Was the Maltese Falcon a real historical artifact?
score:14
While the "Maltese Falcon" itself is fictional the object might have been inspired by a real one - albeit one without the exciting Knights Templar and Pirates(!) backstory. The "Kniphausen Hawk" is a bejeweled drinking vessel dating to at least 1697 and is currently owned by the Duke of Devonshire, being ~15 inches high and literally covered in gemstones it would certainly fit the bill (pun intended!) but it has nothing to do with Malta or Algiers and I've not been able to find any evidence to show that Hammet was aware of the Kniphausen Hawk.
Upvote:13
These are facts, historical facts, not schoolbook history, not Mr. Wells's history, but history nevertheless. ...
I believe what this is saying is that the following information isn't written down in any history book anywhere, but (in Hammet's fictional universe) did actually happen.
Its meant to both lay out some background information to the reader, and to clue them in that this is stuff the author made up to make his story interesting, and help drive its plot.
As far as real world information goes, you should translate the quoted sentence above as "These are fictional facts my author made up, that are only valid within the confines of this book."
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