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Monday, August 25, 2014

Map Back Monday!

Today,  I'm starting a new feature on Mystery Fanfare: Map Back Monday! I've been collecting the iconic Dell Map Backs for years, and recently my sister in law sent me my late brother-in-law's collection. Stan always said he was going to send them to me, but never got around to it. Well, he was a collector like me, so I'm sure it was hard to part with any books. I sent him some of my dupes, so maybe they've come to roost. My postings will be in no particular order.

Dell Map Books were printed in the 1940s and 50s, and they were something really special! They were great paperbacks, not only for the books themselves, but for the sturdy laminated covers that also had maps of the scene of the crime on the back! How cool is that? Most of my Dell Map Backs are mysteries, but I think I saw a romance in Stan's collection, so I may post that cover at some time. This will be a discovery for me, as well.

So to begin my Map Back Mondays, here's the cover and map back from Leslie Ford's The Philadelphia Murder Story! I'm from Philadelphia, after all, and I'm drawn to anything Philly! The Map Back features lots of my haunts--well maybe not the Police Station. And the mystery is a'bibliomystery"...the theme of the next issue of Mystery Readers Journal. Perfect timing!

"The Death of an Author Upsets Society and The SatEvePost in "the Philadelphia Murder Story"  



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3 comments:

  1. GramAugust 26, 2014 at 5:19 AM

    I remember these fondly. Leslie Ford had a continuing character - a military man? - that I enjoyed.

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  2. Becky Ross MichaelAugust 26, 2014 at 6:32 AM

    I also collect map back mysteries, and my favorites are the Mr. and Mrs. North titles by Frances and Richard Lockridge. The Philadelphia Murder Story is even in my collection of about 50 books, although I hadn't realized that it's a bibliomystery. I also have a trio of Faith Baldwin romance map backs. I love the maps and other cover artwork on all. I'll be looking forward to seeing a new book on Mystery Fanfare each week!

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  3. Neil PlakcyAugust 26, 2014 at 6:50 AM

    Great map -- I know so many of those places!

    ReplyDelete