ed jenkins – SMB Noir

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

March 1928 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

March 1928 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

better image than previously posted

~ Tom Curry, “The Gang”, DeVrite, NYPD undercover ‘secret agent’, 2nd of 7, 21st of 39 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “The Egyptian Lure”, 22^nd of 53 with RW,‘The Name Race Williams Stand for Service’, 31st of 71 appearances in BM

~ Bob Du Soe, “All Over a Pup”, ‘waterfront bum takes on hijackers because of a dog’, 2nd of 3 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Whispering Feet”, 20th of 73 with Ed Jenkins, with Soo Hoo Duck & Ngat T’oy, ‘see endnote, p.73, for data on series’, 30th of 99 stories in BM

~ Henry Leverage, “The Clue Upstairs”, ‘Big Scar, yegg, just out of stir‘, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Anderson McCully, “The Masked Trail”, ‘story of the Far North’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Bentley B. MacCay, “Bullfrogs”, ‘Louisiana tale’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Everett H. Tipton, “Killers Should Run”, ‘Western’, 3^rd of 7 stories in BM

~ Wilber Wheeler [see Riblew Reelhew, Mar & May ’27], “The Trail of Sudden Death”, ‘Western’, 2nd of 2 under this name in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

February 1933 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

February 1933 issue

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ S. Omar Barker, “Two-Way Trick”, ‘Sheriff John Lonsdale, modern Western’, 3^rd of 4 stories in BM

~ William E. Barrett, “Behind the Star”, ‘Black Bart Doyle, chief of detectives & Michael Costigan, chief of police’, only original story in BM (there is one reprint of a story from another source, Mar. ‘51)

~ Charles G. Booth, “Sister Act”, Det. Blair & Joe Ricardo; reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946), 6^th of 7 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “The Hour of the Rat”, 47th of 73 Ed Jenkins in Chinatown with Soo Hoo Duck, Ngat T’oy; ‘the “hour” is 11pm (Chinese time cycle)’, 68th of 99 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Doors in the Dark”, 19th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), reprinted in Shakedown: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.2 (Altus, 2013), 44 of 67 stories in BM

~ Norvell Page, “Those Catrini”, ‘1^st of 3 Jules Tremaine stories; Little Italy; (ed. note) a projected & potentially important series that never developed’ [Hagemann doesn’t explain his editor’s note], only these 3 stories in BM. Reprinted in Black Harvest: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jules Tremaine (Steeger Books, 2021).

~ William Rollins, Jr., “K.O. Comes Clean”, 1^st of 4 stories with ‘Kenneth Osborne from ‘No’th Cah’lina’; 1^st person narrator’, 18th of 23 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Ball and Chain”, ‘5th (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’, 5th of 26 stories in BM. Reprinted in South Wind: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy (Steeger Books, 2021).

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

June 1932 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

June 1932 issue

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ Thomson Burtis, “They Don’t Shake Hands in Arkansas”, ‘Slats Kirke in Detroit’, 4^th of 6 appearances in BM

~ Paul Cain, “Velvet”, ‘Kells & Granquist; part 3 of Fast One’, reprinted in The Complete Slayers (2011 Centipede Press), Black Mask: The Complete Stories (2013 Mysterious Press), Lead Party: The Complete Fiction Works of Paul Cain (Steeger, 2024), 4^th of 17 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “The Amateur Murderer”, 45^th of 53 with Race Williams, part 3 of 4, published as a novel in 1933, reprinted in If Death is Respectable: The Collected Hard-boiled Stories of Race Williams, v.4 (Altus, 2018), 57th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Norbert Davis, “Reform Racket”, ‘Dan Stiles; one-time gunman’, 1^st of 13 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Cooking Crooks”, 44th of 73 with Ed Jenkins, ‘with Norma Gay’, 61st of 99 stories in BM

~ Horace McCoy, “The Golden Rule”, 11th of 14 Frost stories ‘Capt. Jerry Frost, Texas (Air) Ranger’, reprinted in Headfirst into Hell: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Front, Vol. 2 (Steeger, 2025), 13^h of 17 stories in BM

~ Henry Wallace Phillips, “A Touch of Nature”, Western mystery, last of 8 with Red Saunders who ‘fights a “wild man in kilts”’, last of 12 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

June 1926 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

June 1926 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

better image than previously posted

~Tom Curry, “The House of Jewels”, 8^th of 39 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Forget ‘Em All”, 9th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, ‘The Phantom Crook’, 16^th of 99 stories in BM

~ Cecil F. Hilleary, “The Lost Bullet”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Frederick Jackson, “Risky Whiskey”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Black Burton Sits In”, 2nd of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 2nd of 39 stories in BM

~ Colin Martins, “Ho-o-o-o for Tango!”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Ralph E. Renaud, “Telling the Cock-eyed World”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Henry S. Whitehead, “Gahd Laff”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Jenny Meets the Boys”, ‘border air-story’, 3rd of 68 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

March 1937 issue ~ cover art by Harry Stoner

March 1937 issue

cover art by Harry Stoner

better image than previously posted

~ W.T. Ballard, “This is Murder”, 18th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 24th of 43 stories in BM

~ Hugh B. Cave, “Dead Dog”, ‘Pooch Hanley a cop who likes dogs’, 2^nd of 9 stories in BM

~ James Duncan, “Double Trouble”, 1st of 5 stories with ‘The Parson, who lives on a ‘mythical’ (fictional?) isle, Cariba’, set in Havana, reprinted in Murder for Pennies: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Parson (Steeger, 2024), 6^th of 10 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “This Way Out”, 64^th Ed Jenkins ‘as Bob Sabin; with Ngat T’oy’, same title as 3/1927 but different story, 89th of 99 stories in BM

~ Eric Howard, “The Mugg from Frisco”, ‘Kelly, 1^st person narrator & some shady politics’, 1^st of 6 stories in BM

~ H. Randolph Peacock, “Dead Alibi”, 1^st of 3 with Otto, department store dick, making ‘$40 a week at Klineman’s‘, ‘see p. 127 for word on HRP‘, 1^st of 4 stories in BM

~ Cole Richards, “No Reprieve”, ‘short-short’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Roger Torrey, “Always a Lady”, ‘Lieutenant Delehanty, a cop’, 26th of 50 appearances in BM

May 1928 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

May 1928 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

~ Tom Curry, “The System”, DeVrite, NYPD undercover ‘secret agent’, 4th of 7, subtitled ‘The Receiver’, 23rd of 39 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “The Law of Silence”, ‘pt. 2 Crime story (subtitled “The Show-Down”) with Charlie, 1^st -person narrator’

~ Carroll John Daly, “Wrong Street”, 2^nd story in the issue, last Satan Hall story in BM, 33^rd and 34^th appearances in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Out of the Shadows”, 22nd of 73 with Ed Jenkins, in Chinatown with Soo Hoo Duck, Ngat T’oy and Helen Chadwick, 32nd of 99 stories in BM

~ W.H.B. Kent, “The Killer Finds a Horseshoe”, 3rd of 6 Westerns with Killer Blake, deputy sheriff & agent of the Stock Association

~ Henry Leverage, “The Gopher”, “Tony Fishera, alias ‘The Crawler, aka ‘The Gopher’ – gangster”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Marion Scott, “Fools Rush In”, ‘Steve Burke, tenderfoot lumberjack, 1^st-person narrator’, 2nd of 3 by herself, 17 stories with Earl Scott in BM as a couple

~ Everett H. Tipton, “Hunted”, ‘Western’, 5^th of 7 stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Black Murder”, ‘Verner, Federal man, & greyhound racing; Black Murder = dog’, 20th of 68 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

~ Clee Woods, “Hoofprints of Law”, ‘Western; subtitled, “A Neck in a Noose”’, author’s sole appearance in BM

December 1929 issue x 2

December 1929 issue #1

December 1929 issue #2

both better images than previously posted

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Triple Treachery”, 30th of 73 stories with Ed Jenkins, with his wife Helen Chadwick, in LA, 2nd half of story with Ramsey, from previous issue, 47th of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Maltese Falcon”, part 4 of 5 serialized parts before hardcover publication (1931), reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 38^th of 45 stories in BM

~ Horace McCoy, “Renegades of the Rio”, 3^rd of 14 stories with ‘Capt. Jerry Frost, Texas (Air) Ranger’, 4th of 17 stories in BM

~ Lester Reynard, “Saving the Double-Cross”, 4th of 5 stories in BM

~ Earl and Marion Scott, “Craleigh Comes to Life”, 2nd of 6 stories with ‘Phil Craleigh, once brilliant lawyer, now a drunk, given to bouts of reform’, 10th of 17 stories in BM as a couple

~ L.R. Sherman, “Reading Sign on the Sagebrush Kid”, Western, last of 3 stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Outside”, ‘Mal Ourney; part 1 (of 5), ‘The Crime Breeders’, presented as separate stories rather than conventional serial’, pub. in hardcover in 1930 by Knopf as Green Ice, 35th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]