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: Tour
Noir: On the Prowl
One intriguing pic Nathaniel Mills sent along from his trip to Malta, he noticed later, “unintentionally captured this Maltese blonde, there on the bench, checking me out as I walked by. “Did she think I was handsome or was she … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, Tour, Willeford
Tagged Gold Medal, Malta, Nathaniel Mills, Orrie Hitt, Robert McGinnis
Tour: Stuff to See on Malta
Stuff to see and do on the island of Malta. The stuff that dreams are made of! Nathaniel Mills pops in a few pics to amuse his fellow travelers going Up and Down These Mean Streets.
Tour: The “Maltese” Maltese Falcon
Nathaniel Mills came out on the walk about a month ago, and it sounded as if putting the gumshoes to the mean streets of San Francisco was part of some double-whammy plan. He’d already hit the island of Malta. And on the … Continue reading
Tour: Sundays in October — and Sunday November 3
The Dashiell Hammett Tour meets at noon every Sunday in October. The walk starts in front of 870 Market and goes for three hours. About two miles long. $20 per person. If interested, pick a Sunday and show up. No … Continue reading
Tour: Miles, Archer
On the walk last Sunday a guy rolled in from Phoenix, and at one point mentioned that he once met another guy and was kind of pleasantly surprised to discover that this guy had two sons — named Miles and Archer. “You must … Continue reading
Rediscovered: A James Ellroy John Hancock
How about allowing an Apprentice Autograph Hound loose on the Mean Streets to run with those battle-scarred gray wolves Brian Leno and Kevin Cook? Got a note in from Jeff Mariotte — obviously a lifelong book collector, like most people I … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, Tour
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, James Ellroy, Jeff Mariotte, Michael Connelly
Tour: Summer & Fall 2019
Shot above: leading the pack across the intersection of Post and Hyde Streets during the tour by appointment for Sisters in Crime, August 5, 2017. Let’s say you’ve had the Hammett Tour on your bucket list for awhile, or you … Continue reading
Hammett: The Passing of Fechheimer
Just heard from Terry Zobeck, who heard it from Larry Block, who must read the New York Times, that David Fechheimer died April 2 at the age of 76 — reportedly from complications after open heart surgery. Once again, ouch. … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, Tour
Tagged David Fechheimer, Hal Lipset, Ken Nordine, Lawrence Block, Mechanics' Library, Nathan Ward, New York Times, Terry Zobeck
Tour: Some Media No More
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon — and who knows?, maybe for the rest of your life — the Some Media clump in the banner above is going to disappear. Every few years I dink around with the … Continue reading
