Welcome to a hard-boiled and not without noir blog with news and reviews, occasional outbursts of maniacal Autograph Hound activity, plus archival records from the forty-five year run of The Dashiell Hammett Tour. 
The Dashiell Hammett Tour
1977-2022
Arkham House Ephemera
The Classic Years 1937–1973
Death Lit
Essays and Reviews Selected from Fifty Years of Writing 1974–2024
Willeford
The Book
Category Archives: Lit
Rediscovered: Belly Band Tuesday
We’ve done belly bands before — notably, one on Michael Connelly’s first crime novel. But now I sense that our maniacal book collecting pal Brian Leno might have picked up a jones for those bands. Just in case, I better … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Gene and Joe
Autograph Hound Saturday. Courtesy Brian Leno, today let’s spotlight a favorite writer here on These Mean Streets. “Some good news,” Brian reports, “I picked up a signed Eugene Cunningham’s Texas Sheriff for 20 bucks. No dj but it supposedly has … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Shiel and Floyd and an Absurd Adventure of Dennis McMillan
Just noticed a quick email from 2022 where Brian Leno told me: Came across a letter where Lawrence of Arabia — in his T. E. Shaw alias — tells a bookseller he will take a copy of Shiel’s The Purple … Continue reading
Posted in DMac, Lit, News
Tagged Brian Leno, Death Lit Essays and Reviews 1974-2024, Eddie Little, Floyd Salas, John D. Squires, Lawrence of Arabia, M. P. Shiel, Steve Eng
Rediscovered: And an Opinionated John Hancock
Autograph Hound Saturday, sure, but it’s always Autograph Hound Saturday in Autograph Hound Brian Leno’s redoubt. Here’s another one, which just fell into Brian’s clutches today — an hour ago. Only the latest, in a legion. Let’s allow Brian to … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Autographs, Brian Leno, Cthulhu Mythos, Elliot O'Donnell, Farnsworth Wright, Lovecraft, Weird Tales
Rediscovered: Vathek You Very Much
Autograph Hound Saturday, and our favorite maniacal collector Brian Leno has landed a John Hancock he’s been after for years: William Beckford. Here’s Brian with some remarks: Just won the bidding on a William Beckford signed letter, an autograph I … Continue reading
Rediscovered: More Caveman Lit
Autograph Hound Saturday yet again, and as ever, Brian Leno is on the prod. Back in 2020 Brian landed an inscribed copy of The Day of the Brown Horde and thought he’d read it immediately when it rolled in. Didn’t … Continue reading
Hammett: The Jutting Jaw of Jeopardy!
Once more the clew crew at Jeopardy! dips into the deep trough of the life and career of Dashiell Hammett to summon up hard-boiled ghosts of the past. Seas42 Ep124. February 26, 2026. First round. $400 clew. Category: First Lines … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Postcards from Sauk/Arkham
Brian Leno has decided to throw his collection of postcards promoting August Derleth and his home in Sauk City, Wisconsin onto the market. Search eBay for “August Derleth Signed Postcards” — though I guess technically only one card is signed. … Continue reading
Posted in Lit, News
Tagged Arkham House Ephemera The Classic Years 1937-1973, August Derleth, Autographs, Brian Leno
Rediscovered: Haefele Clarifies
In the recent post about The Due to the Death Series which John D. Haefele and I wrestled with, when we were wrapping up Arkham House Ephemera: The Classic Years, I quoted Haefele as saying that The Due to’s were … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Due to the Death
Paul Dobish checks in with his latest acquisitions in the quest to land Arkham House ephemera, in this case excavating in the fecund primordial mire that is The Due to the Death Series. In Arkham House Ephemera: The Classic Years … Continue reading
Posted in Lit
Tagged Arkham House Ephemera The Classic Years 1937-1973, August Derleth, Book Collecting, Paul Dobish
