Croydon Digest Books !

Croydon Books.
Another of my favorite digest books are 'Croydon' not the most collectable of all the publishers but some of the earlier editions go for serious money if found in very good condition and again you get saucy titles, decent art and some very credible writers.

Croydon ran from numbers 11 up to 110 from years 1951 to 1954. The first to books # 11 & # 12 were both digests then for some strange reason for the next four in the series they were printed as normal size paperbacks. Published in New York based in an office on Fifth Ave .They returned to the digest size formula at # 17 'Street Of Sin' by Wright Williams.

So will start with a list of the first 40 in the series and give you some great pictures of books that I own .....here goes !

11 - Cheaters At Love - Wright Williams
12 - Love Hungry - E.D. Jerome
13 - Reckless Virgin - Glen Watkins (Paperback)
14 - Shadows Of Lust - Ralph Carter (Paperback) 
15 - Fool For Love - Wright Williams (Paperback)
16 - Sinner - Gordon Semple (Paperback)
17 - Street Of Sin - Wright Williams

Street Of Sin # 17 - Art By Bernard Safran

18 - Slave Of Desire - Gordon Semple (William Arthur Neubauer)

Slave Of Desire #18 - Art Bernard Safran

19 - Restless Wife - Gail Jordan (Peggy Gaddis)
20 - The Shame Of Vana Gilbert - Glen Watkins 

The Shame Of Van Gilbert # 20  - Glenn Watkins

Restless Wife # 19 - Gail Jordan

21 - Shameless Sue - Gordon Semple (William Arthur Neubauer)
22 - Strange Desires - Richard Himmel 
23 - Sins Of A Private Secretary - Gail Jordan (Peggy Gaddis)
24 - Love Hungry Doctor - Florence Stonebraker

Love-Hungry Doctor  # 24 - Art by Lou Marchetti

Sins Of A Private Secretary # 23 - Gail Jordan

25 - Spotlight On Sin - Doug Dupperrault.

26 - Immoral Models - Joan Sherman (Peggy Gaddis)
27 - Career Of Sin - Gordon Semple (William Arthur Neubauer)

Immoral Models # 26 - Art By Lou Marchetti

Career Of Sin # 27 - Art by Lou Marchetti

28 - Mountain Sinner - Delmar Kingslan

Art by Bernard Safran

29 - Dead-End Gal - William David
30 - French Nurse - Florence Stonebraker
31 - Army Mistress - William David.

Army Mistress # 31 - Art by Lou Marchetti

32 - Two-Timing Wife - Joan Sherman (Peggy Gaddis)
33 - High Priced Party Girl - Bart Frame .

Two-Timing Wife #32 - Art by B. Safran

High-Priced Party Girl #33 - Art by B. Safran

34 - Gang Mistress - Doug Dupperrault

Gang Mistress #34 - Art by Bernard Safran

35 - Vengeful Sinner - Harry Whittington
36 - Blonde Temptress - Gordon Semple (William Arthur Neubauer)
37 - Strange Passions - Florence Stonebraker

37 - Strange Passions - 1953

Reprint -37 R - Strange Passions - 1954

38 - Part-Time Wife - Gerald Foster
39 - Indiscretions Of A French Model - Bart Frame
40 - Cellar Club Girl - Alan Bennett.

Cellar Club Girl # 40

Some great writers in the first forty editions, some copies to look out for are anything by renowned author Harry Whittington, his early book # 35 Vengeful Sinner is hard to find in good condition.

Bernard Safran was a prolific artist for Croydon and his art can be found on many front covers and for me his art was either superb or just OK, you can see by the 3 copies above (all by Safran) that he was a very skilled artist and I for one can spot his style from 20 yards ......lovely art and worth hunting down !

Part 2 - Numbers 41 - 71 .

41 - Secrets Of Paris Nights - Denise Marcelle

Secrets Of Paris Nights # 41 - Art by B. Safran

42 - Scandals At A Nudist Colony - William Vaneer (James W. Lampp)
43 - Love-Hungry Boss - Peggy Gaddis
44 - Confessions Of A 'B' Girl - Sim Albert (Albert Simmons)

Love-Hungry Boss #43 art by B. Safran

Confessions of a B Girl # 44

45 - Man-Hungry Widow - Peggy Gaddis
46 - Girl-Crazy Proffesor - Florence Stonebraker

Man Hungry Widow # 45 - Art by B. Safran

Gil-Crazy Professor # 46 - Art by Bernard Safran

47 - Red Headed Sinner - Jonathon Craig

Red-Headed Sinners # 47

48 - Co-Ed Sinners - Bart Frame
49 - Sinful Island Vacation - William Vaneer (James W. Lampp)

Co-Ed Sinners # 48 - Art by Bernard Safran

Sinful Island Vacation # 49

50 - Soldier's Sinners - Doug Dupperault
51 - Love Starved Woman - Peggy Gaddis.
52 - Love Cult - William Vaneer (James W. Lampp)

Love-Starved Widow #51 - Art by B. Safran

Love Cult # 52 - Art by B. Safran

53 - Warped Desires - Gordon Semple

Warped Desires # 53 - Art by Bernard Safran

54 - Scandalous French Doctor - Jean Calvet.

Scandalous French Doctor # 54

55 - Shameless Play-Girl - Florence Stonebraker.

Shameless Play-Girl #55 art by Lou Marchetti

56 - Confessions Of A Pick-Up Girl - Sim Albert
57 - Love-Crazy Millionaire - Gordon Semple.

Confessions Of A Pick-Up Girl #56

Love-Crazy Millionaire # 57 - Art by B. Safran

58 - Back-Road Motel - William Vaneer (James W. Lampp)
59 - Scandals At A Country Club - Bart Frame

Back-Road Motel #58 - Art by B. Safran

Scandals At A Country Club #59

60 - Forbidden Passions - Wright Williams (Watkins E. Wright)
61 - Sinner (2nd Edition) - Gordon Semple (1st Ed # 16)

Forbidden Passions # 60 - Wright Willaims

Sinner # 61 - Art by Rudy Nappi.

62 - Night Club Sinner - Harry Whittington
63 - Man-Crazy Hussy - Gordon Semple
64 - Sin Cruise - Florence Stonebraker

Sin Cruise # 64 - Art by B. Safran

65 - Indiscretions Of A TV Sinner - Gordon Semple
66 - Joy Girl - Delmar Kingsland

Indiscretions Of A TV Sinner # 65

Joy Girl # 66 - 1954

67 - House Of Sinners - Peggy Gaddis

House Of Sinners # 67 - Art by Bernard Safran 

68 - Lady Of Many Sins - Gerald Foster
69 - Scandalous Nurse - Peggy Gaddis.

Scandalous Nurse # 69

70 - Confessions Of A Lady Chauffeur - Florence Stonebraker .

Ladies Chauffeur # 70 - Art by Bernard Safran

71 - Bad Girls Club - William David .


That takes up into the 70's now, still more to come. As you can tell, Artwork was predominantly done by Bernard Safran and nine novels so far in total by Peggy Gaddis, four by Wright Williams and a whopping ten by Gordon Semple !. Some stand out books in that section to collect are . Red Headed Sinner by Jonathon Craig (Author of 'Junkie' on Falcon), Love Cult by William Vaneer and Warped Desires by Gordon Semple.

Croydon are basically producing very tame love/romance novels with just a touch of sleaze, this is the reason they don't quite command the high prices like Rainbow & Falcon but still very much in demand by collectors.

Part 3 - Numbers 72 - 92 .

Here we go for more in the Croydon book series, as we on you will notice that a lot have now become 2nd Editions, some with new art and some with the original art, these 2nd editions are not as collectable but great non the less.

72 - Hoyden Of The Mountains - Delmar Kingsland.

Hoyden Of The Mountains # 72 - Art by B. Safran

73 - Woman Crazy Doctor - Sim Albert (Albert Simmons)
74 - Playboy's Nurse - Gordon Semple .

Woman-Crazy Doctor # 73

Playboy's Nurse # 74

75 - Strange Desires (2nd Edition) - Richard Himmel (#22)
76 - Career Of Sin (2nd Edition) - Gordon Semple (#27)

Strange Desires #75 - Art by Lou Marchetti

Career Of Sin #76 - Art by Lou Marchetti

77- French Sinner - Sim Albert (Albert Simmons)
78 - Stag-Party Girl - Bart Frame .

French Sinner # 77

# 78 - Art by Bernard Safran

79 - French Nurse (2nd Edition) - Florence Stonebraker (#31)

French Nurse # 79 - Art by Lou Marchetti

80 - The Lonely Soldiers (2nd Edition) - Willaim David (#31)
81 - Rooming-House Girl # 81 - Sim Albert (Albert Simmons)

Rooming-House Girl # 81 - Sim Albert

82 - Thrill-Hungry Girl - Peggy Gaddis
83 - Affairs Of A Party Girl (2nd Edition) - Bart Frame (#33)
84 - Wayward Girl (2nd Edition) - Doug Dupperault (#34)
85 - Indiscretions Of A French Model (2nd Edition) - Bart Frame (#39)
86 - Soldiers Girl (2nd Edition) - Joan Sherman (Peggy Gaddis) (#32)

Soldiers Girl #86 - Art by Bernard Safran

Indiscretions Of A French Model # 85

87 - Wild Bride - Sim Albert (Albert Simmons)

Wild Bride # 87 

88 - Georgia Girl In Harlem - Bart Frame .
89 - Shanty-Town Tease - Florence Stonebraker.

90 - Man-Crazy Nurse - Peggy Gaddis.

Shanty-Town Tease # 89

Man-Crazy Nurse # 90

91 - Waterfront Hotel - Gordon Semple
92 - Warped Desire (2nd Edition) - Gordon Semple (#53)

Part 3 - Numbers 93 - 110 

Here are the last of the Croydon book list with a few gaps (unknown titles ....can you help?)

93 - Confessions Of A 'B' Girl (2nd Edition) - Sim Albert (Albert Simmons) (#44)
94 - Tenement Girl (2nd Edition) - Alan Bennett (#40)
95 - Confessions Of A Wild Co-Ed - Florence Stonebraker
96 - French Pick-Up - Denise Marcelle

French Pick-Up # 96 

97 - Man-Hungry Widow (2nd Edition) - Peggy Gaddis (#45)
98 - Unknown
99 - Unknown
100 - Unknown
101 - She Lives In Sin - Ralph Carter (William Arthur Neubauer)

She Lived In Sin # 101 Art by Lou Marchetti

102R - Shameful Love - Thomas Stone (Florence Stonebraker)

Shameful Love # 102 R - Thomas Stone

103 - Sinner (3rd Edition) - Gordon Semple (#16 & #61)
104 - Life Of Lust - Wright Williams (Watkins E. Wright)

105 - Sin Island - Ralph Carter (William Arthur Neubauer)

Sin Island - Art by Grazolla

106 - Immoral Woman (Two Sinners) - Lee Jackquin 

107 - Sinful Model - Joan Sherman (Peggy Gaddis)
108 - Sins Of An Inspiring Actress - Doug Dupperault.

Sins Of An Aspiring Actress #108

Sinful Model # 107 

109 - Back Country Wench - Gail Jordan (Peggy Gaddis)
110 - Scandalous Career Girl (2nd Edition) - Gordon Semple (#21)

Scandalous Career Girl # 110 - Art by Lou Marchetti

Back-Country Wench # 109 Art by Fred Rodewald

So there you have it the (nearly complete) list of Croydon books, I have shown you the 39 copies that I own and as you can see I need many more to complete this collection ! but that is the joy of hunting down these books, one day they just appear and you purchase 4 then you wont see another for 6 months !!!!

Happy hunting folks......coming next from me will be 'Original' & 'Star' novels  !