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
Category Archives: Frisco
Rediscovered: More Starrett and a Williamson — Plus a Margo
Awhile back I was chatting with Brian Leno about the great Chicago bookman Vincent Starrett, and mentioned that my preferred state for his Books About Books would be to have a copy (in jacket, nice condition, and so on) inscribed … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, J. N. Williamson, Margo Skinner, Reign of Fear, Stuart Schiff, Vincent Starrett, Whispers
Frisco Beat: The Bacall Hideout
Remember that time Bogie escaped from San Quentin and was on the lam? Made his way into San Francisco and had his face touched-up by a back-alley plastic surgeon? Holed up for awhile with Lauren Bacall in a swank apartment … Continue reading
Rediscovered: The Long Goodbye
Obviously Brian Wallace wants me to pay more attention to Chandler, because he’s been bombarding me recently with links — heavy on The Long Goodbye. Of possible interest to some people would be a “graphic novel” (or fine arts) treatment … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: Kent Harrington in Person in Green Apple
Quick. Before they concoct an excuse to shut everything down again. Get over to Green Apple on Ninth Avenue tomorrow night to see Kent Harrington interviewed by Kevin Hunsanger about his new San Francisco crime novel Last Seen. I’ve already … Continue reading
Posted in DMac, Frisco, Lit, News
Tagged Book Collecting, Green Apple Books, Kent Harrington, Kevin Hunsanger, San Francisco Mysteries
Rediscovered: Songs and Sonnets Atlantean at 50
On this date in 1971 Donald Sidney-Fryer, Last of the Courtly Poets, inscribed the earliest copy of his “Little Booke” Songs & Sonnets Atlantean that I have dug up. Fifty years ago. The last title from Arkham House released under … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit, News
Tagged Arkham House, August Derleth, Autographs, Book Collecting, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Facsimile Dustjackets LLC, Firsts, Songs & Sonnets Atlantean
Hammett: Fechheimer Wiki’ed
Just got a note from William Denton, of RARA-AVIS fame, who says, “You probably won’t remember, but in February 2008 you very generously took me on a solo Hammett tour, including going up into Bill Arney’s apartment, which made the … Continue reading
Rediscovered: The Eklund Bookplate
I tossed out The Tamony Bookplate found in one of my Knopf yellowback Machens the other day. Among other especially interesting plates I’ve ended up with, I was telling Brian Leno about one I remembered with a skeleton, a road, … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: A “Lost Book” Mystery
Every couple of years or so I get asked about a book someone has read and forgotten the title of — almost always a book that is a mystery set in San Francisco. Hey, you do the seminal statement, people … Continue reading
Rediscovered: The Tamony Bookplate
Haefele’s Heretics got shaken up some for the run up to his new book Lovecraft: The Great Tales. Morgan “The Morgman” Holmes was busy with something else. Brian Leno’s computer died out from under him and he didn’t want to … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit
Tagged Arthur Machen, Book Collecting, Haefele's Heretics, John D. Haefele, Kevin Cook, Knopf yellowback Machens, Peter J. Tamony, Wallace Smith
