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: Lit
Rediscovered: Someone at Jeopardy! Kind of Likes Fritz’s The Wanderer
Ten years ago I admit I was shocked to see Fritz Leiber show up as a clew on Jeopardy! Not him by name, but his 1964 paperback original novel The Wanderer, which copped the 1965 Hugo for Best Novel. This … Continue reading
Mort: Kenneth Robeson Succumbs — Legendary Case of “Pulp Lung”
The news first manifested as rumor. John D. Haefele heard that Will Murray had died. Didn’t want to believe it. Tom Krabacher, who chatted with Will only a couple of weeks ago during PulpFest, thought the idea might have come … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Jane Gaskell
Autograph Hound Saturday and the always reliable Brian Leno pulls something from his legendary trove for us to ponder. A novel from Jane Gaskell’s The Atlan Saga, sent to the Atlantis buff and LASFS regular Henry M. Eichner — young … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, Henry M. Eichner, Jane Gaskell, LASFS, Ray Bradbury
Lit Suicides: Fourth of July
As I’ve mentioned, lately I’ve been pulling scattered emails by or about the late Dennis McMillan into a new folder. Need to find the snail mail, since it contains an early DMac sales catalog which I want to reference in … Continue reading
Posted in DMac, Lit, News, REH
Tagged 4th of July, Janwillem van der Vettering, literaray suicides, Thomas M. Disch
Rediscovered: And More Leno Library
Keeping a roll going, here’s another snapshot of a corner of the Brian Leno library for those curious about such arcane matters. Brian is as big on statues and knickknacks as I am — bigger. Certainly he has more books, … Continue reading
Rediscovered: More Leno Library
Brian Leno has come into a group of display cabinets and now is working to fill them up. I imagine he’ll juggle some of the stuff around again, eventually. Maybe have one devoted to his Jack the Ripper collection. Or … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Metcalfe and Gawsworth
I used to get images from Brian Leno of his recent autograph purchases. I still do, but I used to, too. Yep, it’s Autograph Hound Saturday once again — this time featuring John Hancocks and holographic scribblings from writer John … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Arthur Machen, Autographs, Brian Leno, John Gawsworth, John Metcalfe, M. P. Shiel
Rediscovered: The Library of Brian — Inspiration, or Warning!?!
Brain Leno has a story about when he was a kid in Bismarck, beginning to buy paperbacks. He’d sit in front of the small bookcase he shelved them on and savor his library. His father made the bookstand “out of … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Get Yer Shiel Here
Aha. I’ve been waiting for this book — although technically I don’t really need it. You do. Beating the likes of Random House and Little Brown and their ilk to the punch, Hippocampus Press just gathered under one set of … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News
Tagged Arthur Machen, Book Collecting, Harold Billings, Hippocampus Press, John D. Squires, Lovecraft, M. P. Shiel, Scott Connors
Rediscovered: Ex Libris Virgil Finlay
Autograph Hound Saturday. You know the drill. Another week has passed, and Autograph Hound Brian Leno has added more signatures to his collection. A thousand John Hancocks in the naked city. . . . This is the story of one. … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Lit
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, Norman Lindsay, Seabury Quinn, Virgil Finlay
