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: Kevin Cook
Rediscovered: Woolrich in The Mask
Another year down on These Mean Streets! How about we go out with a sharp Kachow! from the ever-ready roscoe? The noted book and pulp collector Kevin Cook decided to dive into his holdings and dig out the autograph of … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Straubomination and Others
What could we do for Autograph Hound Super-Sunday? How about an exciting return to the Quest for the Worst Autograph Ever? Remember the other week when John D. Haefele sent in an image from a Karl Edward Wagner book he’d … Continue reading
Rediscovered: More Posse McMillan
About a month ago we spotlighted the unwieldy squiggle of Kent Harrington during the Autograph Hound weekend. Plunged in deep, lots of samples. One of the most prolific Posse McMillan writers back in the day, and one of the favorites of … Continue reading
Posted in DMac, Lit
Tagged Bob Truluck, Kent Anderson, Kent Harrington, Kevin Cook, Lono Waiwaiolo, Measures of Poison
Rediscovered: The Rogue’s Gallery Expands; or, A Mystery Solved
You know how bizarre squiggly autographs drive Kevin Cook into a berserk and bemused frenzy? And do you remember how John D. Haefele presented a John Hancock from horror writer Karl Edward Wagner for that day when we featured a … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News
Tagged Autographs, Eric Carlson, John D. Haefele, Karl Edward Wagner, Kent Harrington, Kevin Cook, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell
Rediscovered: More 1565 Siege of Malta
The theme of the island of Malta suddenly jumped up and took over the week here on These Mean Streets. By luck, Kevin Cook had a Malta appropriate signature in, and ready to show off on Autograph Hound Saturday. But for Autograph … Continue reading
Rediscovered: The 1565 Siege of Malta
For Autograph Hound Saturday let’s keep the theme of Malta going, which kicked in over the last few days. Never know where the Winds of the Blog will take you, that’s what I always say. For the John Hancock, noted pulp … Continue reading
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
Frisco Beat: Kent Harrington, Signatory
Image above: Kent Harrington (with Lynn behind the bar) in one of my favorite restaurants, Street on Polk, on Saturday September 21. We got there as soon as the doors opened and had the place to ourselves for a few minutes, … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Kent Harrington, Kevin Cook, Street Restaurant
Rediscovered: An Otto and Ellroy
Autograph Hound Super-Sunday opens with Kevin Cook refining his terms, and letting us know he’s got even worse autos than the one from Kent Harrington he was talking about yesterday: With Kent’s autograph, what I meant to express was that … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Autographs, George Pelecanos, James Ellroy, Kent Harrington, Kevin Cook, Mysterious Bookshop, Otto Penzler
Rediscovered: Kent Harrington, Have Squiggle — Will Inscribe
Strap in! Autograph Hound Saturday kicks off a weekend long rumination on the topic of nigh indecipherable signatures, by no less a collector than Kevin Cook. Now, don’t take the first thoughts on the subject as the Be All End All. No, … Continue reading
