Joseph T. "Cap" Shaw (1874–1952) was the editor of Black Mask magazine from 1926 to 1936.

Before 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").^[1] Shaw was also a professional fencer, and even won an Olympic medal for fencing.^{[1] [2]} 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.^[2][3][4]

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."^[1]

Despite Black Mask's critical and commercial popularity, Shaw was eventually fired from the magazine, succeeded by Fanny Ellsworth. Shaw then worked as a literary agent, though without notable success.^[5]

Shaw was a writer himself, producing short stories, novels, and articles.

• Bodin, Ed. "An Interview With Joseph T. Shaw," The Author and Composer, August 1932.
• Lenniger, August. "Black Mask" (interview), Writer's Digest, October 1929.
• Safire, William. "The Way We Live Now: 4-30-00: On Language; Dirigiste", New York Times, April 30, 2000.
• Shaw, Milton. Joseph T. Shaw: The Man Behind Black Mask. Black Mask, 2019. Biography, by his son.