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: Book Collecting
Rediscovered: Haefele Clarifies
In the recent post about The Due to the Death Series which John D. Haefele and I wrestled with, when we were wrapping up Arkham House Ephemera: The Classic Years, I quoted Haefele as saying that The Due to’s were … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Due to the Death
Paul Dobish checks in with his latest acquisitions in the quest to land Arkham House ephemera, in this case excavating in the fecund primordial mire that is The Due to the Death Series. In Arkham House Ephemera: The Classic Years … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Arkham House Ephemera The Classic Years 1937-1973, August Derleth, Book Collecting, Paul Dobish
Rediscovered: Secrets of the Leno Library
In the shot yesterday of (at least a small part of) The Leno Library I noticed the top row of books by or about Robert E. Howard, this month’s birthday boy — and next row down, on left, the Gnome … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, REH
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, Creeps by Night, Jeff Jones, Richard S. Shaver, Roads, Roy Krenkel, Seabury Quinn
Rediscovered: The Leno Library
To entertain me, Brian Leno just sent along a shot of a cabinet he set up. Nice. But kind of sad, too — I was thinking Brian had enough books he wouldn’t have to fill in vital space with a … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Arkham Ephemera on the Block
Check out this notice from Todd Warren on Facebook that John D. Haefele just sent my way, as we keep loose track of what prices are being asked for Arkham House ephemera — you know, the items we cover in … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News
Tagged Arkham House Ephemera The Classic Years 1937-1973, August Derleth, Book Collecting, Facebook, John D. Haefele, Todd Warren
Rediscovered: Another Maxwell Grant
Autograph Hound Saturday once more, and let’s keep the Maxwell Grant/John Hancock theme going. Brian Leno per norm supplies the signature, this time from the 1960s run of Belmont paperback originals of The Shadow ghosted by Dennis Lynds under the … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, Dennis Lynds, The Shadow, Walter B. Gibson
Hammett: It’s Raining Black Birds
As Sam Spade comes roaring into Public Domain with the New Year, Steeger Books offers an edition of The Maltese Falcon using the original text from Black Mask — intro by pulp historian Will Murray. Serious book collector types will … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged Black Mask, Book Collecting, Mark Coggins, Poltroon Press, Sam Spade pastiches, Steeger Books, Will Murray
Rediscovered: Charles G. Finney
Autograph Hound Saturday, and again that distinguished Autograph Hound Brian Leno provides the John Hancock for the delectation of the discriminating connoisseur of the holographic arts. Here’s Brian: I got to thinking that more books inscribed to the late bookseller … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Og
Autograph Hound Saturday yet again, and Brian Leno goes all caveman on us. I’ve always liked cavemen. Here’s a quick note from Brian: Thought you might like to see the Og books, all inscribed by Irving Crump to the late … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, Charles Livingston Bull, Gerry de la Ree, Irving Crump, Og
