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Hammett, Dashiell mss., 1949-1952
Summary Information
Repository
Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Lilly Library
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452
Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu
Creator
Hammett, Dashiell,
1894-1961
TitleHammett, Dashiell mss., 1949-1952
Collection No.
LMC 2706
Extent
ca. 60 items
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
The Hammett, Dashiell mss., 1949–1952,
consists of correspondence between author Dashiell Hammett and his secretary Muriel
Alexander.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Biographical Note
Dashiell Hammett, 1894–1961, was born in St. Mary's County, MD and raised in
Philadelphia and Baltimore. After enlisting in the Army Ambulance Corps during the
First World War (where he contracted tuberculosis) and getting various stints of
employment across the country for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, Hammett began
writing short stories for publications such as
The Smart
Set
and
The Black Mask, the latter of
which, in particular, shaped his reputation as a writer of hard-boiled crime
fiction.
Hammett went on to write five novels:
Red Harvest
(1929);
The Dain Curse (1929);
The Maltese Falcon (1930), featuring iconic private eye Sam Spade;
The Glass Key (1931); and
The Thin Man (1934), featuring married detectives Nick and Nora
Charles. Hammett spent the rest of his career writing screenplays and "doctoring" scripts for movies, television, and radio.
Despite ill health, Hammett enlisted again in the Army during the Second World War,
where he edited a military newspaper; and he was deeply involved in left-wing
political activism before and after the WWII era. As president of the Civil Rights
Congress in New York (labeled a communist front group by the Office of the Attorney
General of the United States), Hammett in 1949 posted bail for eleven men accused of
communist conspiracy and in 1951 refused to identify the contributors to the bail
fund during testimony before a U.S. District Court. After taking the Fifth
Amendment, he was found in contempt of court and sentenced to five months
imprisonment. Upon release, the IRS charged him with over $100,000 in back taxes. In
1953, Hammett once more refused to cooperate during testimony, this time before the
House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), and was subsequently blacklisted.
He lived the remaining years of his life in rural New York State before dying of
lung cancer in New York, NY.
Scope and Content Note
The correspondence between Dashiell Hammett (twenty-two letters) and his "new" secretary Muriel Alexander (thirty-eight
letters) overlaps some of Hammett's political and financial troubles, much of it
exchanged while Hammett was in Hollywood writing a screenplay (titled
Detective Story) and Alexander remained back East
tending to his finances and other affairs.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Acquired 2010
Usage RestrictionsPrior arrangements are not necessary before coming to the Library, however,
patrons from out of town are encouraged to communicate with the Library in
advance of their visits to ascertain availability of materials.
Photocopying permitted only with permission of the Curator of Manuscripts, Lilly
Library.
Preferred Citation
Hammett, Dashiell mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington,
Indiana.
Series:
Box 1
Correspondence
Arranged chronologically.
TLS=Typed Letter Signed; ALS=Autograph Letter Signed; AN=Autograph Note;
Cc=Carbon copy.
Folder 1
From Dashiell Hammett to Muriel Alexander, 1949-1952
16 October,
1949
TLS, 1p.
14 January,
1950
TLS, 1p.
16 January,
1950
ALS, 1p.
18 January,
1950
TLS, 1p.
20 January,
1950
TLS, 1p.
23 January,
1950
TLS, 1p.
27 January,
1950
TLS, 1p.
31 January,
1950
TLS, 1p.
2 February,
1950
TLS, 1p.
6 February,
1950
TLS, 1p.
8 February,
1950
TLS, 1p.
10 February,
1950
TLS, 1p.
12 February,
1950
TLS, 1p.
15 February,
1950
TLS, 1p.
18 February,
1950
TLS, 1p.
22 February,
1950
TLS, 1p.
3 September,
1950
TLS, 1p.
9 September,
1950
AN, 1p.
29 January,
1952
TLS, 1p.
Folder 2
From Muriel Alexander to Dashiell Hammett, 1950-1951
20 [January,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
21 [January
1950],
Cc, 2p.
23 [January,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
24 [January,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
25 [January,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
26 [January,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
28 [January,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
31 [January,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
1 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
3 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
6 [February,
1950],
Cc, 2p.
7 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
8 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
10 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
13 February,
[1950],
Cc, 1p.
15 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
16 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
20 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
22 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
24 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
27 [February,
1950],
Cc, 1p.
