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The Bobbsey Twins are known as the longest running series of books for children. Almost a century ago, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, who published children's books, asked Lilian McNamara Garis to write a series of books for children. Her husband, Howard R. Garis, was already writing for Stratemeyer and he later became famous for his Uncle Wiggily Series, along with other books.
The Stratemeyer publishers would not allow the authors to use their name so each Bobbsey Twins book used the author name of Laura Lee Hope. Although Lilian wrote the famous books, at this time few people know about it. The first book, The Bobbsey Twins came out in 1904 and today less than a dozen copies of the books survive making them worth at least $500.
Lilian and her husband had two children and were both writers working for the same syndicate. It's quite possible they worked on the Bobbsey series together as a team. It must have been wonderful for their children to know that the Bobbsey Twins were created in their very own home. Can you imagine listening to your parents discuss the adventures of the famous twins?
The Bobbsey Twins:
Actually, there were two sets of twins: Bert and Nan, the oldest pair had dark brown hair and brown eyes. Flossie and Freddie were younger with light hair and blue eyes. They lived in an upper middle class neighborhood in the eastern city of Lakeport on Lake Metoka, somewhere in the USA. Their father was a lumber merchant and their mother a housewife with two black servants named Dinah, the family cook and Sam.
The twins enjoyed wonderful days filled with sunshine and love with their playmates, Grace, Nellie, Charlie and Dannie. Their dog, Snap and Snoop the cat got to go along on many of their adventures. They took trips to the country to visit Uncle Daniel and traveled to the seashore to stay at Uncle William's house. Some of their adventures included riding on a houseboat, camping on Blueberry Island and taking a trip to the west. Each new volume that came out usually had a short summary of the previous adventure, which helped in case the reader had missed the previous one.
No one knows for sure exactly how many Bobbsey Twins books were written because in the early years records were not kept.
Collectors items:
In addition to the books, collectors also look for other Bobbsey Twins items such as:
· Bobbsey Twins paper dolls (1950)
· The Bobbsey Twins Play Box came in a box with two cardboard dolls, 26 colored costumes, and an activity book, storybook and coloring book.
Some Bobbsey Twins books:
· The original, The Bobbsey Twins (1904).
· The Bobbsey Twins at School (1913).
· The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea (1918).
· The Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp (1921) had paper dolls on the back of the book jacket.
· The Bobbsey Twins in Echo Valley (1943).
· At the Seashore (1954), published by Whitman.
The Bobbsey Twins book have been reprinted down through the years, mostly by Whitman books and sold at dime stores all across America for 99 cents. All Bobbsey Twins books, except the Whitman volumes, had jackets. A Bobbsey Twin book with a jacket in good condition can increase the value of the book by as much as $10.
Prices:
The original 1904, The Bobbsey Twins - $500 and up.
All books from the earliest to the latest - $15 and up.
The Bobbsey Twins on the Farm Game - $45 and up.
The Bobbsey Twins play box, 1950 - $45 and up.
1982 Effanbee Dolls - $45 and up.
Around 1979, the story of the Bobbsey Twins died out because the children of our modern times weren't as interested in them as the children were almost a century ago. Today some of the copies can still be found in thrift stores and tag sales and even ordered at bookstores. The books wrote in modern times show the youngsters investigating modern day problems such as water pollution and there is still some talk of a possible movie being made of the twins.
However, the Bobbsey Twins of the sixties and seventies cannot replace the innocence of the turn of the century Bobbseys. The Bobbseys didn't find a home in our modern world and it seems they perform much better when left in their own time period.
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