The collection consists of a sampling of dime novels from ten novel series. Two series (the Deadwood Dick Library and Beadle's Frontier Series) are complete runs. A few issues have multiple copies. The detective story is the predominant genre in this collection, represented by significant holdings of issues from the Old Sleuth Library, the Nick Carter Library and the Secret Service series. Western adventure and romance stories are also well-represented in Beadle's Frontier Series. Despite the age and acidic paper of the dime novels, their condition ranges from Fair to Very Good, with the covers of only a few copies ripped, torn, or missing altogether. Novels are stored individually in 9 x 12 inch envelopes.
Nick Carter Dime NovelSeries consists of 114 issues from the Nick Carter Library.
Publisher: Street and Smith, New York
Date of First Issue (No.1): Aug. 8, 1891
Date of Last Issue (No. 282): Dec. 26, 1896
First in Collection (No. 10): Oct. 10, 1891
Last in Collection (No. 254): Jun. 13, 1896
The Nick Carter Library is a weekly publication. The format is 8 ½ x 12 inches, with 16 pages. Issues cost 5 cents. Pictorial covers are black and white. Consists primarily of detective stories, written "by a celebrated author" (pseudonym of Frederic Van Rensselaer Dey and various other authors). The NCL is the first dime novel series published by Street and Smith to feature the same continuing character (Nick Carter) in all issues. Said Dey, "I never in my life wrote a Nick Carter story that I would be ashamed to read to a Bible class." Nick Carter was instantly popular with readers.