Collier's Uniform Binding Mysteries

 P. F. Collier & Son Corporation certainly had a soft spot for mystery reprints, churning out a pile of them between 1928 and 1947 in attractive uniform binding sets. Generally sold in lots of six, they certainly made these titles more accessible to the public at an economical price. They are still widely available on the secondary market - check eBay and Biblio.com especially. This page provides some notes on the various series. It is likely I have not identified all the titles in each series - if you are aware of additional titles, please let me know at rickmills9@gmail.com. Thank you!

S. S. Van Dine (6 titles)

Certainly the most recognizable cover in a striking spiderweb pattern. Only six titles were released in this series:

1. The "Canary" Murder Case
2. The Greene Murder Case
3. The Bishop Murder Case
4. The Garden Murder Case
5. The Kidnap Murder Case
6. The Gracie Allen Murder Case

It is a puzzle why Collier stopped there, as there are only 12 S. S. Van Dine novels in all! Why didn't they issue the other six and complete the job? Another odd note - these titles were not sequential, but rather random from among the twelve.

John Dickson Carr (7? titles)

This is the creepist series, featuring a red-eyed skull on the spine, and the skull surrounded by eight question marks on the cover.

Issued: 

1. Death Turns the Tables
2. The Man Who Could Not Shudder
3. The Emperor's Snuff Box
4. 'Till Deth Do Us Part
5. The Case of the Constant Suicides
6. The Sleeping Sphinx
7. The Problem of the Wire Cage

There may be more.

Valentine Williams (16? titles)

This British Secret Service series is set in the period between the two World Wars. The front cover has a simple diagonal band with "Secret Service Series" embossed.

Issued:

Titles:

1. The Clock Ticks On 
2. Clubfoot the Avenger 
3. The Clue of the Rising Moon 
4. The Crouching Beast 
5. Dead Man Manor 
6. Death Answers the Bell 
7. The Eye in Attendance 
8. The Fox Prowls 
9. The Key Man (a.p.a. Pigeon House)
10. The Man With the Clubfoot 
11. Masks Off at Midnight 
12. Mysterious Miss Morrisot (a.p.a. Mannequin)
13. The Mystery of the Gold Box (a.p.a. The Gold Comfit Box)
14. The Portcullis Room 
15. The Spider's Touch 
16. The Three of Clubs 

Agatha Christie (? titles)

Front Page Mysteries (red cover)(33 titles)

detail

This series has a small man caught in a spiderweb embossed on the front cover.

Issued: 1920's - 1931
Titles:

1. Berkeley, Anthony The Silk Stocking Murders , 1929
2. Brock, Lynn Murder on the Bridge 1930
3. Buck, Neville Marked Men 1929
4. Campbell, Alice Juggernaut 1929
5. Carr, John Dickson It Walks by Night 1930
6. Carr, John Dickson The Lost Gallows 1931
7. Christie, Agatha The Seven Dials Mystery, 1929
8. Clevely, Hugh Call the Yard! 1931
9. Dalton, Moray The Body in the Road 1930
10. Dutton, Charles Streaked with Crimson 1929
11. Ferguson, John The Man in the Dark, 1928
12. Fletcher, J. S. The Diamond Murders, 1929
13. Footner, Hulbert The Under Dogs 1929
14. Footner, Hulbert The Mystery of the Folded Paper 1930
15. Freeman, R. Austin The Eye of Osiris 1911 copyright, printing date likely 1929
16. Gluck, Sinclair The Shadow in the House, 1929
17. Hart, Frances Noyes The Bellamy Trial 1929
18. Holden, Raymond The Penthouse Murders 1931
19. Hughes, Rupert The Ladies' Man 1930
20. King, Rufus Murder in the Willett Family 1931
21. Loban, Ethyl The Calloused Eye 1931
22. MacDonald, Philip The Crime Conductor 1931
23. Martin, Stuart The Trial of Scotland Yard 1930
24. Morris, W. F. "G.B." 1929
25. Packard, Frank The Adventures of Jimmy Dale 1929
26. Packard, Frank The Big Shot 1929
27. Plum, Mary The Killing of Judge MacFarlane 1930
28. Propper, Milton The Boudoir Murder 1931
29. Propper, Milton The Ticker-Tape Murders 1930
30. Rhode, John The Murder at Bratton Grange 1929
31. Rinehart, Mary Roberts The Man in Lower Ten 1929
32. Wallace, Edgar The Girl from Scotland Yard 1929
33. Wells, Carolyn Deep Lake Mystery 1928

Front Page Mysteries (black and red 'weapons' cover)(19 titles)

Issued: 1942-1947
Titles:

1. Blau, Ernest Queen's Falcon 1947 
2. Eberhart, Mignon Wings of Fear 1946
3. Ford, Leslie Murder in the OPM 1942
4. Ford, Leslie Siren in the Night 1943
5. Gardner, Erle Stanley Case of the Drowning Duck 1942
6. Hughes, Dorothy The Delicate Ape 1944
7. Hughes, Dorothy Ride the Pink Horse 1946
8. Irish, William Phantom Lady 1942
9. Lockridge, Frances & Richard Death on the Aisle 1942
10. Lockridge, Frances & Richard Killing the Goose 1944
11. Lockridge, Frances & Richard Murder Within Murder 1946
12. McCloy, Helen The Goblin Market 1943
13. Reilly, Helen Murder on Angler's Island 1945
14. Saunders, Clare Design for Treachery 1947
15. Starrett, Vincent Murder in Peking 1946
16. Stout, Rex Black Orchids 1942
17. Treat, Lawrence H as in Hunted 1946
18. Walling, R.A.J. The Corpse with the Eerie Eye 1942
19. Walling, R.A.J. A Corpse by Any Other Name 1943

Crime Club (blue and black cover)(16 titles)

Issued: 1941-1946
Titles:

1. Coles, Manning: The Fifth Man, 1946
2. Davis, Frederick C.: Deep Lay the Dead, 1942
3. Dean, Amber: Wrap It Up, 1946
4. Disney, Doris Miles: Who Rides a Tiger, 1946
5. Kelsey, Vera: Whisper Murder, 1946
6. Knight, Kathleen Moore: Terror by Twilight, 1942
7. Knight, Kathleen Moore: Trademark of a Traitor, 1943
8. Millar, Margaret: The Devil Loves Me, 1942
9. Roberts, Katharine: Center of the Web, 1942
10. Seeley, Mabel: The Chuckling Fingers, 1941
11. Seeley, Mabel: Eleven Came Back, 1943
12. Stagge, Jonathan: Death's Old Sweet Song, 1946
13. Strange, John Stephen: Look Your Last, 1943
14. Strange, John Stephen: Murder Gives a Lovely Light, 1941
15. Weston, Garnet: The Hidden Portal, 1946
16. Woolrich, Cornell: Black Angel, 1943