story volumes. The single story volumes appeared as early as 1948 and double volumes in 1949 and were used for promotional purposes, i.e. as the "free" book(s) you would receive for joining the club. The single story promotional volumes, mostly Erle Stanley Gardner titles, proliferated in the 1950s. Double volumes returned in the 1960s continuing into the 1970s.
Black also started the Erle Stanley Gardner Mystery Library in 1963, a 64 (or 66) volume series which was advertised at least through 1973. There was also a series of 6 or 8 Rae Foley books.
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Another book club, not run by Black, and less well remembered is the Unicorn Mystery Book Club which began in 1945 and offered readers four novels in each volume. Initially, it did well with Hans Stefan Santesson as editor from the third volume on. According to an article in the Armchair Detective by Ed Hoch, it paid less than the Detective Book Club. When Doubleday launched its Mystery Guild in 1948, Unicorn began to lose members and it ended in November 1952. There were 83 volumes published.
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March 30, 1942 Life Magazine
The St. Petersburg Times, Parade, July 31, 1966