Originals vs Revisions

[THartmann9374]

 Why are two "editions" of Hardy Boys TOS in original and revision? It always bugged me. I don't recall reading any original books, but just revised books (ones from Grosset Dunlap).

Thanks, THartmann9374

[MacGyver]

The Hardy Boys series started in 1927. By 1959, the books were getting revised for a few reasons. The main reason actually stated in the books was to update the series to be current with police procedures of the time. The other reason, besides updating technology usage and such like that- was also to remove any negative stereotypes in the original text books. (In some original text books, you can find the "N" word used, albeit not in a pejorative way. (i.e. I've seen it once in The House on the Cliff, if I remember correctly- but it was as part of an expression, not in a racially demeaning way, as in someone being called that. Though the expression itself could have been substituted with a simpler phrase that would have gotten the meaning across just as well.)
        This page offers a pretty nice, concise look at the revision process.

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

The Hardys don't seen really care for the police in the Casefiles, or is it just me?

[tomswift2002]

The revisions also helped to mak Frank and Joe 18 & 17 through all the books, which allowed for Joe to have a valid driver's license in all US states.

But mainly it was to update the Hardy,s.  The 1957 book  "The Ghost of Skelton a Rock" had the boys going to Cuba, the revised just had them going to a tropical country, consider the Cuban Missile crisis. 

[THartmann9374]

Thanks, MacGyver and TomSwift2002 for explaining why.

[tomswift2002]

In other series there were more extreme updates.  One infamous example is the "Bobbsey Twins And Baby May".  In the original the twins try to get a found baby adopted.  But adoption laws had changed so much between 1924 when the book first came out and the 1960's when it was updated that even today the original is implausible.  So the 1960's version has the Twins playing with a baseball loving elephant named Baby May.

[MacGyver]

Glad I could help.