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: Black Mask
Hammett: “Night Shots”
Terry Zobeck is back with another set of pure text corrections for a Continental Op story you thought you knew inside out — but if you’ve been relying on the reprint version used in books for the last sixty-six years … Continue reading
Posted in Dash
Tagged "Night Shots", Black Mask, Clark Evans, EQMM, Frederic Dannay, Library of Congress, Pulps, pure texts, Terry Zobeck, Zobeck Series One
Hammett: “Afraid of a Gun”
Just got back from a run down to Musso & Frank to find that Terry Zobeck logged in with another installment of his series investigating the editorial changes made by Frederic Dannay to Hammett’s short stories — and what better … Continue reading
Posted in Dash
Tagged "Afraid of a Gun", Black Mask, Clark Evans, Frederic Dannay, Library of Congress, Musso & Frank, Terry Zobeck, Zobeck Series One
Hammett: “The Vicious Circle”
Fresh off his dive into the archives in the Library of Congress, Terry Zobeck is back with a new set of pure text corrections for one of Hammett’s earliest stories — he apologises for the cover image of the issue … Continue reading
Hammett: Only Four to Go
Terry Zobeck followed through on his plan to hit the Library of Congress in search of pure texts for Hammett stories, and cut the list of seven missing texts down to only four. Plus he copied various other items for research … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit, News
Tagged Black Mask, Book Collecting, Library of Congress, Pulps, pure texts, Raymond Chandler, Terry Zobeck, The Forum, The New York Evening Post, Western Advertising, Zobeck Series One
Hammett: Kidnappings in “Death and Company”
Once upon a time I rated “Death and Company” as one of the lesser and least interesting Op stories. Then Terry Zobeck dug up missing lines from the pure text, which led me to a sudden revelation, bumping “Death Co” from … Continue reading
Hammett: On the Trail
Remember the Alamo! Meanwhile, Terry Zobeck is hot on the trail of the last few Hammett stories he wants to check, to make sure we have the best texts — the pure texts — when we slip off our gumshoes … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit, News
Tagged "This King Business", Alamo, Black Mask, Library of Congress, pure texts, Terry Zobeck, Zobeck Series One
Hammett: “Bodies Piled Up”
After a hiatus during which he obviously spent some safari time in the pulp jungle hunting down rare and elusive pulps, Terry Zobeck is back to let us know the extent of the editing done to yet another Op tale … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, Lit
Tagged "Bodies Piled Up", "House Dick", Black Mask, Dead, EQMM, Frederic Dannay, pure texts, Terry Zobeck, Zobeck Series One
Hammett: “It”
Terry Zobeck springs back into action with a new posting, detailing the changes made to yet another Op adventure. Take it, Terry: This time around we look into the edits made to the obscure Continental Op story “It.” Obscure because it … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit
Tagged "Death and Company", "It", "The Black Hat That Wasn't There", Black Mask, Frederic Dannay, Terry Zobeck, Zobeck Series One
