SMB Noir

September 24, 1938 issue ~ cover art by Emmett Watson

September 24, 1938

cover art by Emmett Watson

August 1940 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

August 1940 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

better image than previously posted

D.L. Champion, “There was a Crooked Man – ” (Inspector Allhoff)

Norbert Davis, “This will Kill You!” (Bail-Bond Dodd)

John Lawrence, “The Death of the Party” (Marquis of Broadway)

Merle Constiner, “Strangler’s Kill” (The Dean)

O.B. Myers, “United We Fall”

March 1938 British edition ~ cover art by Raymond S. Pease

March 1938 British edition

cover art by Raymond S. Pease

contents same as US issue:

~ Max Brand, “The Silent Witness”, short-short, 2^nd of 2 BM stories

~ Joseph Csida, “Bank Night Kill”, ‘narrated by a “contest dick”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Steve Fisher, “You’ll Always Remember Me”, ‘young punk murderer; psychopathic narrator’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), 4^th of 9 stories in BM

~ Frank Gruber, “Dog Show Murder”, 4th of 10 with ‘Oliver Quade, The Human Encyclopedia’, reprinted in The Hardboiled Dicks (1965), 5th of 14 stories in BM

~ H.H. Stinson, “Three Apes from the East”, ‘Kerry Thorne, detective in L.A.’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 8th of 27 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

January 1960 issue ~ cover art by Carl Pfeuffer

January 1960

cover art by Carl Pfeuffer

February 1930 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

February 1930 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), “West of Guam”, 1^st of 24 Jo Gar stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Farewell Murder”, the Op [21^st of 22], 40^th of 45 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Black Burton Hits Back”, 11th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 15th of 39 stories in BM

~ W.H.B. Kent, “Framing the Killer”, 5th of 6 Westerns with Killer Blake, deputy sheriff & agent of the Stock Association

~ Hapsburg Liebe, “The Regeneration of John Carter”, Western, 2nd of 4 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Alley Rat”, 9th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kenney, v.1 (Altus, 2013), 21 of 67 stories in BM

~ Henry Wallace Phillips, “Just a Canter”, 5th of 8 with Red Saunders, 9th of 12 stories in BM

~ Earl and Marion Scott, “Seven Glass Beads”, 5th of 6 stories with ‘Cameo Kirby, reformed jewel thief’, ‘Kirby & Wah Foo Wah, Chinese murderer’, 11th of 17 stories in BM as a couple

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Green Ice”, ‘Mal Ourney; part 3 (of 5), ‘The Crime Breeders’, presented as separate stories rather than conventional serial’, published in hardcover in 1930 by Knopf as Green Ice, 37th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

July 1934 issue

July 1934 issue

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer

better image than previously posted

~ W.T. Ballard, “Whatta Guy”, 7th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, reprinted in That’s Hollywood: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Bill Lennox, Vol.1 (2023 Steeger Books), 7th of 43 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “Smart-Aleck Kill”, 2^nd Mallory, first book appearance in the collection The Simple Art of Murder (Houghton Mifflin hardcover, 1950), first paperback appearance Pickup on Noon Street (Pocket, 1/52), various paperback editions, 2^nd of 11 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Hot Delivery”, 5^th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, 5^th of 31 stories in BM

~ Eugene Cunningham, “If Murder Can Be Funny”, 3^rd of 5 with undercover Texas Ranger Cleve Corby, 9^th of 14 stories in BM

~ John Graham, “Murder Crate”, ‘ambulance crew; NYC setting’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Raymond Jae Moffatt, “Death in the Dark”, ‘Patrolman tries to avenge murdered father’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

January 1921 issue ~ cover art by Archie Gunn

January 1921 issue

cover art by Archie Gunn

~ John Baer, “The Murder of An Te-Hai”, ‘NYC’s Chinatown’, 1^st of 24 stories in BM

~ Frank Blighton, “An Automatic Alibi”, ‘bank fraud; 1^st-person narrator’, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Hamilton Craigie, “The Pendulum of Fate”, 5^th of 7 solo stories in BM

~ Eric A. Darling, “The Malachite Jar”, 4^th of 5 stories in BM

~ Stephen H. Edwards, “Detective Alias Thief”, ‘con men outwit banker, et al., in a small Montana town’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Clinton [aka Charles] Harcourt, “The White Face at the Cellar Window”, 4tf of 6 stories in BM

~ James Edward Hungerford, “By Fast Freight”, embezzlement in and around San Francisco, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Julian Kilman, “Playing a Hunch”, ‘Dave Lacey, just out of prison’, 4th of 6 stories in BM

~ J.C. Kofoed, “The Puzzling Affair in the Rue Tilsit”, ‘Complete Novelette; fired NYC cop murdered in Paris’, 6^th of 9 stories in BM

~ C.S. Montanye (Carleton Stevens), “The Plan That Was Outlined by Monahan”, ‘young dip, yegg, & wire man’, 7th of 29 stories in BM

~ Harold Ward, “While the Blizzard Raged”, ‘people marooned with a murderer, 1^st-person narrator’, 10th of 29 stories under this name in BM [14th of 46 stories in BM under three different names – Ward Sterling and H.W. Starr]

January 1935 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

January 1935 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

~ Raymond Chandler, “Killer in the Rain”, unnamed LA PI, 1^st person, first book appearance in the anthology Killer in the Rain (Hammish Hamilton, UK hardcover, 3/26/64, US edition by Houghton Mifflin, 1964), various paperback editions, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), 4th of 11 stories in BM [Chandler would “cannibalize” this story for The Big Sleep – note the totem with the camera lens.]

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Murder Picture”, 7^th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), 7^th of 31 stories in BM

~ George Alden Edson, “Hot Lead”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Winged Lead”, ‘Bald Pete’, character’s only appearance in BM, 84th of 99 stories in BM

January 1929 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

January 1929 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

better image than previously posted

~ Eustace Hale Ball, “The Old Gray Mouse”, prison setting, last of 13 stories in BM

~ S. Omar Barker, “The Way of the Westerner”, ‘Pecos McKain; modern Western’, 1^st of 4 stories in BM

~ Katherine Brocklebank, “White Talons”, 2nd of 4 with ‘Tex of Border Service in Tia Juana; Tex is a woman!’ , reprinted in White Talons: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Tex of the Border Service (Steeger, 2023), 5^th of 7 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “One Crook to Another”, 24th of 73 Ed Jenkins, 2nd of 2 parts with ‘Big Bill Delano & gang war’, 37th of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Black Honeymoon”, 3rd of 4 Continental Op stories that will go together to make up The Dain Curse (Knopf hc, 1929), reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), 38th of 51 stories in BM

~ Anderson McCully, “The Rajah’s Bracelet”, ‘crime involving a group of socially prominent people’, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Carl L. Martin, “The Discard”, Deputy Lon Havens, Drew County, Bayou country, 4th of 6 in BM

~ Marion Scott, “Poison Enters the Manse”, ‘1^st-person narrator & kidnapping’, last of 3 by herself, 17 stories with Earl Scott in BM as a couple

~ Edward Parrish Ware, “The Border Buckoes”, ‘Kid Shelley, 1^st-person narrator’, 8th of 9 stories in BM

1941 Doubleday hardcover

Doubleday, Doran and Co. for The Crime Club, 1941.First Edition stated. Uncommon gambling and card cheating murder mystery. Near Fine in Very Good attractive dustjacket.