Joseph T. "Cap" Shaw (1874–1952) was the editor of Black Mask magazine from 1926 to 1936. Prior to becoming Black Mask editor, Shaw had worked as a newspaper reporter and as a soldier in World War I, attaining the rank of captain (Shaw's friends gave him the nickname "Cap"). Shaw was also a professional fencer, and even won an Olympic medal for his fencing ability. Under his editorship, Black Mask published many works of crime fiction now recognised as classics of the genre, by authors such as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Erle Stanley Gardner.
Chandler greatly admired Shaw's ability to encourage Black Mask writers, claiming in a letter, "We wrote better for him than we could have written for anybody else".
Despite Black Mask's critical and commercial popularity, Shaw was eventually fired from the magazine. Shaw then worked as a literary agent. He died in Manhattan aged 77.
Famous quotes containing the word shaw:
“That is what all poets do: they talk to themselves out loud; and the world overhears them. But it’s horribly lonely not to hear someone else talk sometimes.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)