Hammett news page A short biography The Continental Op Blood Money Red Harvest The Dain Curse The Maltese Falcon: The novel The movie The 75th anniversary The Glass Key The Thin Man Woman in the Dark The short story collections The novels in one volume Books about Hammett Chronology of Hammett's fiction Hammett's army days "Dashiell Hammett Place" Hammett's Post Street apartment: A photo tour (2005) Declared a landmark (2005) The Flood Building Links to other Hammett sites Contact Mike mikehumbert.com homepage This site is dedicated to all the people like Don Herron, Bill Arney, Richard Layman, William F. Nolan, Josephine Hammett Marshall, Julie M. Rivett, Steven Marcus, Joe Gores and others who have kept 1920s San Francisco in the here and now. Special thanks to Vince Emery for his many helpful contributions to this website. Entire website copyright 2003, 2004 & 2005 by Mike Humbert.

. . .

THE SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS

1944: THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE, EDITED BY ELLERY QUEEN

The first of what would eventually become nine collections edited and introduced by Frederick Dannay ("Ellery Queen"). Also released as They Can Only Hang You Once, and in a pared-down version: A Man Called Spade. "Too Many Have Lived,"  "They Can Only Hang You Once,"  "A Man Called Spade,"  "The Assistant Murderer,"   "Night Shade,"  "The Judge Laughed Last,"  and  "His Brother's Keeper."  ("Night Shade,"  and  "The Judge Laughed Last."  do not appear in A Man Called Spade.) 1) Spivak, 1943, digest-sized softcover 2) World, 1944, hardback with dust jacket 3) Dell, 1945, paperback 4) Spivak, 1948, digest-sized softcover 5) Dell, 1950, paperback

1945: THE CONTINENTAL OP, EDITED BY ELLERY QUEEN

Not to be confused with 1974's The Continental Op, edited by Steven Marcus (see below). "Fly Paper,"  " Death on Pine Street,"  " Zigzags of Treachery,"  and  "The Farewell Murder ." 1) Spivak, 1945, digest-sized softcover 2) Dell, 1946, paperback 3) Spivak, 1949, digest-sized softcover

1945: RETURN OF THE CONTINENTAL OP, EDITED BY ELLERY QUEEN

"The Whosis Kid,"  "The Gutting of Couffignal,"  "Death & Company,"  "One Hour,"  and  "The Tenth Clew."  1) Spivak, 1945, digest-sized softcover 2) Dell, 1947, paperback

1946: HAMMETT HOMICIDES, EDITED BY ELLERY QUEEN

"The House in Turk Street,"  "The Girls with the Silver Eyes."  "Night Shots,"  "The Main Death,"  "Two Sharp Knives,"  and  "Ruffian's Wife." 1) Spivak, 1946, digest-sized softcover 2) Dell, 1948, paperback

1946: HAMMETT HOMICIDES, EDITED BY ELLERY QUEEN

"Dead Yellow Women,"  "The Golden Horseshoe,"  "House Dick,"  "Who Killed Bob Teal?,"  "The Green Elephant,"  and  "The Hairy One." 1) Spivak, 1947, digest-sized softcover 2) Dell, 1949, paperback 3) French edition (details unknown)

1948: NIGHTMARE TOWN, EDITED BY ELLERY QUEEN

Not to be confused with 1999's Nightmare Town, edited by McCauley, Greenberg & Gorman (see below). "Nightmare Town,"  "The Scorched Face,"  "Albert Pastor at Home,"  and  "Corkscrew."   1) Spivak, 1948, digest-sized sofcover 2) Dell, 1950, paperback

1950: THE CREEPING SIAMESE, EDITED BY ELLERY QUEEN

"Creeping Siamese,"  "The Man Who Killed Dan Odams,"  "The Nails in Mr. Cayterer,"  "The Joke on Eloise Morey,"  "Tom, Dick or Harry,"  and  "This King Business." 1) Spivak, 1950, digest-sized softcover 2) Dell, 1950, paperback

1951: WOMAN IN THE DARK, EDITED BY ELLERY QUEEN

Not to be confused with 1988's Woman in the Dark, introduced by Robert B. Parker, which contained the title story only. "Slippery Fingers,"  "The Black Hat That Wasn't There,"  "Woman in the Dark,"  "Afraid of a Gun,"  "Holiday,"  and  "The Man Who Stood in the Way."  Due to Hammett's being blacklisted as a communist sympathizer, it would be eleven years before the next volume is published. 1) Spivak, 1951, digest-sized softcover This collection was never released in any other editions

1962: A MAN NAMED THIN, EDITED BY ELLERY QUEEN

After long hiatus, the ninth and final volume edited by Ellery Queen is released. "A Man Named Thin,"  "Wages of Crime,"  "The Barber and his Wife,"  "Itchy the Debonair,"  "The Second-Story Angel,"  "In the Morgue,"  and  "When Luck's Running Good." 1) Ferman, 1962, digest-sized softcover This collection was never released in any other editions

1966: THE BIG KNOCKOVER, EDITED BY LILLIAN HELLMAN

The first hardback Hammett collection from a major publisher.  During his lifetime, Hammett refused to reprint his short stories in a prestige format, although he didn't mind them reappearing in paperbacks and cheap hardbacks, which he considered disposable reading matter. "The Gutting of Couffignal,"  "Fly Paper,"   "The Scorched Face,"  "This King Business,"  "The Gatewood Caper," "Dead Yellow Women,"   "Corkscrew,"  "The Big Knockover" and "$106,000 Blood Money." Also included is "Tulip," an unfinished novel fragment written in Hammett's later years, when he was attempting "serious" novels. 1) Random House, 1966 , hardback with dust jacket 2) Cassell, 1966, hardback with dust jacket (retitled in the UK) 3 & 4) In 1967, Dell split the hardback into two paperback volumes.  The first was titled The Big Knockover, and the second was The Continental Op: More Stories from The Big Knockover. 5) Penguin, 1970, paperback  6) Vintage, 1972, paperback 7) Penguin, 1981, paperback 8) Penguin, 1987, paperback 9) Vintage Crime, 1989, trade paperback 10) Orion, 2005, trade paperback

1974: THE CONTINENTAL OP, EDITED BY STEVEN MARCUS

Not to be confused with 1945's The Continental Op, edited by Ellery Queen (see above). "The Tenth Clew,"  "The Golden Horseshoe,"  "The House in Turk Street,"  "The Girl With the Silver Eyes,"  "The Whosis Kid,"  "The Main Death,"  and  "The Farewell Murder." 1) Random House, 1974, hardback with dust jacket 2) Macmillan, 1974, hardback with dust jacket 3) Pan, 1977, paperback 4) Picador, 1984, paperback 5) Vintage Crime, 1989, trade paperback 6) Vintage Crime / Black Lizard, trade paperback (in print) 7) Orion, 2004, trade paperback

This leatherbound edition of The Continental Op (above) is something of an oddity. Issued by the Franklin Library in 1984, it contains the seven stories selected by Steven Marcus, but omits his introduction. Instead, this booklet (right), attributed only to "The Editors" is inserted. The booklet includes a short Hammett biography and a discussion of each of the stories.

1999: NIGHTMARE TOWN, EDITED McCAULEY, GREENBERG & GORMAN

Not to be confused with 1948's Nightmare Town, edited by Ellery Queen (see above). "Nightmare Town,"  "House Dick,"  "Ruffian's Wife,"  "The Man Who Killed Dan Odams,"  "Night Shots." "Zigzags of Treachery,"  "The Assistant Murderer,"  "His Brother's Keeper,"  "Two Sharp Knives,"  "Death on Pine Street,"  "The Second-Story Angel,"  "Afraid of a Gun,"  "Tom Dick or Harry,"  "One Hour,"  "Who Killed Bob Teal?,"  "A Man Called Spade,"  "Too Many Have Lived,"  "They Can Only Hang You Once,"  "A Man Named Thin,"  and   "The First Thin Man."     1) Knopf, 1999, hardback with dust jacket 2) Vintage Crime / Black Lizard, 1999, trade paperback (in print) 3) Picador, 2002, paperback

2001: CRIME STORIES AND OTHER WRITINGS, SELECTED BY STEVEN MARCUS

The most ambitious Hammett collection yet.  Almost all the stories are the original Black Mask text, rather than the edited and altered versions that have appeared in other collections. “Arson Plus,”  “Slippery Fingers,”  “Crooked Souls,”  “The Tenth Clew,”  “Zigzags of Treachery,”  “The House in Turk Street,”  “The Girl With the Silver Eyes,”  “Women, Politics & Murder,”  “The Golden Horseshoe,”  “Nightmare Town,”  “The Whosis Kid,”  “The Scorched Face,”  “Dead Yellow Women,”  “The Gutting of Couffignal,”  “The Assistant Murderer,”  “The Creeping Siamese,”  “The Big Knockover,”  “$106,000 Blood Money,”  “The Main Death,”  “This King Business,”  “Fly Paper,”  “The Farewell Murder,”  “Woman in the Dark,”  “Two Sharp Knives,”  “The Thin Man: an Early Typescript,”  “From the Memoirs of a Private Detective,”  and  “Suggestions to Detective Story Writers.” Library of America, 2001, hardback with dust jacket

2005: VINTAGE HAMMETT (EDITOR NOT ATTRIBUTED)

Sort of a "Hammett sampler," this trade paperback from Vintage Books contain the short stories "The House in Turk Street," "The Girl with the Silver Eyes," "Fly Paper" and "Night Shade," as well as excerpts from all five novels.

2005: LOST STORIES, EDITED BY VINCE EMERY

Twenty-one long out of print Hammett stories, many from the earliest days of his writing career. "The Barber and His Wife " "The Parthian Shot" "The Great Lovers " "Immortality" "The Road Home" "The Master Mind" "The Sardonic Star of Tom Doody" "The Joke on Eloise Morey" "Holiday" "The Crusader" "The Green Elephant" "The Dimple" "Laughing Masks" "Itchy" "Esther Entertains""Another Perfect Crime" "Ber-Bulu" "The Advertising Man Writes a Love Letter" "Night Shade" "This Little Pig" "The Thin Man and the Flack" Hardcover from Vince Emery Productions