black mask magazine

July 1926 issue ~ cover art by Dodge

July 1926 issue

cover art by Dodge

~ Carroll John Daly, “The False Clara Burkhart”, 14^th of 53 with Race Williams, reprinted in Them That Lives By Their Guns: The Collected Hard-Boiled Stories of Race Williams, Vol. 1 (Altus Press, 2015), 22nd of 71 appearances in BM

~ William Colt MacDonald, “Romney Gets the Dope”, Western, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Howard E. Morgan, “The Prisoner at Silver City”, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Herman Petersen, “The Knife”, last of 20 stories in BM

~ Harry Emmons Rolfe, “Tin Cans”, ‘short-short’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ George Surrey, “The King of Pearls”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Black Air”, 4th of 68 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

February 1927 issue ~ cover art by Frank H. Harbaugh

February 1927 issue

cover art by Francis H. Harbaugh

better image than previously posted

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “The Cat-Woman”, 13th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, reprinted in Dead Men’s Letters (1990, Carroll & Graf anthology of Jenkins stories), reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), 22nd of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Big Knock-Over”, Continental Op [20^th of 25], see 5/1927 for sequel, “$106,000 Blood Money”, reprinted with its sequel as Blood Money (Tower, 1943), reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), 29th of 51 stories in BM

~ (Charles John) Cutcliffe Hyne, “Fortunes Adrift”, 4th of 8 yarns with Captain Kettle

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “The Stolen Rancho”, ‘border tale’, 5th of 39 stories in BM

~ Lt. Col. J.H. [John Henry] Patterson, D.S.O., “The Man-Eaters of Tsavo”, 5th of 7 serialized parts of this ex-British Army officer’s account of building a railway in Kenya, 1898-1899; book published in 1927

~ J. Paul Suter, “The Tail of the Serpent”, 12th of 15 stories with The Reverend McGregor Daunt, ‘clergyman by profession and detective by choice’, ‘robbery & murder in archeological museum’, 16th of 19 appearances in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “White Murder”, 2nd of 7 Chuck Reddington story; airplanes & machineguns’, 10th of 68 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

August 1, 1923 issue

August 1, 1923 issue

cover art by Jules Erbit?

better image than previously posted

~ John Baer, “A Wholesaler in Crime”, ‘compete mystery novelette’, his last of 24 stories in BM

~ Edwin Baird, “This Way Out”, short-short, 1^st of 3 stories in BM

~ Peter Chance, “The Scarlet Scalpel”, only appearance in BM

~ Ray(mond King) Cummings, “T. McGuirk – Detective”, ‘5th of 14 McGuirk stories, billed as “the quaintest character in the Underworld” & honest, more of less’, 5^th of 15 stories in BM

~ Arthur Fetter, “The Treachery of Spike McGuire”, ‘A Queer Glimpse of the Underworld’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Henry W. Fisher, “Odd Bits”, ‘short-lived feature; not indexed past this point’

~ Geoffrey Foster, “Bedlam”, ‘short-short’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Kenneth Fuessle, “Superstition”, ‘Adventure in Weird Surroundings’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ K. Godwin, “Conscience”, ‘Billed as BM’s “first one-act play”’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Robert Lee Heiser, “The World’s Greatest Mystery”, ‘true account of the murder of Clare Stone, a child, in Baltimore; would occupy readers for some time; not indexed beyond this point’

~ William Rollins, Jr., “A Song of India”, ‘billed as an ‘Oriental adventure in a small town’, 3rd of 23 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Camp Dix Mystery”, 12th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 13^th of 49 total articles in BM

~ Merlin Moore Taylor, “One of Five”, part 1 of 2, 2nd of 8 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

January 1927 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

January 1927 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

~ Tom Curry, “The Stoolie”, 6^th of 23 stories with Macnamara (Mac), NYPD 1^st grade dick, 10^th of 39 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “Twenty Grand”, ‘Benny Slawson, “product of Delancey Street”’, 25th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Whispering Sand”, 3^rd of 7 with Black Barr, 21st of 99 stories in BM

~ Westmoreland Gray, “Slayer’s Finesse”, ‘Wallace McNeel, private ‘shoe, & police captain’, 1st of 3 stories in BM

~ (Charles John) Cutcliffe Hyne, “The Pilgrim Ship”, 3rd of 8 yarns with Captain Kettle

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “The Reformation of Ace Brand”, “border story’, 4th of 39 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Dumb Luck”, ‘Whitey Fleer, professional crook in NYC‘, reprinted in Street Wolf (Altus Press, 2014), 3 of 67 stories

~ Lt. Col. J.H. [John Henry] Patterson, D.S.O., “The Man-Eaters of Tsavo”, 4th of 7 serialized parts of this ex-British Army officer’s account of building a railway in Kenya, 1898-1899; book published in 1927

~ L.R. Sherman, “The Last Cartridge”, ‘The Frozen North’, 1^st of 3 stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Uneasy Money”, ‘aviation on the border; Buck, 1^st person narrator’, 9^th of 68 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

September 1926 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

September 1926 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

~ Ray(mond King) Cummings, “T. McGuirk Catches a Crook”, ‘last of 14 McGuirk stories, billed as “the quaintest character in the Underworld” & honest, more of less’, last of 15 stories in BM

~ Ralph Cummins, “Ace King”, Western, last of 3 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Laugh That Off”, 10th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, he ‘and Helen Chadwick are engaged’, reprinted in Dead Men’s Letters (1990) Carroll & Graf anthology of Jenkins stories, 17^th of 99 stories in BM

~ Colin Martins, “Stolen Plumes”, ‘set in Florida‘, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ J. Paul Suter, “The Grandover Diamond”, 11th of 15 stories with The Reverend McGregor Daunt, ‘clergyman by profession and detective by choice’, 15th of 19 appearances in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Flying Gold”, ‘Hen’ Darrow, joy-hopping pilot’, 6th of 68 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

[a horrible image but the first I’ve ever found]

March 1925 issue

March 1925 issue

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Hard As Nails”, 2nd of 73 Ed Jenkins, 5^th of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Whosis Kid”, the Op [14^th of 25], reprinted in The Return of the Continental Op (Dell mapback, 1947), reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), in The Girl with the Silver Eyes: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Continental Op, vol.2 (Steeger, 2023), 21st of 51 stories in BM

~ J.E. McDowell, “The True Story of the Benders”, ‘short-lived Department of Investigations; not indexed beyond this point’ [Bloody Benders of Kansas?]

~ Donald MacGregor, “The Literary Failings of Robber Bill”, 3rd of 10 stories

~ Ira D. Mullinax, “Bas Burke Keeps a Date”, Western mystery, author’s only appearance in BM

~ William Rollins, Jr., “Treasures That Dead Men Guard”, part 2 of 3, last of 3 stories with Jack Darrow, 11th of 23 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Clue of the Bad Check”, 38th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 39^th of 49 total articles in BM

~ J. Paul Suter, “The Cat Mocker”, 4th of 15 stories with The Reverend McGregor Daunt, ‘clergyman by profession and detective by choice’, 7th of 19 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

June 1940 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

June 1940 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ Donald S. Aitken, “The Same Old Oil”, ‘Jack Gale, private dick’, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Paul Allenby, “Overseer of the Poor”, ‘short-short’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Tong Trouble”, 67th of 73 with Ed Jenkins, with Soo Hoo Duck and Ngat T’oy, 94^th of 100 appearances in BM

~ John Lawrence, “Body of Evidence”, ‘Al Hackett, Broadway squad (plainclothes), 1^st-person narrator’, reprinted in Body of Evidence: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Broadway Squad (Steeger, 2025), 6^th of 14 stories in BM

~ H.H. Stinson, “Clamp Down”, 8th of 14 with ‘Ken O’Hara, fighting reporter on Los Angeles Tribune’, 14th of 27 stories in BM

~ Roger Torrey, “Too Many Angles”, ‘Donovan, the “hard-luck shamus”’, 45th of 50 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

May 1951 issue

May 1951 issue

better image than previously posted

~ Millard H. Cannon, “For Customers Only”, short-short, only appearance in BM

~ Donald Barr Chidsey, “Dead Horses Don’t Count”, last of 6 appearances in BM

~ Richard Deming, “Pay Up or Die”, Manville “Manny” Moon, 1^st person narrator, last of 6 stories, author’s last appearance in BM

~ Charles Larson, “Eye for an Eye”, reprint, not from BM

~ Hank Napheys, “Homicide Furlough”, ‘reprint, not from BM’

~ Robert H. Rohde, “Millions of Cops”, ‘reprint, not from BM’

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Murder in the Ring”, ‘boxing, gamblers, racketeers, with Primo-Carnera-like boxer; reprinted from Dec ’30 issue

June 1924 issue ~ cover art by H.C. Murphy

June 1924 issue

cover art by H.C. Murphy

~ Russell Arden Bankson, “Underground”, ‘The detective-sheriff of the Kaniksu country’, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Madeline Bartlett, “The Mutilated Masterpiece”, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Frank L. Benscoter, “Gilligan and Co”, ‘Introducing a new character’, 1^st of 5 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “The Red Peril”, 3^rd of 53 with Race Williams, reprinted in Them That Lives By Their Guns: The Collected Hard-Boiled Stories of Race Williams, Vol. 1 (Altus Press, 2015) 11th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “A Fair Trial”, ‘pub. anonymously; authorship established in Hughes, Gardner, (1978), p. 312’, 1^st of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Girl with the Silver Eyes”, the Op [10^th of 25], referred to in BM as ‘Hammett’s San Francisco Detective’, sequel to “The House in Turk Street” (4/15/1924), issue also includes letter about the story, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), in The Girl with the Silver Eyes: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Continental Op, vol.2 (Steeger, 2023),17th of 51 stories in BM

~ Frank Howard, Jr., “The Vernacular at the Night Court”, ‘No data’ [no explanation as to what that means], author’s only appearance in BM

~ Victor Shea, “Mr. Pentridge Comes Down to Breakfast”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Lively Corpse”, 30th of 49 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 31st of 49 total articles in BM

~ Joe Taylor, “Monty’s Last Job”, last of 12 tales in ‘My Underworld’ series, last of 13 appearances in BM

[terrible cover but first I’ve seen since starting this project in 2013]

[cover updated 2/16/26]

March 1921 issue ~ cover art by William Grotz

March 1921 issue

cover art by William Grotz

better image than previously posted

~ John Baer, “The Great Fur Robberies”, 3^rd of 24 stories in BM

~ Hamilton Craigie, “A Question of Temperature”, 6^th of 7 solo stories in BM

~ Harold De Polo, “The Bass Lake Murder”, 2^nd of 6 stories in BM

~ Harry C. Hervey, Jr., “Mr. Sin”, ‘A Complete Novelette’, 7th of 8 appearances in BM

~ J.C. Kofoed, “The Odd Case of Mr. Hanka”, ‘Hanka, forger’, 8^th of 9 stories in BM

~ William R. Randall, “If the Coat Fits”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Vincent Starrett, “The Open Window, 2^nd of 4 stories in BM

~ Ward Sterling, “The Golden Slipper Mystery”, 1^st of 2 stories in this issue (see Ward), 6th of 16 stories under this name in BM

~ Harold Ward, “The Man in the Trunk”, 2^nd story in this issue, 12th of 29 stories under this name in BM [17^th and 18^th of 46 stories in BM under three different names – Ward Sterling and H.W. Starr]

~ Arthur Seymour Witt, “The Recoil”, ‘”Duffy, The Soup”, old-time yegg’, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Cynthia Woolford, “The Pink Nails of Marylin Hart”, author’s sole appearance in BM