Welcome to a hard-boiled and not without noir blog with news and reviews, occasional outbursts of maniacal Autograph Hound activity, plus archival records from the forty-five year run of The Dashiell Hammett Tour. 
The Dashiell Hammett Tour
1977-2022
Arkham House Ephemera
The Classic Years 1937–1973
Death Lit
Essays and Reviews Selected from Fifty Years of Writing 1974–2024
Willeford
The Book
Monthly Archives: January 2025
Rediscovered: Is It Doc’s John Hancock? Is It the Suicide Car?
After Brian Leno’s stunning eBay coup of a signed — and seemingly previously unseen — photograph of Dr. Isaac Howard, people (you know people) are getting in on the action. Some think the signature is authentic. Some feel it can’t … Continue reading
Posted in News, REH
Tagged Autographs, Brian Leno, Doc Howard, Gary Romeo, L. Sprague de Camp, Rob Roehm, The Cimmerian, Vera Baker
Rediscovered: A Little Birthday Treat
For birthday 119 for Robert E. Howard — should he have lived so long — Brian Leno roars into Autograph Hound action once more, pulling an original photo of REH’s father, actually signed by Doc Howard, from the time-lost ruins … Continue reading
Posted in News, REH
Tagged Autographs, Baker Kids, Brian Leno, Doc Howard, Famous Someday, L. Sprague de Camp, Vera Baker
Hammett: Jeopardy! Slips Another Clew from the Dash Deck
January 13. S41 E91. Champions Wildcard Game 1. Double Jeopardy Round. Category: People of the Book. $800 clew: Contestant buzzes in: “What is The Maltese Falcon?”
Tour: 45 Years — 1977-2022
Man, it would have been swell to get to the 50 Year mark leading the Dashiell Hammett Tour, but I guess I started in just a little too late. The gumshoes are willing but years weigh heavy. And I can’t … Continue reading
