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
Tag Archives: Autographs
Rediscovered: Another Hannes Bok
Let’s conjure up another Autograph Hound Super-Sunday, since Tom Krabacher was poking around in the archives and stumbled across the post where Kevin Cook trotted out a couple of Hannes Bok letters, with distinctive doodling. One of those What the … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Brooding Over John Hancocks
Just got a note in from the famed and maniacal Autograph Hound Brian Leno, who says: Last night some guy was selling about 70 or so signed postal covers. Good stuff too, so I got my trigger finger ready and … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Jack’s Pack
Famous Autograph Hound Brian Leno returns with a few items for yet another Autograph Hound Saturday. And of course he’s got a theme going: I’ve been on a bit of a Jack London kick lately. First up is a signed … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Autographs, Brian Leno, Ed Morrell, Jack London, Martin Johnson, Stanley Waterloo, The Snark
Rediscovered: Hawkwood
Autograph Hound Saturday jumps me! Already? Yep. Via the offices of that maniacal collector Brian Leno, who tells me he has “a Francis Lederer coming today. Remember him as the Count in Night Gallery‘s version of Manly Wade Wellman’s ‘The … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Adventure, Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, Doug Ellis, Marion Polk Angellotti
Two-Gun Bob: From Sherlockian Shelves
Brian Leno noticed a copy of my 1984 litcrit anthology on Robert E. Howard — The Dark Barbarian — on the block at eBay for $150 or make an offer. Hunt around and you can find copies much cheaper, but … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit, News, REH
Tagged Arkham House, Autographs, Baker Street Irregulars, Bouchercon, Firsts, John D. Haefele, Jon Lellenberg, Ted Schulz
Sinister Cinema: A Fistful of Autos
Like Clint Eastwood in a Spaghetti Western, Brian Leno saddles up every day and tracks down one John Hancock after another. He doesn’t turn them in for bounty, however. If Leno guns down a signature, he keeps it: Got a … Continue reading
Sinister Cinema: Count Zaroff
And here’s Brian Leno once again — Brian plays the game of tracking and hunting down the most elusive John Hancocks lurking in the sweaty climes of the Internet jungles: Leslie Banks was the evil (but cool) Count Zaroff in … Continue reading
Posted in Film
Tagged Autographs, Brian Leno, Fay Wray, Joel McCrea, Leslie Banks, The Most Dangerous Game
Rediscovered: Freddie Mills Leads the Pack
Autograph Hound Saturday once again. Kind of snuck up on me. I mentioned the other week that Brian Leno has been collecting signatures like hell recently — on top of collecting like hell his whole life — and he’s here … Continue reading
Two-Gun Bob: And Hugh Pendexter
Our prolific guest blogger and Robert E. Howard maven Brian Leno jumps in to keep the Two-Gun Bob pot cooking. Here’s Brian: I’ve never read Hugh Pendexter, but Robert E. Howard did. In a 1931 letter to H. P. Lovecraft, … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Edward Whymper, 155 Years Ago Today
Jeez. Talk about your social distancing. . . . Autograph Hound Brian Leno has been as busy collecting as ever, despite the pandemic and the lockdown, and pops in today to explain what happened to the guys on the rope. … Continue reading
