February 1928 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

February 1928 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

~ Tom Curry, “Under Cover”, ‘DeVrite, NYPD undercover ‘secret agent’, 1st of 7, subtitled ‘The Receiver’, 20th of 39 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Yellow Shadows, 19th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, in Chinatown with Helen Chadwick and Ngat T’oy; “headnote to story provides valuable data (background)”, 29th of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The 19th Murder”, last of 4 Continental Op stories that will go together to make up Red Harvest (Knopf hc, 1929), reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), 35th of 51 stories in BM

~ Charles T. Hickey, “Left Helps the Cops”, ‘Lefty McRae, crook’, author’s only story in BM

~ Victor Shaw, “The Tommy-Knocker”, Dan Craig & hard rock mining, 2nd with Craig, 3rd of 5 stories in BM

~ David Thibault, “The Contract”, ‘Louisiana lumber swamps in Mississippi Delta, Irish dialect’, 1st of 2 stories in BM

~ Everett H. Tipton, “Leather Mask and Cowhide Vest”, ‘Western’, 2nd of 7 stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Soft Goods”, ‘Little Bennie, a hood, & Charlie Harmer, detective, in Center City’, 18th of 68 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

June 1925 issue ~ cover art by A.T. Stewart

June 1925 issue

cover art by A.T. Stewart

~ Charles G. Booth, “One Shot”, ‘An Impossible Crime’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 4th of 7 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “Say It with Lead”, 8th 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), 16th of 71 appearances in BM

~ J.S. (Joseph Smith) Fletcher, “The Skene-Dhu of Inverikie”, ‘A Family Mystery’, last of 6 appearances in BM

~ S.S. Gannett, “Invisible Fingers”, author’s sole story in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “No So Darned Bad”, 3rd of 73 Ed Jenkins, ‘the Phantom Crook again’, 7th of 99 stories in BM

~ Richard Frank Hagar, “In Sea Bats’ Craws”, ‘Mystery of the Sea’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Finger-Prints”, letter to ed, relating to article by Beffel in previous issue [not counted as a ‘story’]

~ Arthur Kearns, “That Grahame Gem Robbery”, ‘touted as ‘A Compressed Novelette’‘, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “Swift Work”, 41st of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 42nd of 49 total articles in BM

~ L. King Tichenor, “The Law Steps In”, ‘a confidence yarn’, 2nd of 5 stories in BM

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

June 1930 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer

~ Carroll John Daly, “Tainted Power”, 34th of 53, ‘Williams &‘The Flame’ aka Florence Drummond, ‘The Girl with the Criminal Mind’, Pt. 1 of loosely organized 3-pt. serial; pub. As novel (1931) under same title’, 46th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), “Signals of Storm”, Jo Gar, PI with office in Manila , 4th of 24 stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Hell’s Kettle”, 33th Ed Jenkins & his wife Helen Chadwick, 2nd of a 3-part story with The Crime Crusher, 50th of 99 stories in BM, reprinted in The Black Mask Boys (1985, Morrow)

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Shattered Key”, Ned Beaumont, last of 4 stories that will go together to make up The Glass Key (published 1931), issue includes editor’s note on DH, 44th of 45 stories in BM

~ Hapsburg Liebe, “Red Dice”, ‘Blaze Hanson in Florida cattle country; see p. 120 for HL’s comment on story’ 3rd of 4 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

1944 Dell mapback

1944 Dell mapback reissue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Gerald Gregg

selection of two connected Continental Op stories, “The Big Knockover” and “$106,000 Blood Money”:

“The Big Knock-over”, Black Mask Magazine, February 1927

“$106,000 Blood Money”, Black Mask Magazine, March 1927

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

April 1930 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer

~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), “Red Hemp”, Jo Gar, 3rd of 24 stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)

~ J. J. Des Ormeaux, “Murderer’s Night”, ‘modern Western; 1st-person narrator,’ 1st of 5 stories in BM, (pseudonym of Forrest Rosaire)

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Cyclone Shot”, Ned Beaumont, 2nd of 4 stories that will go together to make up The Glass Key (published 1931), 42nd of 45 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Your Play, Gentlemen”, 13th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, ‘Burton in NYC, features Kyoto Kara, a Japanese’, 17th of 39 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Wise Guy”, 10th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy ’& the usual company’, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kenney, v.2 (Altus, 2013), 22 of 67 stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Killers’ Show”, Mal Ourney, last of 5 stories, ‘The Crime Breeders’, presented as separate stories rather than conventional serial’, published in hardcover in 1930 by Knopf as Green Ice, 39th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

September 1925 issue ~ cover art by H.C. Murphy

September 1925 issue

better image (by a little) than previously posted

cover art by H.C. Murphy

~ Ray(mond) King, “T. McGuirk Lends a Helping Hand”, ‘13th of 14 McGuirk stories, billed as “the quaintest character in the Underworld” & honest, more of less’, 13th of 15 stories in BM

~ Joseph Gollomb, “The Man Who Stole a Palace”, ‘study of Parisian police methods’, 2nd of 6 articles

~ Glenn G. Gravatt, “The Million Dollar Robbery”, ‘The Manhunters; for this series, see chiefly under Charles Somerville,’ author’s only appearance in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Corkscrew”, ‘The Op [12th of 22] in Arizona, billed as ‘A Western Detective Novelette’, reprinted in As Tough as They Come (Perma, 1951), 17th of 45 stories in BM

~ William La Varre, “The Golden Head”, ‘A Daytime Story’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Ralph E. Mooney, “Outside the World”, ‘attempted murder of an editor’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ L. King Tichenor, “A Just Price”, ‘The Senator’ [no other explanation], 4th of 5 stories in BM

~ Henry S. Whitehead, “The Gladstone Bag”, 1st of 2 stories in BM

~ Valleau Wilkie, “The White Elephant”, ‘Billed as “A Last Minute Mystery”’, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Jack Woodford, “Blank Fingers”, ‘article; fingerprints; cf. under John Nicholas Beffel’, May 1925 issue

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

Sam Spade’s World

Dashiell Hammett lived in this San Francisco building while writing The Maltese Falcon

Hammett – and Spade – lived in the top, right apartment.

Scene of the Crime

The Flood Building, where Hammett worked as a Pinkerton Agent.

John’s Grill, where Spade dined, still in business after all these decades.

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop