
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



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Arkham House Ephemera
The Classic Years 1937–1973-

Death Lit
Essays and Reviews Selected from Fifty Years of Writing 1974–2024-

Willeford
The Book-
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Tag Archives: Vincent Starrett
Rediscovered: An Audio/Video Review
John D. Haefele came across a review of our book on Arkham House ephemera on YouTube. “What a thoughtful and perceptive video-review of our book,” he wrote, “just discovered and very much appreciated!” And he got a comment from Leo … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Book Collecting, Infinite Text, John D. Haefele, Leo Grin, The Cimmerian Press, Vincent Starrett, YouTube
Rediscovered: The Burnt Machens
Speaking of burnt books, the most notorious examples I personally saw in a bookstore, actually offered for sale, were several first edition Arthur Machen titles. Early stuff. Fin de siècle. Previous siècle. I remember a brief talk with my pal … Continue reading
Posted in DMac, Frisco, Lit
Tagged Alan Warren, Arthur Machen, Book Collecting, McDonald's Bookstore, Peter Howard, Serendipity, Stephen King, Tenderloin, Vincent Starrett
Rediscovered: Haefele on The Candlelight Press
For you bibliophiles out there, John D. Haefele just put up a comprehensive yet compact history and survey of The Candlelight Press — one of the presses August Derleth of Arkham House had a couple of fingers in for a … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Arkham House, August Derleth, Book Collecting, Candlelight Press, John D. Haefele, Peter Ruber, Vincent Starrett
Hammett: Slick Dannay Blurbs from EQMM
Today Evan Lewis dropped Part 1 of a new series in which he shows off the little introductory blurbs Frederick Dannay gave to various Hammett stories as he reprinted them in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. They’re probably different than the … Continue reading
Rediscovered: More Starrett and a Williamson — Plus a Margo
Awhile back I was chatting with Brian Leno about the great Chicago bookman Vincent Starrett, and mentioned that my preferred state for his Books About Books would be to have a copy (in jacket, nice condition, and so on) inscribed … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, Lit
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, J. N. Williamson, Margo Skinner, Reign of Fear, Stuart Schiff, Vincent Starrett, Whispers
Rediscovered: Yet Another Tidbit of Starrett and Sherlock
Autograph Hound Super-Sunday once more, and Brian Leno drags out yet another recent purchase for you to eyeball — with the backstory of how he got put on the scent. John Hancock fans, the game’s afoot: I picked up another … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Autographs, Brian Leno, Grady Hendrix, J. N. Williamson, Sherlock Holmes, Stuart Schiff, Vincent Starrett, Whispers
Rediscovered: Every Copy of an Edition Part Two
Not too long ago Brian Leno tipped me off to a blog devoted to Vincent Starrett, entered via a specific post about the famous book collector’s bookplates. I surfed around some, and quickly realized that blog fell under the same … Continue reading
Rediscovered: The Starrett Bookplates
Brian Leno was poking around the web, as he often does, and ran across a blog post with a history and gallery of the bookplates of the great Chicago bookman Vincent Starrett. I’ve got one or two books from his … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Further Pontine Ephemera
Remember that cache of Arkham House ephemera I landed the other week, anchored by a TLS by August Derleth on a Solar Pons greeting card he had had printed up? I thought just having the little signed note by Derleth … Continue reading
Rediscovered: The Fugitive Library of Young Scott, and Haefele’s Proto-Panel
You know those stories you read, about how some guy has gone off to war in Afghanistan or someplace and comes back to find out that his soon-to-be-ex-wife has sold his dog? Or all the stories about soldiers who put … Continue reading





