cellini smith – SMB Noir

June 1941 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

June 1941 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ D.L. Champion, “Split Fee”, 4^th of 26 with Sackler, 5^th of 30 stories in BM

~ Dale Clark, “Hot Towels”, 5th of 28 with house dick Mike O’Hanna story, at San Alpa Resort hotel, 7^th of 32 stories in BM

~ C.P. Donnel, Jr., “Death Do Us Part”, 4th of 16 with Colonel Walter (Doc) Rennie, USA Medical Corps psychiatrist, 4th of 20 stories in BM

~ Robert Reeves, “The Cat with a Headache”, 5th of 10 with PI Cellini Smith, reprinted in Dead and Done For: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Cellini Smith (Steeger, 2020), 6th of 12 appearances in BM

~ Stewart Sterling, “Over My Dead Body”, 4th of 9 stories with ‘Special Squad (Bomb & Forgery); see p.8 for note by SS on story’, 7^th of 12 stories under this name in BM [Sterling and Stirling were pen names of Nathaniel Prentice Winchell, 20 total stories in BM]

~ Roger Torrey, “Snakes in the Grass”, ‘3rd of Bryant (4 stories), a regular U.S. Army man, who works in a CCC camp; 1^st-person narrator’, ‘- in a Southern CCC camp’, 49th of 50 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

November 1941 Canadian issue

reprint of June 1941 US issue

January 1942 issue ~ cover art by Milton Luros

January 1942 issue

cover art by Milton Luros

better image than previously posted

~ Walter C. Brown, “The Parrot That Wouldn’t Talk”, 1^st of 4 Sgt. Dennis O’Hara, aka Sah-Jin – NYC Chinatown squad

~ D.L. Champion, “What’s Money?”, 6^th of 26 with Sackler, 7^th of 30 stories in BM

~ C.P. Donnell, Jr., “5 Shrieks at 10”, 7th of 16 with Colonel Walter (Doc) Rennie, USA Medical Corps psychiatrist, 7th of 20 stories in BM

~ J. Lane Linkletter, “The Shadowy Line”, last of 3 stories in BM

~ Robert Reeves, “Bail Bait”, 6^th of 10 with PI Cellini Smith, 8^th of 12 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

January 1946 issue

January 1946

better image than previously posted

September 1940 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

September 1940 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ Cleve Adams, “That Certain Feeling”, ‘Engelhardt & Dewey, Car 97, LA setting’, 2^nd of 6 stories in BM

~ W.T. Ballard, “Pictures for Murder”, 22nd of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 34th of 43 stories in BM

~ William E. Brandon, “Danny, Once the Rat”, ‘police-stoolie & Nazi spies’, 3^rd of 7 stories in BM

~ Dale Clark, “Killer in the Wind”, 2^nd of 28 with house dick Mike O’Hanna story, at San Alpa Resort hotel, 4^th of 32 stories in BM

~ John Lawrence, “Death in the Pluperfect”, 1^st of 2 stories with ‘Ace McGuire, Broadway squad, 1^st-person narrator’, 7^th of 14 stories in BM

~ Robert Reeves, “Dog Eat Dog”, Cellini Smith and RR’s debut, 1^st of 3 parts that will be published as the novel No Love Lost in 1941, reprinted in Dead and Done For: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Cellini Smith (Steeger, 2020), 1^st of 12 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

September 1945 issue ~ cover art by Gloria Stoll

September 1945

cover art by Gloria Stoll

better image than previously posted

~ Dale Clark, “Heir in the Air”, 22nd of 28 with house dick Mike O’Hanna story, at San Alpa Resort hotel, 25^th of 32 stories in BM

~ Brett Halliday (pseud. of David Dresser), “Dead Man’s Diary”, 2nd of 2 Mike Shayne stories in BM

~ Julius Long, “Over My Dead Body”, 7th of 17 stories with ’Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1^st -person narrator’, 12th of 23 stories in BM

~ Robert Reeves, “Alcoholics Calamitous”, last of 10 Cellini Smith appearances, last of 12 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

cover art by Rafael de Soto

November 1944 issue

better image than previously posted

~ Merle Constiner, “Killer Stay ‘Way from My Door”, ‘Luther McGavock, private detective; he works Atherton Browne who heads a Memphis-based agency, 7th of 11 of the McG stories; usually rural setting’, 7^th of 12 stories in BM

~ Brett Halliday (pseud. of David Dresser), “A Taste for Cognac”, 1^st of 2 Mike Shayne stories in BM

~ Julius Long, “Blind Bogey”, 2nd of 17 stories with ’Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1^st -person narrator’, 7th of 23 stories in BM

~ Robert Reeves, “Murder A.W.O.L.”, 8th Cellini Smith, ‘on his induction day, WWII’, 10th of 12 appearances in BM

1939 Knopf hardcover – cover art by Hawkins

First Edition. Hawkins dustjacket art. Rare hard-boiled mystery by this author who died young in 1945.

first novel with private eye Cellini Smith

there had been seven Smith short stories published in Black Mask Magazine by the time of the author’s death.

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

Oil on canvas, 25 x 18 inches (63.5 x 45.7 cm)
Signed lower right

November 1942 issue

cover art by Rafael De Soto

~ Dale Clark, “Now I Slay Me – ”, 12th of 28 with house dick Mike O’Hanna story, at San Alpa Resort hotel, 14^th of 32 stories in BM

~ Norbert Davis, “Beat Me Daddy”, 2nd of 3 with Hollywood piano man John Collins, 12^th of 13 stories in BM

~ Alan Farley [pseudonym of Mrs. W. Lee Herrington], “How Big Is the Bucket?”, ‘her 1st pub. Story; see p. 8 for brief biographical note’, and 1^st of 2 in BM

~ Robert Reeves, “A Taste for Murder”, 7th of 10 with PI Cellini Smith, 9th of 12 appearances in BM

~ Curt Siodmak, “Donovan’s Brain”, last of 3 parts, serialization of the novel published in 1943, only 3 appearances in BM by the author and director