Canon

The "Canon" refers to the 58 volumes published by Grosset and Dunlap from 1927 to 1978, as well as the Detective Handbook. For many collectors, these are the "true" Hardy Boys books. In any case, their long history means that there's a lot to say about them! I've divided the information into the following parts:

• History - from the beginnings in the 1920s to the end in the 1970s.
• Detailed booklist - provides publication and revision dates, cover art, ghostwriters, and a brief summary for each book.
• Revisions - a timeline of the revisions, an overview of the types of revisions that were carried out, and a list of ghostwriters.
• Interior art - information about the black-and-white interior illustrations.
• Cover art - a list of cover artists and a timeline that charts the date when each new cover appeared.
• Cover design - classification and discussion of the graphic design of the covers.
• Spines - description of the various spine colours and designs.
• Endsheets - scans of the endsheets (the inside front and back covers) and a key to the scenes they depict.
• Interior formatting - layout of title page, contents, headings; fonts used.
• Back covers - scans of the major back cover designs.