COLUMBIA, S.C. — A major collection of letters, photos and publications of the late crime fiction author Dashiell Hammett has been acquired by the University of South Carolina and will be made available to students and scholars within the coming year.
Hammett was a high-school dropout who popularized pulp fiction in the 1920s and 1930s. He created such iconic American characters as the gritty gumshoe Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, and the witty and worldly couple Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man.
University officials spoke with The Associated Press about the acquisition before its announcement, which is scheduled for Wednesday in Columbia at the Thomas Cooper Library.
Dean of Libraries Tom McNally said the collection includes hundreds of family letters, photographs, personal effects and documents from Hammett’s daughter Josephine, 89, and two of his grandchildren. It’s bolstered by more than 300 Hammett books and rare first editions, as well as dozens of screenplays, files, documents and serialized magazines compiled by Hammett biographer and Columbia publisher Richard Layman.
The grouping includes a replica of the black Maltese Falcon statuette from the 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart. It also includes 400 letters that Hammett wrote to his wife and two daughters as well as 70 letters written by Hammett’s off-and-on companion in his later years, playwright Lillian Hellman.
McNally said the acquisition was made through giftand-purchase agreements with the family and Layman, supported by private donations to a university foundation. He declined to disclose the financial details.