Scope and Contents On May 27, 1894, Samuel Dashiell Hammett was born in Maryland the second of three children. When he was 13 he dropped out of school to help support his family. He joined the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1915. The time he spent here would be his inspiration for many of his infamous crime fiction and detective stories. At some point in his early years, Hammett dropped his first name, going by his middle name Dashiell or Dash. When the United States joined the First World War, Hammett...

Scope and Contents Elmore Leonard (1925-2013) is an American author of western and crime fiction. Leonard published 46 novels in addition to short stories and the screenplay adaptations of many of his works.Leonard was born in Louisiana in 1925 but Leonard’s father worked for General Motors and the family moved frequently, ultimately settling in Detroit in 1934. Leonard graduated from high school and joined the Navy in 1943. He served for 3 years during World War II then enrolled in Detroit...

Scope and Contents

The Richard Layman Collection of Dashiell Hammett contains the research materials used by Hammett researcher, Richard Layman in his years of study of the writer, Dashiell Hammett. It also contains material from the various books about Hammett that he either assisted with or wrote. Additional notes and description occur at the beginning of each series.