Category: raymond chandler

January 1936 issue ~ cover art by Rudolph Belarski

January 1936

cover art by John Drew

~ Dwight V. Babcock, “G-man Chuck Thompson”, 3rd of 7 CT stories, 8th of 21 stories in BM

~ W.T. Ballard, “Numbers with Lead”, 13th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 17th of 43 stories in BM

~ Paul Cain, “Death Song”, ‘Pat Nolan, film studio trouble-shooter’, reprinted in The Complete Slayers (2011 Centipede Press), 15th of 17 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “Guns at Cyrano’s”, Ted Malvern, included in the collection The Simple Art of Murder (1950), then Pickup on Noon Street, 7th of 11 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Fan Dance”, 33rd of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.4 (Altus, 2013), 62 of 67 stories in BM

better image than previously posted

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

September 1936 issue ~ cover art by John Drew

September 1936

cover art by John Drew

~ Dwight V. Babcock, “Men of the FBI”, 6th of 7 with LA FBI agent Chuck Thompson, 11th of 21 stories in BM

~ W.T. Ballard, “There’s No Excuses for Murder”, 15th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, ‘LaBrea Tar Pits figure into the story’, 21st of 43 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “The Curtain”, PI Carmody #3 of 4, reprinted in the anthology Killer in the Rain, 1963 Hamish Hamilton UK hardcover, first book appearance, 10th of 11 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Too Many Women”, 18th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, 21st of 31 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Murder Maze”, ‘17th (of 25) Jerry Tracy capers, columnist on the (NYC) Planet, ‘mixer with poor and rich, the crooked and the straight, trailer of trouble and happiness’, ‘Tracy meets a Coney Island “Hindu”, reprinted in Murder Maze: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy, vol.2 (Steeger 2022), 18th of 26 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

1944 Paramount poster

Double Indemnity (Paramount, 1944). Very Fine on Linen. One Sheet (27″ X 41″).
A film noir classic, insurance man Fred MacMurray has an affair with married Barbara Stanwyck and soon finds himself embroiled in a murder and insurance fraud scheme. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Actress (Stanwyck), Best Director (Billy Wilder), and Best Picture.

January 1938 issue ~ cover art by Walter Baumhofer

January 1938

cover art by Walter Baumhofer

Carroll John Daly, “Book of the Dead” (Race Williams)

Raymond Chandler, “Red Wind” (John Dalmas)

Jan Dana, “To the Murder Born”

B.B. Fowler, “Lead Legacy”

George A. Shaftel, “Star-Crossed”

Dale Clark, “Stone-Blind Killer”

better image than previously posted

“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. One nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husband’s necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.” – Chandler, “Red Wind”

1st Pocket edition, December 1965

1st Pocket edition, December 1965

first hardcovers were 1964 from Hamish Hamilton the UK and Houghton Mifflin in the US

From Black Mask Magazine: “Killer in the Rain”, “The Men Who Liked Dogs”, “The Curtain” and “Try the Girl”

From Dime Detection Magazine: “Mandarin’s Jade”, “Bay City Blues” and “The Lady in the Lake”

From Detective Story Magazine: “No Crime in the Mountains”

May 30, 1936 issue

May 30, 1936

first appearance of Raymond Chandler’s “Noon Street Nemesis”, which would later be reissued as “Pick-Up on Noon Street” for The Simple Art of Murder

1950 Houghton Mifflin hardcover, first edition

surreal cover illustration by Artzybasheff

The Simple Art of Murder

1977 Ballantine mass market, 3rd print

“The Simple Art of Murder” (Atlantic Monthly, Dec 1944)

“Spanish Blood” (Black Mask Magazine, Nov 1935)

“I’ll Be Waiting” (Saturday Evening Post, Dec 1939)

“The King in Yellow” (Dime Detective Magazine, Mar 1938)

“Pearls are a Nuisance” (Dime Detective Magazine, April 1939)

cover art by Whistlin’ Dixie