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SMB Noir

For the Fans of Hardboiled, Pulp & Gumshoe Art

Back in 2013, our tumblr site was started and ran until 2018, when they decided it was too "adult" - too lurid, supposedly. We followed the exodus to newtumbl and four years of dedication vanished in June of 2023. That work was not only new posts but upgrades of hundreds of old tumblr posts as well. So far, there has been no way to rescue those posts, so this will be the third version of this project. And, I'll warn you in advance, I may slip in covers that are not crime or mystery but just because I like the artwork. Enjoy!

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Category: pulp

August 1939 issue ~ cover art by Stockton Mulford

August 1939

cover art by Stockton Mulford

Posted on December 17, 2025November 24, 2025Categories Hardboiled, magazine, pulp, true crimeTags bound, daring detective magazine, stockton mulfordLeave a comment on August 1939 issue ~ cover art by Stockton Mulford

1957 Signet reissue – cover art by Robert Maguire

Robert Maguire (American, 1921-2005)
The Flesh Was Cold paperback cover, 1957 Signet reissue
oil on Masonite, 24 x 16 inches (61.0 x 40.6 cm), not signed

Posted on December 17, 2025November 24, 2025Categories Hardboiled, pulp, paperback, crime fiction, original artTags signet paperback, robert maguire, bruno fischer, lingerie, oil on masoniteLeave a comment on 1957 Signet reissue – cover art by Robert Maguire

September 1937 issue ~ cover art by Delos Palmer

September 1937

cover art by Delos Palmer

Posted on December 17, 2025November 24, 2025Categories action fiction, adventure, Hardboiled, magazine, mystery, pulpTags delos palmer, kidnapping, lew merrill, racist imagery, spicy adventure stories magazine, spicy-adventure storiesLeave a comment on September 1937 issue ~ cover art by Delos Palmer

1953 Dell reissue – cover art by Griffith Foxley

1948 Knopf hardcover

1953 Dell reissue

cover art by Griffith Foxley

better image than previously posted

Posted on December 16, 2025November 24, 2025Categories crime fiction, Hardboiled, paperback, pulpTags dell paperback, george harmon coxe, griffith foxleyLeave a comment on 1953 Dell reissue – cover art by Griffith Foxley

1960 Zenith paperback reissue

pseudonym of Bill S. Ballinger, this is the only title for which he used this pen name

his middle name was Sanborn

1959 Dutton hardcover with the original title The Doom-Maker

1960 Zenith paperback with new title

better image than previously posted

Posted on December 16, 2025November 24, 2025Categories crime fiction, Hardboiled, paperback, pulpTags b.x. sandborn, bill s. ballinger, zenith paperbackLeave a comment on 1960 Zenith paperback reissue

1962 Lancer paperback original – cover art by Ron Lesser

cover art by Ron Lesser

watercolor or gouache?

1962 Lancer paperback original

pen name of E. Howard Hunt

better image than previously posted

Posted on December 16, 2025November 24, 2025Categories crime fiction, Hardboiled, original art, paperback, pulpTags dame, e. howard hunt, lancer paperback, robert dietrich, ron lesserLeave a comment on 1962 Lancer paperback original – cover art by Ron Lesser

1958 Gold Medal paperback original

Gold Medal Books (June, 1958)

Pseudonym of Douglas Sanderson

December 01, 2013

Posted on December 16, 2025November 24, 2025Categories crime fiction, Hardboiled, paperback, pulpTags douglas sanderson, gold medal paperback, malcolm sandersLeave a comment on 1958 Gold Medal paperback original

March 1938 issue

March 1938

cover art by J. George James ?

Posted on December 16, 2025November 24, 2025Categories Hardboiled, magazine, pulp, true crimeTags american detective fact cases, j. george janes, jewery, smokingLeave a comment on March 1938 issue

1961 Ace paperback original – cover art by Verne Tossey

1961 Ace paperback original

cover art by Verne Tossey

better image than previously posted

Posted on December 16, 2025November 24, 2025Categories crime fiction, finest kind, Hardboiled, paperback, pulpTags ace double paperback, dame, femme fatale, j.m. flynn, lurid, verne tossey, woman with a gunLeave a comment on 1961 Ace paperback original – cover art by Verne Tossey

August 1953 issue ~ cover art by Taylor Oughton

August 1953

cover art by Taylor Oughton

better image than previously posted

Posted on December 16, 2025November 24, 2025Categories crime fiction, digest, Hardboiled, mystery, pulpTags dorothy l. sayers, earl derr biggers, edna ferber, ellery queen's mystery magazine, lawrence g. blochman, taylor oughtonLeave a comment on August 1953 issue ~ cover art by Taylor Oughton

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