Owner of Alleged ‘Conan’ Typewriter Dealt a Loss

WASHINGTON (CN) - A man claiming to be the owner of author Robert E. Howard's typewriter won't get to search FBI records for proof that the typewriter actually belonged to the obscure, yet beloved pulp fiction writer.

Mark Corrinet sued the Robert E. Howard Foundation and its board members for libel and defamation after it published a newsletter stating that "it is our opinion that [Corrinet's] typewriter is almost certainly not [Howard's]."

Corrinet asked U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to extend discovery in the case an extra six months, claiming that he needed the time to amend his request to the FBI for records on two agents who could allegedly corroborate his story.

He also wanted to use the extra time to subpoena a Missouri family regarding their typewriter, the real McCoy according to the Howard Foundation.

"Corrinet has already had ample time, and made multiple attempts, to request records from the FBI all to no avail," states Judge Cooper, denying his request.

Howard, who killed himself in 1936 at the age of 30, is best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, though his stories were never published in book form during his lifetime.

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