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BOROUGH OF ST. MARYLEBONE
PUBLIC LIBRARIES COMMITTEE
HIS WORSHIP THE MAYOR
(Councillor Charles Henry Press, J.P.)
Alderman :
Douglas Timins, O.B.E., M.A.
Councillors :
John R. Bracewell. | The Hon. Mildred Lowther, O.B.E. |
Arthur V. Davis. | Miss L. F. Nettlefold, LL.B., L.C.C. (Chairman). |
J.P. Honour. | |
Elliott Levy. | Major R. C. Orpen. |
The Rev. Walter Millin Long. | Robert H. Sharp, F.I.P.A. |
Stafford Lorie. | N. Whine, B.Sc.(Econ.). |
Town Clerk : S. J. Rutty, LL.B.
Borough Librarian : Geoffrey B. Stephens, F.L.A.
The opening ceremony of the Exhibition was performed by Mr.
Denis Conan Doyle and Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle at
11 a.m. on Monday, 21st May, 1951, in the presence of His Worship
the Mayor.
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Catalogue of an Exhibition held at
Abbey House, Baker Street, London
May-September 1951
Presented for the Festival of Britain
by the Public Libraries Committee of the
Borough of St. Marylebone
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" . . . moonshine is a brighter thing than fog "
(Sherlock Holmes in The Boscombe Valley Mystery)
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY WIGHTMAN AND COMPANY, LIMITED
179 TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, LONDON, W.I.
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i
AN EXHIBITION entirely given up to a single fictitious character may be said, in one of Sherlock Holmes's well-known phrases, to break fresh ground. " Ah! Now!" he might exclaim, "This is really something a little recherche." Holmes is in fact the only character in modern or anything like modern fiction who could possibly have this honour paid to him. Before him we have to go back to Dickens to find those who are really everyday figures. Try the experiment of mentioning any character from a popular author of today to a mixed audience and you will probably be met with some completely blank faces among your listeners, but Holmes will be instantly recognised by all. He is like Mrs. Gamp or Mr. Bumble; his name is known to all the world as denoting certain gifts and qualities.
This world-wide familiarity Holmes conferred on his London home. The Borough of St. Marylebone contains other celebrated places but it cannot be doubted that 221B Baker Street is the shrine to which the great majority of pilgrims will desire first to turn their reverent steps. A house so numbered they will not find, but the house in which the Exhibition is being held (kindly lent by the Abbey National Building Society) is believed by some of the best authorities, after much research, to be on the site of 221B.
In any case this sacred abode has long since been pictured in the imagination of all the faithful. How well we know the " Couple of comfortable bedrooms and the single large, airy sitting room cheerfully furnished!", likewise the two broad windows through which Watson would descry a hesitating client on the doorstep, through which Jefferson Hope tried to hurl himself and Colonel Sebastian Moran with his air gun spoilt Holmes's beautiful bust. No glimpse of reality could make them more real than they are, nor the seventeen steps (Watson had never counted them) from the hall to the sitting room, up which pattered the dirty little street Arabs called the Baker Street Irregulars, to the disgust of Mrs. Hudson. And Mrs. Hudson herself shares at least something of the house's fame. She has had a long paper devoted wholly to her in that work of composite erudition called " Baker Street Studies " Her cuisine " Holmes once observed " is a little limited but it sounds delicious; what would we not give in these hard times for such a cook? She is as much part of Baker Street as Dr. Watson himself.
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The devotees of Holmes can be roughly divided into two classes. There are the straightforward worshippers who may be termed fundamentalists. They may not be old enough to have read the stories, as I did, hot-and-hot when they first came out in the Strand Magazine; but they have pored over them with a schoolboy's eyes and have accepted the order in which they were published and the year attributed to them with a simple faith. They are not puzzled by the dates which appear to show that Professor Moriarty was plotting the murder of Mr. Douglas at Birlstone in 1899, although he had indisputably been drowned eight years earlier in the swirling waters of the Reichenbach Falls.
There are others who devote treasures of minute and scholarly research to these questions of chronology and even go so far as to assert that Dr. Watson may have married Miss de Merville after the death of his first wife, nee Morstan. Nay, one of them has suggested that Professor Moriarty was a perfectly respectable mathematician to whom Holmes for his own purposes attributed a career of infamy.
To whichever school of thought the pilgrim belongs he will, it is to be hoped, find much here to thrill and stimulate him to re-read all the stories yet again with a fresh zest.
BERNARD DARWIN.
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Page | ||
I | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the creation of Sherlock Holmes | 1 |
II | A Selection of editions and translations | 10 |
III | Parodies and cartoons | 13 |
IV | Sherlock Holmes at large | 15 |
V | Some scientific problems | 23 |
VI | Some firearms | 33 |
VII | " Is there any other point to which you wish to draw my attention ? "... | 38 |
VIII | Sherlock Holmes on the Stage | 45 |
IX | Sherlock Holmes on the Screen | 47 |
X | 22 I B Baker Street | 55 |
XI | The living-room at 221B | 58 |
XII | " The Rest of Me is a mere Appendix." | 60 |
The drawing of Sherlock Holmes on the cover is by Bruce Angrave.
The frontispiece and other illustrations were drawn for Punch by Ronald Searle, and are
reproduced by kind permission of the proprietors of Punch.
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The Public Libraries Committee wishes to thank all those whose assistance has made this Exhibition possible.
First of all the Directors of the Abbey National Building Society who have generously permitted the use of part of Abbey House for the Exhibition, the members of the family of the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Mr. Denis Conan Doyle, Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle, Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle and Miss Mary Conan Doyle), Miss Winifred Paget and Mrs. C. C. Stisted whose willing co-operation has been the foundation on which the Exhibition has been built.
It is not possible to list all those who have not only lent material for the exhibition but also in many cases given assistance, but especial mention must be made of: Dr. W. T. Williams, Mr. Anthony D. Howlett, Major Hugh Pollard, Mr. Bernard Darwin, Mr. Michael E. Pointer, Mr. C. Benoist, Mr. Edgar W. Smith of New York and Professor Jay Finley Christ of Chicago.
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London, The Baker Street Irregulars of New York and many other Holmesian societies in the United States, Canada, Denmark and Japan have rallied to the support of the Exhibition, and Sir Harold Scott, K.C.B., K.B.E., Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, has kindly made available the advice and assistance of New Scotland Yard. It is to Mr. J. E. Holroyd that the Committee is indebted for the original idea of the Exhibition. Councillor Robert Sharp suggested the reconstruction of the sitting room Of 221B, which has been brilliantly carried out by Mr. Michael Weight.
The Committee also wish to record their appreciation of the work of the Staff of the St. Marylebone Public Libraries, especially Mr. C. T. Thorne, who undertook the detailed organisation of the Exhibition, and Miss A. D. Pearce who assisted him.
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1. SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE: a bust in bronze.
Lent by Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle.
2. SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE: a pastel portrait by Henry Gates, 1933. After the oil
painting by the same artist, 1927.
Lent by Mr. Denis Conan Doyle.
3. SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE seated at a desk in a stage set for The Speckled Band.
Photograph lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
4. THE LIFE OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, by John Dickson Carr. London, John Murray, 1949.
Presented by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
'In this biography there is also the life of Conan Doyle's rival-Sherlock Holmes-the man who touched the imagination of an international public but who continually decoyed his creator from work that he preferred ... the rival who had so many of the characteristics and experiences of his creator.'
5. THE TRUE CONAN DOYLE, by Adrian Conan Doyle, With a preface by Sir Hubert Gough.
London, John Murray, 1945.
From the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
A personal memoir of his father.
6. MEMORIES AND ADVENTURES, by Arthur Conan Doyle. London, John Murray, 1930. Second
edition.
Lent by the publishers.
This book, the autobiography of Conan Doyle, is open at pages 88-89 to show his own account of the creation of the character of Sherlock Holmes.
7. JOSEPH BELL: an appreciation by an old friend. Edinburgh and London, Oliphant,
Anderson and Ferrier, 1914. Second edition.
Lent by Dr. Douglas Guthrie.
The character of Sherlock Holmes was inspired by Dr. Joseph Bell ... But from Bell, Conan Doyle drew the method rather than the man. Bell, like Conan Doyle, derived no pleasure from being identified with Holmes, and was irritated by the resultant attentions of the Press.
8. DR. JOSEPH BELL ON HIS MORNING ROUND.
From a photograph lent by his daughter, Mrs. C. C. Stisted.
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9. THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS FROM CONAN DOYLE TO DR. BELL.
Lent by Mrs. C. C. Stisted.
(1) 4th May, 1892. He acknowledges that Sherlock Holmes's deductive powers were
inspired by Bell's methods at the Edinburgh Infirmary.
(2) 7th May, 1892. He thanks Bell for a suggestion for a Sherlock Holmes storv.
(3) [May, 18921. He apologises to Bell for the intrusion of the Press, which resulted from
his disclosure that the methods of Sherlock Holmes were based on Bell's.
10. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES: the great American essayist.
Photograph of an engraved portrait.
In Through the Magic Door, Conan Doyle wrote " Never have I so known and loved a man whom I had never seen." Conan Doyle was writing his first story of Sherlock Holmes in 1886 when Oliver Wendell Holmes made a triumphant visit to England.
11. ORIGINAL MINUTE BOOK OF THE PORTSMOUTH LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY.
Lent by the City of Portsmouth Public Libraries.
While in practice at Southsea, Conan Doyle became joint Hon. Secretary of the Portsmouth Literary and Scientific Society. The President was at that time Dr. James Watson and it was during this period that Conan Doyle first created the character of Dr. John H. Watson. It is interesting to note that in The Man with the Twisted Lip Watson is referred to as James.
12. NOTES FOR A STUDY IN SCARLET. A page of manuscript notes by Conan Doyle relating to
the very first Sherlock Holmes story. Sherlock Holmes is referred to as Sherrinford
Holmes, and Dr. Watson appears as Ormond Sacker.
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
The complete copyright of A Study in Scarlet was sold for £25 and was published in Beeton's Christmas Annual for I887. Conan Doyle had already published several other books including Micah Clarke. He had also completed The White Company which, throughout his life, he believed to be his best and most important work. A Study in Scarlet aroused no particular interest at the time.
13. A STUDY IN SCARLET, by A. Conan Doyle. London, Ward, Lock, 1888. A copy of the
first issue of the rare second edition, with illustrations by the author's father, Charles
Doyle.
Lent by Mr. Stanley Mackenzie.
14. ANGELS OF DARKNESS: a drama in three acts, by A. Conan Doyle. Holograph manuscript
written 1889-90, in five cardboard-covered exercise-books of which the first is exhibited.
Signed 'A. Conan Doyle, M.D., Bush Villa, Southsea.'
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
This play based on the Utah scenes in A Study in Scarlet makes no mention of Sherlock Holmes, but includes Dr. John H. Watson.
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15. THE SIGN OF THE FOUR, by A. Conan Doyle. Contained in the February issue of a bound
volume of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, January to June, 1890. London, Ward,
Lock; Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott, 1 890.
Lent by Mr. J. E. Holroyd.
At a dinner in 1889 Oscar Wilde and Conan Doyle were both commissioned to write a novel to be published complete in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Wilde contributed The Picture of Dorian Gray, Conan Doyle The Sign of the Four. It has been suggested that some of Wilde's conversation at the dinner influenced the early pages of The Sign of the Four. Conan Doyle's novel attracted little attention at the time.
16. A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA, by A. Conan Doyle. Illustrated by Sidney Paget. Contained in
7'he Strand Magazine, Volume 2, No. 1, July, 1891.
From the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
In January, 1891, George Newnes, proprietor of the periodical Tit-Bits, brought out the first issue of The Strand Magazine, a periodical with a picture on almost every page. This was a new departure in popular journalism. Conan Doyle's literary agent sent to Greenhough Smith, the acting editor, the short story A Scandal in Bohemia. The story was not only published in July, 1891, but The Strand Magazine offered £35 each for five further stories.
17. SIDNEY PAGET.
From a photograph lent by his daughter, Miss Winifred Paget.
Paget, though not the first illustrator of Sherlock Holmes, gave the world the traditional portrait of Holmes in his drawings for the stories in The Strand Magazine.
18. WALTER PAGET.
From a photograph lent by Miss Winifred Paget.
It was on the profile of Walter Paget that his brother, Sidney Paget, based his conception of Sherlock Holmes.
19. SIDNEY PAGET WEARING A DEER-STALKER.
From a photograph lent by Miss Winifred Paget.
The deer-stalker is not mentioned as such in the stories but was first associated with Holmes in Paget's illustrations.
20. " HOLMES GAVE ME A SKETCH OF THE EVENTS." Original wash drawing by Sidney
Paget to illustrate Silver Blaze. First reproduced in The Strand Magazine,
December 1892.
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
21. A LETTER FROM CONAN DOYLE TO HIS MOTHER, dated 11th November, 1891, revealing his intention of killing Holmes at the end of The Adventures. This letter is reproduced from Dickson Carr's The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, published by John Murray.
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22. THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, by A. Conan Doyle. [Illustrations by Sidney
Paget.] London, George Newnes, 1892. First edition.
Lent by Mrs. G. St. George.
This series first appeared in The Strand Magazine from July, 1891, to June, 1892. Six stories were commissioned but Conan Doyle was finally persuaded to contribute twelve at £50 a story.
23. THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, by A. Conan Doyle. Illustrations by Sidney Paget.
London, George Newnes. 1894. First edition.
Lent by Mrs. G. St. George.
The stories first appeared in The Strand Magazine from December, 1892, to December, 1893. When originally asked for this further series of stories Conan Doyle wrote to his mother: 'They're bothering me for more Sherlock Holmes tales. Under pressure, I offered to do a dozen for a thousand pounds, but sincerely hope they won't accept.' To his dismay they did accept, immediately.
24. THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. Original design, by S. Abbey, for the book-jacket
of the Uniform Edition published by John Murray.
Lent by the publishers.
25. THE LAST ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK L@OLMES: being a new edition of his "Memoirs
", by A. Conan Doyle. Illustrations by Sidney Paget. London, George Newnes, I897,
This copy belonged to the author's wife and is inscribed ' Louise Conan Doyle-Nov: 7/96'.
Lent by Mr. Denis Conan Doyle.
Conan Doyle, being determined that his more important writing should not again be interrupted, killed off Holmes in the last of the series, The Final Problem. There was a public outcry. Conan Doyle and The Strand Magazine were inundated with letters of protest. Young City men went to their offices with mourning bands tied around their hats.
26. THE DEATH OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. Original wash drawing by Sidney Paget to illustrate
The Final Problem. First reproduced in The Strand Magazine, December, 1893.
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
27. THE REICHENBACH FALLS. Photograph by Anthony D. Howlett of the actual spot where
Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty had their fatal struggle at the Reichenbach Falls,
Switzerland, 4th May, 1891. (The railings were added at a later date after the tragedy.)
Lent by Mr. Anthony D. Howlett.
'The path has been cut half-way round the fall to afford a complete view, but it
ends abruptly, and the traveller has to return as he came ... little doubt that a personal
contest between the two men ended, as it could hardly fail to end in such a situation, in
their reeling over, locked in each other's arms.'
(The Final Problem).
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28. THE REICHENBACH FALLS. A specimen of the soil.
Lent by Mr. Anthony D. Howlett.
'The blackish soil is kept for ever soft by the incessant drift of spray...'
(The Final Problem.)
29. "HE TURNED HIS ROUNDED BACK UPON ME." Original wash drawing by Sidney
Paget to illustrate The Final Problem, first reproduced in The Strand
Magazine, December, 1893.
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
30. WILLIAM GILLETTE IN " SHERLOCK HOLMES ", as produced at the Garrick
Theatre, New York. Published by the authorization of Mrs. Charles Frohman. New York, R. H.
Russell, 1900. Souvenir brochure.
Lent by Mr. J. E. Holroyd.
In 1897 Conan Doyle wrote a play entitled Sherlock Holmes. William Gillette, the well-known American actor, gained permission to re-write and cabled " May I marry Holmes ? ". Conan Doyle, little interested in the fate of Holmes, replied heartlessly : " You may marry or murder or do what you like with him ". The play was produced in New York, November, 1899, and in London, September, 1901.
31. THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES: another adventure of Sherlock Holmes, by A. Conan
Doyle. Illustrations by Sidney Paget. London, George Newnes, 1902. First edition.
From the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
Serialized in The Strand Magazine, 1901-2. Conan Doyle had not originally intended to use Sherlock Holmes in this adventure. The story, however, appealed to him, and as The Strand Magazine continued to press for further Holmes stories he decided to make it an adventure occurring before Holmes's death.
32. THE FOOTPRINTS OF THE HOUND are no longer available, but New Scotland Yard has
prepared especially for this Exhibition a cast of the footprint of the largest dog on
police service. The dog, Black Boy, weighs 93 lbs.
By courtesy of Sir Harold Scott, K.C.B., K.B.E., Commissioner of Police of the
Metropolis.
"Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"
33. " PHOSPHORUS, I SAID." Original wash drawing, by Sidney Paget, to
illustrate The Hound of the Baskervilles. First reproduced in The Strand
Magazine, April, 1902.
Lent by Miss Winifred Paget.
34. THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. Original design in two colours by H. M. Brock, R.I.,
for the book-jacket of an edition published by George Newnes, 1927.
Lent by the artist.
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35. "THE SLAVERING HOUND." Original unpublished crayon drawing in two colours
by Frederick Dorr Steele, the outstanding American illustrator of the Sherlock Holmes
stories.
Lent by Mr. Edgar W. Smith of New York.
36. THE ADVENTURE OF THE EMPTY HOUSE, by A.Conan Doyle. Contained in the October issue
of a bound volume of The Strand Magazine, July to December, 1903. The first story in the
new series, The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Illustrated by Sidney Paget.
Lent by Miss D. M. Kesteven.
In the Spring of 1903, Conan Doyle received an offer from America of 5,000 dollars a story for a revival of Sherlock Holmes. The Strand Magazine, in addition, offered more than half that amount for the British rights. Ten years had elapsed since Doyle wrote a Holmes short story. On a postcard Doyle scribbled " Very well. A.C.D." When the first of the series appeared, " the scenes at the railway bookstalls were worse than ... at a bargain sale," said an eye-witness.
37. THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, by A. Conan Doyle. Illustrated by Sidney Paget.
London, George Newnes, 1905. A presentation copy of the first edition, signed by the
author.
Lent by Mr. Denis Conan Doyle.
A collection of thirteen stories first published in The Strand Magazine, October, 1903, to December, 1904. After the publication of The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle wrote occasional Holmes stories for The Strand Magazine for the rest of his life.
38. " WITH HIS NECK CRANED... " Original wash drawing, by Sidney Paget, to
illustrate The Three Students. First reproduced in The Strand Magazine,
June, 1904.
Lent by Miss Winifred Paget
39. " IT HINGED BACK LIKE TIIE LID OF A BOX." Original wash drawing by Sidney
Paget, to illustrate The Adventure of the Second Stain. First reproduced in The
Strand Magazine, December, 1904.
Lent by Miss Winifred Paget.
40. SHERLOCK HOLMES. Unpublished original wash drawing by Sidney Paget.
Lent by Miss Winifred Paget.
Half of a full-length portrait destroyed by the artist and rescued by his wife from a waste-paper basket.
41. SKETCH-BOOK OF SIDNEY PAGET.
Lent by Miss Winifred Paget.
Sidney Paget died in 1909, and The Return of Sherlock Holmes was the last of the adventures to be illustrated by him.
42. SILVER CIGARETTE CASE, presented to Sidney Paget by Conan Doyle in 1893. It is
inscribed, 'From Sherlock Holmes, 1893 '.
Lent by Miss Winifred Paget.
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43. THE CASE OF MR. GEORGE EDALJI: special investigation by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Photograph of the first of a series of articles in The Daily Telegraph, for 11th January, 1907.
George Edalji was sentenced in 1903 to seven years' penal servitude for horse-maiming. In 1906 Conan Doyle heard of this rather obscure case and, after exhaustive investigations lasting nearly a year, began a series of newspaper articles analysing the incredibly weak evidence of the prosecution and making public this 'blot upon the record of English justice.' In consequence of Conan Doyle's endeavours, Edalji was released but denied compensation.
44. THE SPECKLED BAND: an adventure of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle. New
York, London, Samuel French, 1912. First edition of a three-act play based on the short
story of the same title in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Lent by Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle.
This play, written in a week by Conan Doyle, was first produced on 4th June, 1910, at the Royal Adelphi Theatre. One critic ended his review, 'The crisis of the play was produced by the appearance of a palpably artificial serpent' - the snake was, in point of fact, a real rock boa.
45. THE SPECKLED BAND. Programme of the production at the St. James's Theatre, 1927,
with an inscription by Lady (Jean) Conan Doyle
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
46. THE VALLEY OF FEAR: a new Sherlock Holmes story by A. Conan Doyle. Illustrated by
Frank Wiles. First instalment. Contained in The Strand Magazine, September, 1914.
Lent by Mr. W. H. Chenhall.
A number of other artists, including Walter Paget, succeeded Sidney Paget in illustrating Holmes stories. They varied little from the traditional portrait.
47. THE VALLEY OF FEAR, by A. Conan Doyle. With a frontispiece by Frank Wiles. London,
Smith, Elder, 1915. This is the first copy of the first edition and belonged to the
author's wife.
Lent by Mr. Denis Conan Doyle.
The story was first published in serial form in The Strand Magazine, September, 1914, to August, 1915. This was Conan Doyle's last and best Holmes novel. Only the first part, which is a separate unit, and is almost a perfect piece of detective writing, includes the character of Holmes.
48. THE CASE OF OSCAR SLATER, by Arthur Conan Doyle. London, Hodder and Stoughton,
[1912]. Manuscript note on cover: 'The first copy received from the printers August
15/1912'..
Lent by Mr. Denis Conan Doyle.
In 1909, Oscar Slater was sentenced to death in Edinburgh for a brutal murder in Glasgow. This sentence was commuted to penal servitude for life. An unceasing battle was fought to prove Slater's innocence. Approached by Slater's lawyer, Conan Doyle took up this case of miscarriage of justice. It was not, however, until 1927 that Conan Doyle finally secured the release of Slater.
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49. THE ADVENTURE OF THE DYING DETECTIVE. Holograph manuscript. 18 foolscap pages.
Signed 'Arthur Conan Doyle, Crowborough, July 27/13', Bound in vellum.
Lent by Mr. Denis Conan Doyle.
This story was first published in The Strand Magazine, December, 1913, and was later included in the collection, His Last Bow.
50. HIS LAST BOW. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes, by A. Conan Doyle. Illustrated by
A. Gilbert. Contained in The Strand Magazine, September, 1917.
Lent by Mr. W. H. Cbenliall.
This story was prompted by General Humbert's suspicious question to Conan Doyle during the 1914-18 war : " Sherlock Holmes, est-ce qu'il est un soldat dans 1'armée anglaise?" "Mais, mon général," stammered the embarrassed Doyle, " il est trop vieux pour service."
51. THE CASE~BOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, by Arthur Conan Doyle. London, John Murray, 1927.
First edition.
Lent by Mrs. G. St. George.
These stories first appeared in The Strand Magazine mainly between 1921and 1927. They were illustrated by various artists.
52. THE CASE-BOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. Original design, by J. Abbey, for the book-jacket
of the Uniform Edition published by John Murray.
Lent by the publishers.
53. THE ADVENTURE OF THE RETIRED COLOURMAN. Holograph manuscript. 18 pages. Signed '
Arthur Conan Doyle, Windlesham, Crowborough'. Bound in cloth.
Lent by Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle.
This story was first published in The Strand Magazine January, 1927, and was one of the last Sherlock Holmes stories ever to be written.
54. HOLOGRAPH LETTER FROM CONAN DOYLE TO JOHN GORE [1926].
Lent by Mr. John Gore.
'If I were to choose the six best Holmes stories I should certainly include The Illustrious Client which is one of the last series, and also The Lion's Mane which is the next to appear. The Noble Bachelor which you quote would be about the bottom of the list. I have always said that I would utterly abolish him the moment he got below his level . . . '
55. THE OLD HORSE. Drawing by A. Conan Doyle during his last illness, portraying
himself as ' The Old Horse ', 1930.
Lent by Miss Mary Conan Doyle.
In this sketch Conan Doyle depicts himself as an old horse pulling the cart of his life's work. Caption reads : ' Consultation of vets Webb-Johnson, Parkinson and Mackintosh. The old horse has pulled a heavy load a long way. But he is well cared for, and with six weeks stable and with six months grass he will be on the road once more '.
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56. A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL CATALOGUE OF THE WRITINGS OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, M.D., LL.D.,
1879-1928, by Harold Locke. Tunbridge Wells, D. Webster, 1928.
Lent by Mr. Michael E. Pointer.
This bibliography shows the extensive range of the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a variety which is clearly indicated in the author's cartoon The Old Horse.
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57. A STUDY IN SCARLET, by A. Conan Doyle. A new edition with a note on Sherlock Holmes
by Dr. Joseph Bell, and forty illustrations by Geo. Hutchinson. London, Ward, Lock and
Bowden, 1893.
Lent by Dr. Douglas Gitthrie.
58. THE SIGN OF FOUR, and, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, by A. Conan Doyle. New York,
Doubleday, Doran, 1930.
Lent by Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle.
A volume of the Crowborough Edition of the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Limited to 760 numbered sets.
59. THE COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES, by A. Conan Doyle, with a preface by Christopher
Morley. New York, Doubleday, Doran, 1936.
Lent by Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle.
The complete long and short stories in one volume.
60. SHERLOCK HOLMES: the complete long stories, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. John Murray, 1929, reprinted 1949.
61. SHERLOCK HOLMES: the complete short stories, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. John Murray, 1928, reprinted 1950.
These two ' omnibus ' volumes form the definitive English edition and page references in English works of criticism refer to this edition.
62. CONAN DOYLE'S BEST BOOKS. In three volumes. Illustrated. Sherlock Holmes Edition.
New York, P. F. Collier.
Lent by Mr. J. E. Holroyd.
Volume I contains an introductory note The original of Sherlock Holmes, by Dr. Harold Emery Jones, who, with Conan Doyle, attended Joseph Bell's surgical demonstrations at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
63. THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. Braille edition in three volumes, of which
Volume I is displayed.
Lent by the National Library for the Blind.
64. THE FIRST BOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES STORIES, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introduced by
H. M. King. London, John Murray, 1950.
Lent by the publishers.
The first of a series of three volumes of Sherlock Holmes stories, edited for use in schools.
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65. AL-JARIMAT AL-KHAFIYA (Waga'i'. . . Sharluk Hulmz). Translated into Arabic by Abd
al-Rahman al-Ghamrawi. Cairo, 1923.
Lent by the School of Oriental and African Studies.
66. MYSTERIET I BOSCOMBE-DALEN. A. Conan Doyle. Contained in Politikens Stierne-Haefle,
No. 40.
Lent by The Sherlock Holmes Society in Copenhagen.
A Danish translation of The Boscombe Valley Mystery from The Adventures, illustrated by Robert Storm-Petersen.
67. SHERLOCK HOLMES. A. Conan Doyle. Oversat fra Engelsk af Verner Seemann, med
Illustrationer af V. Setoft. Kobenhavn, Forlaget Nytteboger, 1945. Six volumes.
Lent by the translator, Mr. Verner Seemann of Copenhagen.
A Danish translation.
68. LA VALLEE DE LA PEUR par Conan Doyle, traduit de 1'anglais par Louis Labat. Paris,
Lafitte, 1920.
Lent by Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle.
A French translation of The Valley of Fear.
69. LES DEBUTS DE SHERLOCK HOLMES, par Conan Doyle. Traduit de 1'anglais par Albert
Savine. Paris, Albin .Michel, n.d. (Collection des Maitres de la Litterature Etrangere.).
Lent by Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle.
French translation of A Study in Scarlet. Inscribed on half-title " A Monsieur H. G. Wells.. . "
70. DAS RATSEL DER THOR-BRUCKE; und andere Abenteuer von Sherlock Holmes, von Arthur
Conan Doyle. Bilder von Kurt Lange. Berlin, Hugo Wille Verlag, 1928. (Wille's Illustrierte
Kriminalbucherei, Band 35.)
Lent by Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle.
Authorised German translation by Baroness von Werkmann of The Problem of Thor Bridge, The Adventure of the Three Garridebs and The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire, from The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes.
71. CU NA MBASKERVILLE, by A. Conan Doyle. Translated by Nicolas Tobin. Dublin, 1934.
Lent by Group Officer Jean Conan Doyle.
An Irish translation of The Hound of the Baskervilles.
72. EACHTRAI SHERLOCK HOLMES [The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes], by A. Conan Doyle, translated into Irish by Frands Brogan. Dublin, Government Publications Office, 1936.
An Irish translation of The Memoirs.
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73. NOVISSIME AVVENTURE DI SHERLOCK HOLMES, A. Conan Doyle. Traduzione di Giacomo
Prampolini. Milano, A. Mondadori, 1928.
Lent by Mr. Denis Conan Doyle.
An Italian translation of six of the adventures from The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes.
74. CHERITA-CHERITA SHERLOCK HOLMES II. Translated into Malay by Ahmad Murad bin
Nasru'd-din. Tanjong Malin, 1938.
Lent by Group Offcer Jean Conan Doyle.
75. CHAMAT-KARIKA KHUNA. Gugarati translation by Chandulala Jethalala Vyasa. Second
edition. Vadhavana 1929.
Lent by the School of Oriental and African Studies.
76. HUNDEN FRA BASKERVILLE: en ny fortaelling om Sherlock Holmes, av A. Conan Doyle
Autoriseret oversaettelse ved Elisabeth Brochmann. Kristiania, H. Aschehoug, 1911.
From the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
A Norwegian translation.
77. PIES BASKERVILLE, OW. Artur Conan Doyle Z 12- oma ilustracjami z pierwszego wydania
londynskiego. Rzym, Polski Dom Wydawniczy K. Breiter & Co., 1946.
Lent by The Polish University College, London.
A Polish translation of The Hound of the Baskervilles.
78. THE SIX NAPOLEONS, by A. Conan Doyle. Moscow, Defence Committee Publishing House,
1945.
Lent by The Society for Cultural Relations with the U.S.S.R.
A Russian translation.
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79. THE ENCHANTED TYPEWRITER, by John Kendrick Bangs. Illustrated by Peter Newell.
London and New York, Harper, 1899.
Lent by Mr. Michael E. Pointer.
This is one of the earliest parodies on Sherlock Holmes. John Kendrick Bangs's travesties are perhaps the best known.
80. ARSENE LUPIN VERSUS HERLOCK SHOLMES, by Maurice Leblanc. Translated from the French
by Olive Harper. New York, J. S. Ogilvie, 1910.
Lent by Mr. Stanley Mackenzie.
81. THE CASE OF THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS; an inner sanctum mystery, by Anthony
Boucher. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1940.
Lent by Mr. Michael E. Pointer.
82. THE STRANGE CASE OF THE MEGATHERIUM THEFTS : a further memoir of Sherlock Holmes,
edited from an unpublished MS. of Dr. Watson by S.C.R. Cambridge University Press, 1945.
Lent by Mr. Anthony D. Howlett.
Printed for private circulation. This copy bound in quarter leather has the following manuscript note on the reverse of the title page : 'In the summer of 1945 the committee of the Athenaeum sent a printed circular marked Private and confidential to all members of the club, announcing that books and newspapers had been stolen from the premises. The matter very soon became public and was noticed in the daily papers. This skit produced in the style of the 1890's with illustrations taken from The Strand Magazine was written by S. C. Roberts, now Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University.'
83. THE STRANGE CASE OF THE MEGATHERIUM THEFTS. Holograph manuscript of the preceding
work.
Lent by the author.
84. THE MISADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, edited by Ellery Queen. Boston, Little, Brown
and Company, 1944.
Lent by Mr. Anthony D. Howlett.
A collection of parodies by many famous writers, including Sir James Barrie, Mark Twain, Bret Harte, 0. Henry, and Stephen Leacock.
85. 'I THOUGHT IT WAS TO-MORROW NIGHT THAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ON PLAIN-CLOTHES
DUTY.' Original pen and ink cartoon, by David Langdon, reproduced in Lilliput,
October, 1939.
Lent by the artist.
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86. 'I THINK A LITTLE UNOBTRUSIVE MINGLING WITH THE CROWD AT THE JEWELRY COUNTER IS
INDICATED, GRIMSHAW.' Original pen and ink cartoon, by David Langdon, reproduced in
Lilliput, October, 1945.
Lent by the artist.
87. 'DICK BARTON! TCHAH!' Original pen and ink cartoon, by David Langdon, reproduced in
Punch, 16th April, 1947.
Lent by the artist.
88. POLITIKENS STJERNE-HAEFTE, NO. 32.
Lent by The Sherlock Holmes Society in Copenhagen.
The cover design includes a cartoon of Sherlock Holmes by the late Robert Storm-Petersen, the founder of the Sherlock Holmes Society in Copenhagen.
89. 'ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON. I DETECT THE HAND OF OUR OLD FRIEND COUNCILLOR
MORIARTY IN THIS NEFARIOUS BID TO ABANDON THE HOLMES EXHIBITION.' Original cartoon, by
Belsky, reproduced in the Daily Herald, 24th November, 1950.
Lent by the Daily Herald.
90. 'ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WILSON.' Original cartoon, by Vicky, reproduced in the News
Chronicle, 1st November, 1950.
Lent by the News Chronicle.
This cartoon and the preceding one appeared at a time when it was still doubtful whether the Sherlock Holmes exhibition would be held.
91. SHERLOCK HOLMES. Original design, by Hynes, for the cover of Men Only, May, 1951.
Lent by the proprietors, George Newnes Ltd.
The Strand Magazine ceased publication in March, 1950, and was then incorporated in Men Only.
92. ABBEY NATIONAL REVIEW. New series, Volume 8, No. 5, May, 1951.
Presented by the editor, Mr. J. Greaves.
The house journal of the Abbey National Building Society in whose premises the Exhibition is being held. The cover design neatly parodies the Society's well-known poster and shows Holmes and Watson beneath the protective roof of a house obtained with the assistance of the Building Society.
93. 'PSSST-DON'T TOUCH.' Original cartoon, by 'Neb', reproduced in the Daily Mail, 23rd
May, 1951.
Lent by the Daily Mail.
This cartoon was drawn at the opening of the Exhibition.
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"What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence. ...The question
is. what can you make people believe that you have done."
(A Study in Scarlet)
94. SOME PERSONALIA ABOUT MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES, by A. Conan Doyle. Holograph manuscript
signed 'Arthur Conan Doyle, Crowborough, Sept. 9 '.
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
This article was published in The Strand Magazine, December, 1917, and was rewritten in part and reprinted in Memories and Adventures. Conan Doyle writes of the ever-growing belief that Holmes was a real person.
95. LETTER ADDRESSED 'SHERLOCK HOLMES, ESQ.', sent to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, November,
1904, with a request to forward it.
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
This is a typical example of the innumerable letters with which the Post Office has had to deal. Sherlock Holmes had, in fact, become a living character and beyond the control of his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
96. THE VERNET FAMILY: three portraits.
(I) CLAUDE JOSEPH VERNET, 174-1789.
(2) ANTOINE CHARLES HORACE VERNET, commonly called CARLE, 1758-1835.
(3) EMILE JEAN HORACE VERNET, called HORACE, 1789-1863.
From prints in the British Museum, reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees.
" My ancestors were country squires . . . my grandmother..... was the
sister of Vernet, the French artist. Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest
forms. "
(The Greek Interpreter.)
All three Vernets were artists of distinction. Holmes's grandmother must have been a daughter of Carle Vernet.
97. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON. Original pen and ink drawing by Gordon Hogg for the
London Mystery Magazine, Volume 1, No. 1. 1949.
Lent by the editor, Mr. Michael Hall.
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98. STUDIES IN THE LITERATURE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, contained in Essays in Satire, by
Ronald A. Knox. London, Sheed and Ward, 1928.
Lent by Mr. Michael E. Pointer.
This essay was written in 1911for the Gryphon Club at Trinity and was first published in the Oxford Blue Book in 1912. It was the first important treatise on Holmes.
99. A NOTE ON THE WATSON PROBLEM, by S. C. R[oberts]. Cambridge University Press, 1929.
Lent by the author.
A critical review of Monsignor Ronald Knox's paper.
100. DOCTOR WATSON: prolegomena to the study of a biographical problem, with a
bibliography of Sherlock Holmes, by S. C. Roberts. London, Faber, 1931. (Criterion
Miscellany No. 28.)
Lent by Mr. J. E. Holroyd.
The standard biography of Dr. Watson. 100.
101 SHERLOCK HOLMES: fact or fiction? By T. S. Blakeney. London, John Murray, 1932.
Lent by Mr. Anthony D. Howlett.
'This work is an Introduction to studies, not a Critical Commentary on Holmes.'
102. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON: the chronology of their adventures, by H. W. Bell.
London, Constable, 1937. The author's own copy with manuscript notes.
Lent by Mrs. Virginia Bell Clarke.
A compendium of all the adventures, both recorded and unrecorded, with the dating of each. It includes an attempt to identify No. 221B Baker Street.
103. THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, by Vincent Starrett. London, Ivor Nicholson
and Watson, 1934.
Lent by Mr. Michael E. Pointer.
Acknowledged as the standard study of the life of Holmes.
104. BAKER STREET STUDIES, edited by H. W. Bell. London, Constable, 1934.
Lent by Mr. Anthony D. Howlett
Essays by Dorothy L. Sayers, Helen Simpson, Vernon Rendall, Vincent Starrett, Ronald Knox, A. G. Macdonell, S. C. Roberts, and the compiler.
In Holmes's College Career Miss Sayers comes to the conclusion that he was admitted to an Honours Degree at Cambridge after sitting, late in 1874, for his tripos in Natural Sciences. To support her theory she points that the name of S. T. Holmes does, in fact, appear in the Book of Matriculations and Degrees for that period.
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105. AN IRREGULAR GUIDE TO SHERLOCK HOLMES OF BAKER STREET, by Jay Finley Christ. New
York, Argus Books, Summit, N.J., The Pamphlet House, 1937.
Lent by the compiler.
An indispensable concordance to the writings of John H. Watson, M.D.
106. LETTERS FROM BAKER STREET, edited by Edgar W. Smith, New York, The Pamphlet House,
1942.
Lent by the editor.
An argument claiming that Conan Doyle's The Lost Special and The Man with the Watches from Round The Fire Stories are cases investigated by Sherlock Holmes.
107. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON: a textbook of friendship, edited by Christopher
Morley. New York, Harcourt, Bruce, 1944.
Lent by Mr. Anthony D. Howlett.
A new edition of five of the best-known Sherlock Holmes stories with copious annotations. An appendix gives a digest of all the adventures.
108. PROFILE BY GASLIGHT: an irregular reader about the private life of Sherlock
Holmes, edited by Edgar W. Smith. [Introduction by Louis Untermeyer. Illustrated by Julian
Brazelton and Frederick Dorr Steele]. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1944.
Lent by the editor.
Forty studies by eminent Sherlockians.
109. BAKER STREET INVENTORY: a Sherlockian bibliography, compiled by Edgar W. Smith.
Summit, New Jersey, The Pamphlet House, 1945.
Lent by the compiler.
First issued in mimeographed form in 1944, this is the most comprehensive bibliography of Sherlockiana and includes articles contained in periodicals. Supplements were issued in the Baker Street Journal.
110. THE BAKER STREET JOURNAL: an Irregular Quarterly of Sherlockiana, edited by Edgar
W. Smith. Volume 1 No. 1. New York, Ben Abramson, 1946.
Lent by the editor.
The official journal of the Baker Street Irregulars of New York. Publication suspended, Volume 4, No. 1, 1949. This journal has proved invaluable in the organisation of this Exhibition.
111. FLASHES BY FANLIGHT, by J. A. Finch. Edited by Jay Finley Christ. Chicago, The
Fanlight Press, 1946.
Lent by the editor.
Reprints of notes contributed mainly to The Chicago Daily Tribune.
112. GLEANINGS BY GASLIGHT, by J. A. Finch. Edited by Jay Finley Christ. Chicago, The
Fanlight House, 1947.
Lent by the editor.
More articles from The Chicago Daily Tribune.
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113. AN IRREGULAR CHRONOLOGY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES OF BAKER STREET, by Jay Finley Christ.
Chicago, The Fanlight House, 1947.
Lent by the author.
A chronology of the adventures.
114. THE SECOND CAB: fifteen Sherlockian essays, one sonnet and a quiz, edited by James
Keddie, Jr. Stoke Moran [for The Speckled Band], Boston, 1947.
Lent by 'The Speckled Band'.
115. CLIENT'S CASE-BOOK, edited by J. N. Williamson and H. B. Williams. Indianapolis,
The Illustrious Clients, 1947.
Presented by The Illustrious Clients.
A collection of essays and verses.
116. SOUNDINGS IN THE SAGA, by Jay Finley Christ. Chicago, The Fanlight House, 1948.
Lent by the author.
A further collection of articles from The Chicago Daily Tribune.
117. SHERLOCK HOLMES, RAFFLES AND THEIR PROTOTYPES, by Friedrich Depken [Heidelberg,
1914] ; translated and digested by Jay Finley Christ. Chicago, The Fanlight House, 1949.
Lent by the translator.
The German original seemed of sufficient interest to the editor to justify translation. Some passages have been rewritten. In other parts, where the continuity was clear, the translator adhered rather closely to the somewhat immature style of the original.
118. 221B BAKER STREET: Sherlock Holmes' Privatliv, A. D. Henriksen. Copenhagen,
Privately printed, 1949.
Lent by the author.
The first book in Danish on the private life of Sherlock Holmes.
119. EX BIBLIOTHECA HOLMESIANA : the first editions of the writings of Sherlock Holmes,
by Tage La Cour. Copenhagen, The Danish Baker Street Irregulars, Sherlock Holmes Klubben I
Danmark, 1951.
Lent by the author.
An attempt at a bibliography of the published works of Sherlock Holmes, with six title-pages designed by Viggo Naae.
120. STUDIES IN SHERLOCK HOLMES, Nos. II-VI, by Owen F. Grazebrook. Worcester and
London, Ebenezer Bayliss, n.d.
Lent by the author.
II. Politics and Premiers.
'We have descriptions by Dr. Watson of prominent politicians in The Naval
Treaty and The Second Stain. They can be identified as Lord Salisbury and
Mr. Gladstone.'
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III. Royalty.
' The Illustrious Client (title of the opening story in The Case-book
of Sherlock Holmes) is H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, but Miss de Merville was saved in
1894 and not in 1892, the year of the colloquy in the Turkish Bath.'
IV. The Author of the Case-Book.
' While purporting to be of Dr. Watson, it is probable that it is the work of a
Pseudo or Deutero Watson. This may well have been a relative of Sherlock Holmes, Dr.
Vernet.'
V. Dr. Watson and Rudyard Kipling.
' It is more than probable that Mr. Kipling obtained from Dr. Watson himself some
of the facts recorded in Love o' Woman. Mr. Kipling was in London, 1890-91, and also
published in The Strand Magazine.'
VI. Something of Dr. Watson, by R-- K--
'This fragment, a manuscript not included in the published work of Mr.. Rudyard
Kipling, confirms that the writer met both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on their lawful
occasions.'
121. THE LONDON MYSTERY MAGAZINE, edited by Michael Hall.
This magazine published from 221B Baker Street, is dedicated to the immortal memory of its greatest tenant.
122. SHERLOCK HOLMES IN INDIA, by Kailas Nath Katju.
Lent by the author.
A pamphlet by His Excellency the Governor of West Bengal.
123. ONDORI TSUSHIN, No. 2, 1949. Leading Tokyo periodical, containing four critical
essays on Sherlock Holmes.
Lent by the Baritsu Chapter of Tokyo.
124. SEKAI KANKAKU, No. 2, 1950. Japanese critical review, containing Count Makino's
paper explaining the confusion between 'baritsu' (as quoted by Dr. Watson in The
Adventure of the Empty House) and the real word ' bujitsu '.
Lent by the Baritsu Chapter of Tokyo.
125. WAS SHERLOCK HOLMES A DRUG ADDICT? by an occasional correspondent [Dr. George F.
McCleary]. Contained in The Lancet, 26th December, 1936.
From the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
126. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON, by Maurice Campbell. London, Ash and Co., 1935.
Lent by the author.
An elaboration of papers read to Guy's Hospital and the Abernethian Society, dealing with the medical aspects of the stories and the private life of Dr. Watson.
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127. MEDICINE AND DETECTION, by Douglas Guthrie, and SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DOCTORS,
by Zachary Cope. Contained in Medicine Illustrated, Volume 3, No. 5, May, 1949.
Lent by Dr. H. Tait.
128. SHERLOCK HOLMES: ANALYTICAL CHEMIST, by R. P. Graham. Reprinted from The Journal
of Chemical Education, October, 1945.
Lent by The Canadian Baskervilles.
129. DOCTOR WATSON, I PRESUME, by R. P. Graham. Reprinted from The American Journal of
Surgery, April, 1946.
Lent by The Canadian Baskervilles.
Examines the authenticity of Watson's claim to a medical degree.
130. SHERLOCKHOLMESOGLAEGESTANDEN, by Douglas Guthrie. Contained in Medicinsk Forum,
Volume i1 No. 10, December, 1948.
Lent by Dr. H. Tait.
A lecture delivered before the Danish Medicinsk-Historisk Society.
131. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND MUSIC, by Guy Warrack. London, Faber, 1947.
From the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
Holmes as concert-goer, composer and executant-his passion for music was one of his outstanding characteristics.
132. A BAKER STREET SONG BOOK, by Harvey Officer. New York, The Pamphlet House, 1943.
Lent by Mr. Edgar W. Smith of New York.
The complete score of the Baker Street Suite for violin and piano, with thirteen songs on the Baker Street scene. 'They scan. They will go to the acompanying tunes. They are meant to be sung in unison, loudly and uproariously.'
133. BAKER STREET RUBAIYAT, by Sherlock Holmes (with apologies to Edward Fitzgerald).
New York, Meyer F. Dubin, 1949.
Lent by Mr. Nathan L. Bengis of New York.
One hundred copies of this poem were printed for distribution among the friends of Nathan L. Bengis at Christmas, 1949.
134. A LAURISTON GARDEN OF VERSES: six Sherlockian sonnets and a ballade, by Helen
Yuhasova. Summit, N.J., The Pamphlet House, 1946.
Lent by Mr. Edgar W. Smith of New York.
A modern American poetess on Holmesian themes.
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135. A BAKER STREET QUARTETTE: four Sherlockian tales in verse, by Edgar W. Smith. New
York, The Baker Street Irregulars, 1950.
Lent by the author.
Four of the adventures, A Case of Identity, The Speckled Band, The Solitary Cyclist and The Final Problem, freely transposed into verse.
136. THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SOCIETY. One mimeographed and two printed reports of the
first, second and third dinners held by the Sherlock Holmes Society at Canuto's
Restaurant, Baker Street, London, between 1934 and 1936.
Lent by Mr. R. Ivor Gunn.
Founded in 1934 by the late A. G. Macdonell, the Sherlock Holmes Society, under the chairmanship of Canon Dick Sheppard, was a most distinguished company, as the accounts of their annual dinners, held on Derby Day, show. Simultaneously in New York the Baker Street Irregulars started, followed by scion societies in other American cities. No further meetings of The Sherlock Holmes Society were held after 1936. In April, 1951The Sherlock Holmes Society of London was founded and includes many of the members of the original Society.
137. LETTER FROM A. G. MACDONELL, 27th April, 1934, relating to conditions of
membership of The Sherlock Holmes Society and giving notice of the first dinner, 6th June.
Lent by Mr. D. Martin Dakin.
138. FIVE ORANGE PIPS which were 'set on' Mr. R. Ivor Gunn by Canon Dick Sheppard for a
misdemeanour at the Third Dinner of the Sherlock Holmes Society at Canuto's Restaurant in
Baker Street, in June, 1936. The envelope inscribed ' H.R.L.S. for R.I.G.' contained the
dreaded warning.
Lent by Mr. R. Ivor Gunn.
139. THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS. Menu of a dinner held at the Murray Hill Hotel, New York, 3rd January, 1947.
The pioneer Sherlock Holmes society of America takes its name from Holmes's gang of street arabs. 'The Baker Street Irregulars never had any strictly formal organisation ; and since the disappearance of the early memoranda, no one remembers who were the founding fathers. The first dinner was held on June 5th, 1934.' Membership, which is limited, is considered a great honour. Before admission to it a candidate has to undergo an examination that would stump anyone who does not know the stories almost by heart. The president, known as 'The Gasogene-cum-Tantalus , is Mr. Christopher Morley. Mr. Edgar W. Smith is ' The Buttons-cum-Commissionaire '. About thirty scion societies have been formed in the principal cities of the United States and Canada.
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140. HOLMESIAN SOCIETIES IN GREAT BRITAIN AND OVERSEAS. A collection of greetings, letters, lists of members, photographs, letter-heads, membership cards and press-cuttings, sent by the following societies and their members :
THE AMATEUR MENDICANT SOCIETY OF DETROIT.
THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS.
THE BARITSU CHAPTER OF TOKYO.
THE CANADIAN BASKERVILLES.
THE COPTIC PATRIARCHS OF CHICAGO.
THE CREEPING MEN OF CLEVELAND.
THE DANCING MEN OF PROVIDENCE.
THE DANISH BAKER STREET IRREGULARS.
THE DIOGENES CLUB OF BROOKLYN.
THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
THE HOUNDS OF THE BASKERVILLE (SIC) OF CHICAGO.
THE ILLUSTRIOUS CLIENTS OF INDIANAPOLIS.
THE MUSGRAVE RITUALISTS OF NEW YORK.
THE RED CIRCLE OF MARYLAND.
THE SCANDALOUS BOHEMIANS OF AKRON.
THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SOCIETY IN COPENHAGEN.
THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SOCIETY OF LONDON.
THE SIX NAPOLEONS OF BALTIMORE.
THE SOCIETY OF BAKER STREET SQUIRES OF TORONTO.
THE SONS OF THE COPPER BEECHES OF PHILADELPHIA.
THE SPECKLED BAND OF BOSTON.
THE TRAINED CORMORANTS OF LOS ANGELES.
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(Exhibits arranged by Dr. W. T. Williams)
141. THE LION'S MANE.
" Cyanea! Behold the Lion's Mane!"
Despite the wealth of scientific detail provided in this account of a fatal encounter with
a jellyfish, there are still a few points requiring elucidation. The culprit was
undoubtedly a jellyfish; but was it Cyanea ?
(a) OUT OF DOORS : a selection of original articles on practical natural history, by J.
G. Wood. London, Longmans, 1874. First Edition.
Lent from the Fulham Public Libraries Collection.
This is the authority cited by Holmes. The book was many times reprinted, though like so many natural history books of the period it has long passed out of general use.
(b) CYANEA CAPILLATA. Escscholtz.
The specimen exhibited is a fair example of the animal as it usually occurs off our shores (this particular specimen was caught off Southend pier). Although the tentacles have contracted considerably as a result of the preservation, they would not, in a specimen such as this, extend beyond a matter of inches from the central disc. Moreover, although even this specimen could sting unpleasantly, it could hardly produce the extreme effects described.
However, there is a northern variety arctica, sometimes separated as a distinct species Cyanea arctica ; this may reach extraordinary proportions, the central disc attaining a diameter of 7 feet and the tentacles extending to perhaps 150 feet from the centre. It was almost certainly such a form that the Rev. J. G. Wood encountered off Margate. C. arctica has been frequently recorded from the North Sea, and extends down to the coasts of Northern France, though specimens taken in these more southern waters tend to be smaller. However, a specimen off the south coast is by no means improbable.
Unfortunately, there is no other authenticated case of Cyanea causing the death of man, nor is it normally regarded as likely to do so. However, we must remember that McPherson was crippled by heart trouble following rheumatic fever'. Holmes's...
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... statement that Cyanea can be as dangerous to life as the bite of the cobra can certainly not be attributed to Wood; he did not make this statement in Out of Doors, nor, since he seems to have been a careful and conscientious observer, is it likely that he made it at all. This, regrettably, can only be considered as exaggeration on Holmes's part.
(C) PHYSALIA. (The Portuguese Man-of-War.)
This complex creature is actually a colony-an aggregate of organisms acting in some ways as an individual ; it is a not very close relative of the ordinary jellyfishes of which Cyanea is a representative. It is, however, a far more formidable object to the bather. The tentacles of the relatively small specimen exhibited might, when fully extended, reach to perhaps 50 feet from the float ; and much larger specimens-such as the remarkable Atlantic form described by Haeckel under the name Caravella - are on record. It is typically an inhabitant of warmer waters, though, as Holmes suggested, it might well be driven on to the Sussex coast by a south-west gale ; it is occasionally recorded off our southern shores. There seems little doubt, moreover, that a large specimen could kill even a healthy man ; a specimen of no more than average size has been seen to kill and ingest a full-grown mackerel. One minor difficulty is that the float is normally a deep-blue colour ; but orange-coloured specimens are on record.
A curious difficulty, so far as either of these organisms is concerned, is Holmes's statement that ' It lay upon a rocky shelf some three feet under the water '. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that these creatures float. It is perhaps just conceivable that the animal had been stranded at low water and had become entangled with something that had anchored it. This is extremely improbable, but, as Holmes pointed out more than once, when the impossible has been eliminated, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. So far as a jellyfish in normal circumstances is concerned, it must be admitted that the method of dropping rocks upon it would represent a somewhat inefficient means of disposal.
142. THE SPECKLED BAND.
"It is a swamp-adder!" cried Holmes-" the deadliest snake in India."
Unfortunately, the name ' swamp adder' is not now in common use. It may be an obsolete vernacular name from some early work of natural history now forgotten; or it may be a purely local name, acquired by Holmes from one of his cosmopolitan acquaintances, in which case it is unlikely to appear in any standard...
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... work of reference. The identity of the snake must therefore be deduced from such information as we possess on its appearance and behaviour ; the exhibit shows specimens of those species which seem worthy of consideration, together with notes on their respective probability.
(a) BITIS ARIETANS (Merrem) (Puff adder).
There is a widespread belief that this was the snake intended. The fact that it is African in origin does not disqualify it, since there is only circumstantial evidence that the snake was Indian. (In this connexion it should be noted that Dr. Roylott also kept a baboon; apart from the small black baboon (Cynopithecus niger) of Celebes, baboons are confined to Africa and Arabia.) However, the lethargic nature of this snake, its relatively slow-acting venom, and its striking markings (which could not reasonably be described, even by Julia Stoner immediately after being bitten, as speckled) seem to rule it out.
Apart from the sea-snakes (Hydrophiidae) of the Indian coasts, whose flat oar-like tails would seem to preclude them from negotiating bell-ropes, there are no truly aquatic venomous snakes in India. Holmes's use of the term 'swamp adder' has caused some investigators to suggest the damp-loving river-jack vipers of the African rain-forests (Bitis nasicornis and B. gabonica) ; but these must be ruled out for precisely the same reasons as the puff-adder.
(b) VIPERA RUSSELLII (Shaw) (Russell's viper).
This is a more plausible suggestion. It is common in India and indisputably venomous, though again the venom is relatively slow in action. The head is markedly triangular, a point specifically noted by Watson (' the squat diamond-shaped head . . . '), though this is true to a greater or lesser extent of practically all snakes. Its markings, however, seem unsuitable : the characteristic rings are unmistakable and, while Julia Stoner might conceivably have described it as ' spotted ', it can hardly be regarded as speckled. Moreover, it is not naturally a climber ; it too is lethargic in habit, and, though if pushed through the ventilator it would no doubt have climbed down the bell-rope, it is most improbable that it would ever have climbed up again.
(c) ECHIS CARINATUS (Schneider) (Saw-scaled viper).
This, though typically a desert snake, is also a possibility, if only because its marking is less striking than that of Russell's viper. It shares, however, the same disadvantages : its slow-acting venom and its disinclination to climb.
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The temple-vipers (species of Trimeresurus - not exhibited) have also been suggested by some authorities since they are treeclimbers with prehensile tails. They are: however, brilliantly coloured creatures (often green, sometimes with red tails), and such colouring could hardly have escaped attention.
(d) BUNGARUS MAGNIMACULATUS (Krait).
All the preceding types have had one characteristic in common a ' haemotoxic ' venom, i.e. one that acts on the blood-system. A bite from such snakes kills relatively slowly, and would be unlikely to cause death in less than several hours ; and whereas there are reasons for supposing that the text exaggerates in this respect, it is clear that a more rapidly-acting venom is indicated. The krait, however, possesses a 'neurotoxic' venom, one that acts on the nervous system, and acts in consequence more quickly ; death could well occur within an hour of being bitten and might, if accompanied by severe shock, be even more rapid. The striking banded design does not necessarily debar it from consideration, since, as the specimen exhibited shows clearly, the lighter bands may themselves show dark specks : the snake may in fact be said to be marked with a series of speckled bands. This would not, however, tally with Watson's 'Round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with brownish speckles . . . '; furthermore, though the krait must perhaps be regarded as a serious possibility, it is doubtful whether its behaviour would be appropriate.
(e) NAJA NAJA (Linnaeus) (Cobra).
This must be regarded as the most probable solution. The cobra is extremely variable in colour, but forms with brown speckles on a yellow background are common. It is a ubiquitous animal and though not typically aquatic might well enter swamps in search of food. It is an extremely active and-as snakes go-intelligent snake; it would be quite likely not only to climb down the bellrope but also up again-it is in fact one of the very few snakes that might be expected so to behave. It too has a neurotoxic venom. Finally, we may return to Watson's description : ' . . . there reared itself ... the squat diamond-shaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent ' (our italics). The habit of rearing almost vertically when roused is very characteristic of the cobra, and the ' puffed neck ' no doubt refers to the erected hood, also characteristic of the cobra. In general, it would appear that the cobra is the only snake which completely satisfies the requirements.
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TWO OUTSTANDING PROBLEMS.
"He has died within ten seconds of being bitten."
But had he ? First, for there had presumably been no change of snake, this is inconsistent with the fate of Julia Stoner, who " slowly sank and died without having recovered her consciousness", which is much more credible behaviour. In any case, no snake-bite would kill in so short a time as ten seconds ; and we may say with some confidence that Dr. Roylott must still have been alive when Holmes and Watson entered his room. It would be most interesting to know what remedial steps, if any, Watson took, and why he has thought fit to suppress any reference to his actions in this respect.
" He must recall the snake ... he had trained it, probably by the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned."
No snake drinks milk from choice, though it may do so if it is thirsty and water is not available ; Dr. Roylott evidently shared the popular misapprehension in this matter. As for training it to return to his " low, clear whistle ", this is most improbable ; for snakes are deaf to ordinary sounds, and will only respond to relatively violent vibration. However, Dr. Roylott was evidently remarkably gifted in the care and handling of snakes. It could be no easy matter to keep a cobra alive and well for some months in an iron safe, an environment which even to so adaptable an animal as the cobra must be regarded as distinctly abnormal ; and his practice of depositing it therein and withdrawing it at will must have required considerable skill and some agility if he was not himself to be bitten.
143. THE DARTMOOR ORCHID.
" Would you mind getting that orchid for me among the mare's-tails yonder ?
We are very rich in orchids on the moor, though, of course you are rather late to see the
beauties of the place "
(Mrs. Stapleton to Watson on Dartmoor, Hound of the Baskervilles).
What was the orchid ?
The colour photographs exhibited are by Robert Atkinson. They are taken by permission from Wild Orchids in Britain by V. S. Summerhayes, published by Collins in the New Naturalist series in association with Adprint Ltd.
(a) ORCHIS PRAETERMISSA Druce (Common marsh-orchid).
In many ways this seems the most likely ; it is a marsh orchid, and common on Dartmoor. Moreover, it is one of the few orchids that might be found actually growing in amongst the mare's-tails (Hippuris vulgaris L.), provided that the water was not deep at that...
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... point. Unfortunately, it flowers in midsummer, and is unlikely to be found in flower later than about the middle of August; but the conversation quoted took place in late September or early October.
(b) ORCHIS LARIFOLIA L. sec Pugsley (Early spotted orchid).
This shares with O. praetermissa the advantage that it could well grow among Hippuris ; but unfortunately it flowers in early summer (May-June), and a flowering spike in October seems quite out of the question.
(c) ORCHIS ERICETORUM (Linton) E. S. Marshall (Heath spotted orchid).
This is on the whole less likely. It is common on Dartmoor, where it can be found up to 1,750 feet, but it prefers acid conditions such as are found in association with the moss Sphagnum ; it is not likely to be growing among Hippuris, which shows a preference for rather less acid situations. It flowers about the same time as O. praetermissa.
(d) HAMMARBYA PALUDOSA (L.) O. Kuntze (Bog orchid).
From the point of view of date this is possible ; it flowers late, and the perianth is retained in fruit, so that the appearance of the orchid is not greatly altered. A fruiting spike, at least, would be a possibility in the first week of October. It is not very likely to be growing with Hippuris, since it normally prefers more acid conditions, though this is not impossible. The difficulty here is to imagine why Mrs. Stapleton wanted it, since her interest in orchids seems to have been aesthetic rather than technical ; it is an inconspicuous plant, never more than six inches high and often considerably less, and with small greenish flowers.
(e) SPIRANTHES SPIRALIS (L.) Koch (Ladies' tresses).
This is an attractive possibility ; it grows on Dartmoor, is a striking plant when in flower, and flowers from September to October. It is probably the only orchid that could have been found in full flower on Dartmoor on the date in question. It is not, however, a plant of wet places, and would certainly not be growing among Hippuris. However, the precise form of wording must have depended on Watson's somewhat erratic memory, and among may be an inaccurate report for near or some similar term. It is not infrequently found on dry patches in the marshy areas, and it must be assumed that Watson and Mrs. Stapleton were not actually in the marsh at the time the conversation took place.
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Throughout the duration of the Exhibition, a living specimen of one or other of the orchids is shown. Specimens are specially collected by Mr. Francis Rose of the Botany Department, Bedford College.
144. OPENSHAW'S BOOTS.
"You have come up from the south-west, I see."
"Yes, from Horsham."
"That clay and chalk mixture which I see upon your toe-caps is quite
distinctive."
(The Five Orange Pips.)
This conversation between Holmes and Openshaw seems to reveal a hiatus in Holmes's otherwise encyclopaedic knowledge of 'the mudstains from any region within fifty miles of town'; or it suggests either that Watson's notes were at fault when he mentions Horsham, or that Openshaw did not tell Holmes the whole truth about his movements.
GEOLOGICAL MAP OF SOUTH-EAST ENGLAND. Geological specimens : (a) Tunbridge Wells Sands; (b) Weald Clay.
The map shows that Horsham stands on what are known as the Tunbridge Wells Sands (at the top of the Hastings Beds) and is closely surrounded on three sides by the Weald Clay. Apart from material deposited by builders or from some similar artificial source, it would have been quite impossible for Openshaw to get chalk on his toe-caps in or around Horsham. Sand and clay, perhaps ; chalk and clay, no. Specimens of the sand and clay are exhibited.
Geological specimens: (c) Lower Greensand; (d) Gault Clay; (e) Upper Greensand; (f) Chalk.
It will be observed, however, that somewhat to the north-on a line that passes through Dorking-there is a zone in which the traveller would pass rapidly through the Lower Greensand, Gault Clay, Upper Greensand (a very narrow strip) and the Chalk (specimens, all from the Dorking area). In this zone even a short walk could provide a mixture of chalk and clay. This condition is not confined to the south-west, but extends along a line to the south-east as far as Folkestone. Holmes's alleged statement that such a mixture implies a district to the south-west is simply not true ; it seems more probable that Holmes said ' south', and that Watson, with Horsham in mind, gratuitously improved on Holmes's statement when writing up his notes.
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However, the main problem remains : how did Openshaw's boots come to bear traces of both clay and chalk ? There seem to be three possibilities :
1. For 'Horsham' read, for example, 'Dorking'; Watson having through carelessness or
from discretion altered the locale.
2. Openshaw had acquired the chalk on a previous journey and had simply omitted to clean
his boots. This does not accord well with the statement that he was ' well groomed and
trimly clad '.
3 . Openshaw broke his journey at Dorking to keep some appointment which he did not
disclose to Holmes.
Our preference is for solution (1), since Holmes would certainly have detected the deception implicit in (3).
145. THE DARTMOOR BUTTERFLY.
Stapleton (to Watson) : " Oh, excuse me an instant. it is surely
Cyclopides." A small fly or moth had fluttered across our path, and in an instant
Stapleton was rushing with extraordinary energy and speed in pursuit of it.
(The Hound of the Baskervilles.)
The statement throws a not entirely complimentary light on Stapleton's entomological knowledge, even though the British Museum did regard him as a recognised authority on the subject. Assuming that the events in question did in fact take place on Dartmoor (which has been disputed by some students) there seems little doubt that the insect cannot possibly have been Cyclopides.
(a) CARTEROCEPHALUS PALAEMON. Pall. CYCLOPIDES BRONTES (Schiff.) Hubner (Chequered Skipper).
The generic name Cyclopides is no longer valid ; it was erected in 1819 by Hubner for five species, only one of which was British. This is the butterfly now known as the Chequered Skipper; the name Cyclopides lingered on in books on natural history for some years, and its use by Stapleton is quite understandable.
However, his statement " He is very rare " is, for Dartmoor, a considerable understatement; for it would have been the first and only record for that part of England. The distribution map shows that this species is of extremely local occurrence, and does not reach Devon.
(The map is reproduced from Butterflies by E. B. Ford, published by Collins in the New Naturalist Series, by permission of the author and publishers.)
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(b) THYMELICUS ACTEON. Rott. (Lulworth Skipper).
(c) HESPERIA COMMA. Linn. (Silver-spotted Skipper).
(d) THYMELICUS LINEOLA. Ochs. (Essex Skipper).
It is nevertheless likely that the butterfly in question was one of the group (Hesperiidae) known as the Skippers. They all have a distinctive darting and rapid flight, and Watson's ' a small fly or moth ' is very suggestive, since this group of butterflies is primitive and approaches the moths in a number of respects.
The first two Skippers above are known in Devon, but not from the Moor. The Essex Skipper does not seem to have been recorded from Devon, though specimens have been taken in Somerset.
(e) ERYNNIS TAGES. Linn. (Dingy Skipper).
(f) PYRGUS MALVAE. Linn. (Grizzled Skipper).
(g) THYMELICUS SYLVESTRIS. Poda. (Small Skipper).
(h) OCHLODES VENATA. Br. & Grey. (Large Skipper).
These are all the Skippers that remain. All are known on the Moor, though they would hardly be described as ' very rare'; but there remains the difficulty of the time of year-October is far too late for any of them. However, the summer of 1886 was dry and warm until October 4th, which may have been a contributing factor.
146. THE BISULPHATE OF BARYTA.
'A formidable array of bottles and test-tubes, with the pungent cleanly smell of
hydrochloric acid, told me that he had spent his day in the chemical work which was so
dear to him.
"Well, have you solved it ?", I asked as I entered.
"Yes. It was the bisulphate of baryta."
"No, no, the mystery!" I cried.
"Oh, that! I thought of the salt that I have been working upon"
(A Case of Identity.)
BARIUM HYDROGEN SULPHATE (Bisulphate of baryta).
Ba(HSO4)2; or (Riesenfeld and Feld, 1920) H2Ba(SO4)2
This curious substance is of some importance in the elucidation of Holmes's chemical interests, since the fact that he was analysing it at all suggests that such investigations were a hobby rather than serious contributions to research ; this has long been suspected by chemists, since the long list of publications by Holmes includes none in any of the recognised chemical journals.
The substance was first prepared by J. J. Berzelius in 1843 the specimen shown was specially prepared for this Exhibition by Dr. K. E. Howlett. It is decomposed by water, as the two...
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... photomicrographs show : the first, taken in sulphuric acid suspension immediately after preparation, shows the typical prismatic crystals ; the second, taken a few minutes later, shows considerable cloudiness as a result of the absorption of water and the consequent precipitation of barium sulphate. (Both photomicrographs are x100.)
Apart from some doubt as to its precise structure, the compound is of little interest, and has never been more than a chemical curiosity ; it has certainly never been an article of commercial supply. The only source of such a compound would be from a private collection. It seems probable that a sealed tube of the substance which had lost its label was found by one of Holmes's friends in a University laboratory; and that the finder, knowing that Holmes made something of a hobby of routine chemical analysis, asked him to identify it.
147. THE REMARKABLE WORM.
'A third case worthy of note is that of Isadora Persano, the well-known
journalist and duellist, who was found stark staring mad with a matchbox in front of him
which contained a remarkable worm, said to be unknown to science.'
(Thor Bridge.)
The case, as is well-known, was one of Holmes's failures ; and no further details were ever released. The information given is too slender to enable us to identify the worm with any certainty, though informed zoological opinion inclines to the view that it was a centipede. The term 'worm' is often used in common speech for any elongated creature (compare, for example, the name 'wireworm', applied to the millipede Julus or even the centipede Lithobius) and it seems unlikely that Watson would have described a spider or scorpion in this manner. Only the larger centipedes are at all dangerous to man ; but quite large matchboxes were in use at that time. Exhibited, simply to show the scale, are two matchboxes ; they are of modern make but are of the correct size and are furnished with labels in use about 1900.
148. THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA.
" Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson," said
Holmes, in a reminiscent voice. " It was a ship which is associated with the giant
rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared."
(The Sussex Vampire.)
The giant rat of Sumatra is. of course, Rhizomys Sumatrensis, the great Sumatran Bamboo-rat, which may attain a length of nineteen inches excluding the tail ; a mounted skin is exhibited. The world, we understand, is still not prepared for the full story, so that we are unable to disclose the precise nature of the connexion between this rodent and Matilda Briggs.
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(Arranged by Major Hugh Pollard)
149. REVOLVER FOR INDOOR PRACTICE (Holmes).
" I have always held, too, that pistol practice should distinctly be an
open-air pastime; and when Holmes in one of his queer humours would sit in an armchair,
with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges, and proceed to adorn the opposite
wall with a patriotic V.R. done in bullet-pocks, I felt strongly that neither the
atmosphere nor the appearance of our room was improved by it."
(The Musgrave Ritual.)
"...his occasional revolver practice within doors ... made him the very
worst tenant in London."
(The Dying Detective.)
The revolvers in use at the beginning of the last quarter of the nineteenth century
were mainly 'rimfire' weapons which used cartridges in which the fulminate was in the rim.
Not only were many revolvers of large calibre made for this form of ammunition, but the
small .22 calibre which is today the only survivor of the rimfire system was popular both
for small 'ladies" revolvers and also for Saloon Pistols with an even smaller load,
the No. 1 Bulleted Breech Cap. It is undoubtedly one of these weapons which was used by
Holmes for indoor practice. The weapon is essentially a target arm which makes little
noise and accomplishes little damage. The bulleted breech cap contained no powder and
depended for its propellant value on the charge of fulminate in the rim. The early French
bulleted breech caps were of double construction, as was the .442 'Boxer ' service
revolver cartridge ; it appears that Dr. Watson loosely applied the term ' Boxer ' to all
such double-based caps. The specimen shown is typical of the Continental Pistolet de Salon
of the period and has a very light trigger-pull which is sometimes termed ' hair-trigger
'.
Lent by Major Hugh Pollard.
150. REVOLVERS FOR SERIOUS USE (Holmes).
Though there are many references to Holmes's revolver or revolvers, there are none which enable us to identify them with certainty. It seems that he possessed at least two of the types exhibited.
The first of these is the medium-sized Tranter revolver Of .442 calibre. This is a very powerful weapon, yet not too big for personal carriage. It fires the contemporary Army and Police 'central fire cartridge and was essentially designed for self-defence...
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... work at rather close range. The specimen was retailed by Wilkinson's of Pall Mall
who at that time were prominent in supplying military and police equipment.
Lent by Mr. Robert Churchill.
The second Holmes revolver is a small, heavy, but relatively effective weapon, the .320-bore Webley No. 2. Essentially a pocket pistol it takes up little room but would be adequate for dealing with the most determined criminal. It was the smallest really practicable weapon of its time.
It is likely that this is what Holmes was thinking of when he refers, in the Speckled
Band to an 'Eley's No. 2 '. The Eley cartridges of the time were sold in boxes
labelled to say which weapons they fitted; and ' Eley No. 2 ' is probably a confusion
arising out of a box marked in large letters ' Eley ' and, in smaller letters, 'for the
Webley Pistol No. 2 Moreover, some Webley pistols were marketed with ' Eley .3 20 on the
barrel to prevent confusion with the Smith and Wesson .32, which was not the same as the
British or Continental .320, or the similar .32 Colt.
Lent by Major Hugh Pollard.
151. PRESENTATION REVOLVER (Holmes).
Although Holmes received many presents, such as an emerald pin (The Bruce-Partington Plans) and a gold snuff-box (A Case of Identity), there is no reference to a presentation revolver. However, it seems so inherently probable that Holmes would at some time have received one, that we have taken the liberty of exhibiting an unusually fine specimen of the type we should expect.
It is an Adams muzzle-loading revolver. This superb gold damascened Adams was invented and produced about 1850 and was the favourite Service revolver during the Crimean war. Both in design and in efficiency it was considerably ahead of the contemporary Colt single-action percussion revolver. It is of 54 bore (.500 in.) and is provided with a powder flask and bullet mould.
Rather frail gold-beater's skin ' cartridges ' were also used in this weapon but each
chamber had to be separately loaded from the front; then a separate copper percussion cap
had to be placed from the rear on the nipple of each chamber. While muzzle-loading arms
still predominated during the American Civil War, an almost complete changeover to
breech-loading weapons began about 1865 and was complete by 1880.
Lent by the Duke of Montrose.
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152. AIR-GUN FOR DEALING WITH HOLMES (Colonel Sebastian Moran).
' Holmes had picked up the powerful air-gun from the floor, and was examining
its mechanism.
" An admirable and unique weapon," said he, " noiseless and of tremendous
power."'
(The Empty House.)
The air-rifle of Col. Sebastian Moran is of a type manufactured during the later Victorian period as ' airgun walking canes '. They are delicate and rather complicated weapons prone to go out of order. The butt section is an air reservoir which can be pumped up by means of a small diameter airpump to a pressure of some sixty pounds. A large spring-controlled poppett valve with a projecting steel shank retains the air in the reservoir. The outer barrel is smooth bored and takes a small charge of shot pellets for use against small game ; a breech-loading device for the use of spherical ball in the larger barrel is incorporated. The weapon has to be cocked against a very powerful mainspring by a detachable cocking lever and is discharged by pressing on a small stud on the left-hand side with the thumb. Small fixed sights are fitted. A small bore rifled barrel for bullets, fits inside the larger one.
The weapon considered as a rifle is as efficient as a revolver of equivalent calibre, is far quieter and leaves no betraying powder marks, etc. As a shotgun its performance is poor beyond twenty yards range but as a rifle a range of over a hundred yards is well within its capacity. Ten to twelve shots can be fired without loss of efficiency or repumping but as pressure declines some variability in penetration occurs. Contemporary with this weapon (which is about 885) is the Gifford gas gun, which used compressed carbon dioxide in place of compressed air. Only a very slight improvement in effect is obtained, but one filling of the reservoir permits many more shots to be tired without loss of energy.
Air canes of this type were retailed by many gunshops, though all in fact originated from a single maker in the Minories. Lent by Major Hugh Pollard.
153. REVOLVER FOR SERIOUS USE (Watson).
'"Have you any arms?"
"I have my old service revolver and a few cartridges."
"You had better clean it and load it. He will be a desperate man..."
(A Study in Scarlet.)
'I produced it from my hip-pocket, a short, handy, but very serviceable little
weapon. He undid the catch, shook but the cartridges, and examined it with care.
"It's heavy-remarkably heavy ... One cartridge out. Now we will replace the other
five and put on the safety-catch"'
(Thor Bridge, our italics.)
The above two passages clearly do not refer to the same revolver.
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Although it seems likely from the evidence that Watson stayed faithful to Webley's revolvers, he evidently bought later models from time to time.
The first reference (to his "service revolver") is the one we have chosen to
illustrate. This revolver was a relic of his period of service in the Afghan war and may
have been a last-minute purchase ; officers bought their own revolvers up to 1915. It was
probably a .442 / 450 Solid Frame Webley Double Action. While slower to load and reload
than a modern self-ejecting revolver, these sturdy weapons were not superseded for many
years. The self-ejector was not wholly adopted until after 1885, and indeed the practice
of quick ejection and quick reloading was only necessary in military-type weapons.
Lent by Mr. Robert Churchill.
The second quotation above, though loosely-worded, can only refer to the Webley hammerless .3 20, which is not common today. It had six chambers whereas Most .32 revolvers have only five; and it had a stirrup catch without the familiar thumb lever, and a shot-gun type 'safety catch'.
154. REVOLVER FOR DEALING WITH WATSON (John Garrideb, alias Killer Evans).
' In an instant he had whisked out a revolver from his breast and had fired two
shots. I felt a sudden hot sear as if a red-hot iron had been pressed to my thigh.'
(The Three Garridebs.)
Since 'Killer' Evans was an American gunman, his revolver was almost certainly the New
Colt .410 single-action revolver. This type of pistol was greatly favoured by the American
criminals owing to its large calibre and small size. The calibre Of .41was also that of
the celebrated Deringers ; but these fired a short and not powerful cartridge, while the
Colt New .41Central Fire was a load exceeding that of the majority of contemporary
European service revolvers.
Lent by Mr. Robert Churchill.
155. REVOLVER FOR SUICIDE (Mrs. Neil Gibson, nee Maria Pinto).
' She took one of her husband's revolvers-there was, as you saw, an arsenal in
the house-and kept it for her own use. A similar one she concealed that morning in Miss
Dunbar's wardrobe after discharging one barrel . . . '
(Thor Bridge.)
A matched pair of small revolvers is indicated, and the most likely type would be that exhibited. These ivory-handled Whitneyville armoury revolvers are more powerful than the saloon pistol as they take the standard .22 rimfire short case ; at close range they are fatal. First developed...
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... by Smith and Wesson in 1856 these little .22 revolvers were made in many types and
patterns by both English and American makers. They were almost invariably "
seven-shooters ", as are the specimens shown. These represent an improved model which
was made with little variation from about 1875 to the close of the century, and are of
American origin.
Lent by Major Hugh Pollard.
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(Silver Blaze)
156. PIPE, distinctly Holmesian, used by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
157. THE SIGN OF FOUR. Original design by S. Abbey for the book-jacket of the Uniform
Edition published by John Murray.
Lent by the publishers.
158. THE VALLEY OF FEAR. Original design by Philip Simmonds for the book-jacket of the
Uniform Edition published by John Murray.
Lent by the publishers.
159. SHERLOCK HOLMES, a bust by F. L. Wilkins.
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
160. MINIATURE WATER-COLOUR PORTRAIT OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, by Kathleen Maude, A.R.M.S.
Lent by the artist.
161. WOOD INLAY OF TWO PROFILES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, made by Professor Jay Finlay Christ
from a pen-and-ink drawing by Frederick Dorr Steele.
Lent by the artist and Mr. Vincent Starrett of Chicago.
162. CERAMIC PLAQUE OF THE PROFILE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, made by Mrs. Maud T. Christ of
Chicago.
Lent by the artist.
163. POKER-WORK DRAWING OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, ' respectfully offered to Sir A. Conan
Doyle, from an ardent admirer. New York, November, 1903 '.
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
164. BAKER STREET LEGACY, the will of Sherlock Holmes. New York, the Musgrave
Ritualists, 1951.
Presented by the Musgrave Ritualists.
Said to have been " found among the effects of the late Mycroft Holmes ", 221 copies of this will, dated 16 April, 1891, were printed in May, 1951, for distribution among the friends of Nathan L. Bengis.
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165. A SHERLOCK HOLMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE, by Mycroft Holmes, recently brought to light
by Tobias Gregson, late of Scotland Yard, and transmitted by him to Christopher Morley.
Privately printed, 1938.
Lent by Mr. S. C. Roberts.
Reprinted from the Saturday Review of Literature for May 19, 1934, with the permission of Christopher Morley. Thirty-nine copies have been printed for the friends of Walter Klinefelter, -Christmas, 1938, by the Southworth-Anthoensen Press, Portland, Maine. This is copy number 31.
166. CHRISTMAS CARD, with the greeting " Here's wishing you such Sherlock of joy
at Christmas that your heart will sing Holmes sweet Holmes for many happy years ".
Lent by Mr. George T. Heward.
Inscribed George Heward to William Hamer'. The card is designed to show " How Sherlock Holmes solved The Treble Mystery of Three ". The principal letters only of three words are printed in heavy type, which on the card being held up to the light, are completed to read ' Health ' Wealth, Happiness'.
167. SHERLOCK HOLMES. The Metropolitan line electric locomotive, No. 8.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
This engine carried the name ' Sherlock Holmes ' from 1922 until 1941, when the name-plate was removed in the scrap-metal drive.
168. THE LEGEND OF THE HOUND, a faded manuscript.
' I looked over his shoulder at the yellow paper and the faded script. At the
head was written Baskerville Hall " and below, in large scrawling figures
"1742".
"It appears to be a statement of some sort".
"Yes, it is a statement of a certain legend which runs in the Baskerville
family."'
(The Hound of the Baskervilles).
Lent by Mr. Owen P. Frisbie and Mr. Benjamin S. Clark, Jr. of The Five Orange Pips of
Westchester County, New, York.
169. A GOLD SNUFF BOX.
' He held out his snuff-box of old gold, with a great amethyst in the centre of
the lid. Its splendour was in such contrast to his homely ways and simple life that 1
could not help commenting upon it.
" Ah " said he, " . . . It is a little souvenir from the King of Bohemia in
return for my assistance in the case of the Irene Adler papers."'
(A Case of Identity).
There is no evidence to show that the snuff-box exhibited is not the one presented to
Holmes.
From the private collection of Mr. James Walker, the London jeweller..
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170. BICYCLE, used by Miss Violet Smith (The Solitary Cyclist).
Lent by Raleigh Industries Limited, Nottingham.
The following letter from Mr. George H. B. Wilson, the Managing Director of Raleigh Industries Limited was received by the Marquess of Donegall with the bicycle :
' Dear Lord Donegal], Referring to your letter of the 20th April, in which you inform me of your present researches into the whereabouts of the cycle belonging to Miss Violet Smith of The Solitary Cyclist, Sherlock Holmes's case, 1 am pleased to be able to tell you that on looking back through our files for 1895 and 1896 we have been able to trace a Humber bicycle which we delivered to Miss Smith's father at Charlington Hall.
As you recall in your letter, Miss Smith married and having no further use for the vehicle sold it back to us.
Many years later when it became apparent that our earliest products would be of historical interest, it was placed among other examples of this firm's craftmanship.
It was not, however, until your letter called attention to the fact, that Raleigh Industries Limited realised the very special value of this bicycle, in view of its association with the immortal detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.'
171. A PAIR OF HANDCUFFS.
" Why don't you introduce this pattern at Scotland Yard?" he
continued, taking a pair of steel handcuffs from a drawer. " See how beautifully the
spring works. They fasten in an instant."
" The old pattern is good enough," remarked Lestrade, " if we can only find
the man to put them on."
(A Study in Scarlet).
Unfortunately it has not proved possible to obtain Holmes's own handcuffs. A pair of the " old pattern " of the 188o's is therefore exhibited.
172. DARK LANTERN.
Lent by Mr. K. K. Van Hoffen of Groenekan, Holland.
Mr. Van Hoffen writes : 'According to family tradition this lantern was left by Sherlock Holmes with my great-grandfather H. A. M. Roelants, Esq., printer of Schiedam. My great-grandfather was so like our King William III that the public actually mistook him for the King during a royal visit to Schiedam in 1870. This case of identity was the beginning of a personal friendship between the King and Mr. Roelants, (vide: H. A. M. Roclants, by Frans Netscher, privately printed by Roelants, Schiedam, 1902).
As you will remember Watson quotes Holmes in A Case of Identity as saying "It [a brilliant] was from the reigning family of Holland, though the matter in which I served them was of such a delicacy . . . ". So it is not surprising Holmes should have stayed (in 1887 or '88) at a personal friend's of the-King.'
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173. POLICE LANTERN.
"I walked back to the gate to see if I could see Murcher's lantern"
(A Study in Scarlet).
The lantern shown is one of the type used by the Metropolitan police in the
eighteen-eighties, and may well have been carried by P.C. Harry Murcher on the Holland
Grove beat.
From the Museum at New Scotland Yard, by courtesy of Sir Harold Scott, K.C.B.,
K.B.E., Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
174. A WALKING STICK VIOLIN, probably the only one ever to be made.
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. John Denison.
This instrument was used during the period of Holmes's active practice, though not it is believed by Holmes who possessed a Stradivarius. It has recently been renovated by Messrs. John and Arthur Beare.
175. UTILITY CLOTH No. X 221B. An example of a material which Holmes and Watson might
have favoured.
Lent by Mr. J. E. Holroyd.
176. UPON THE TRACING OF FOOTSTEPS, with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris
as a preserver of impresses, by Sherlock Holmes, London and New York, 1881. Reproduction
of the title page.
Lent by The Danish Baker Street Irregulars.
Exhibits relating to the identification of footprints have been arranged by New
Scotland Yard by courtesy of Sir Harold Scott, K.C.B., K.B.E., Commissioner of Police of
the Metropolis.
(a) Plaster cast made from the print of a hob-nailed boot.
(b) The boot.
(c) Transparent photograph of the sole of the suspected boot, superimposed upon the
photograph of a cast of the footprint.
177. PLASTER CAST OF THE FOOTPRINT OF A HOUND. Made for this Exhibition by the 1st
Wonersh Senior Scouts, Surrey.
Lent by Group Scout Master V. Leleux.
178. UPON THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE ASHES OF THE VARIOUS TOBACCOS, by Sherlock
Holmes. With 140 illustrations in colour. London and New York, 1880. Reproduction of the
title-page.
Lent by The Danish Baker Street Irregulars.
" . . . I have made a special study of cigar ashes-in fact, I have written
a monograph upon the subject. I flatter myself that I can distinguish at a glance the ash
of any known brand either of cigar or tobacco . . . "
(A Study in Scarlef).
It is not generally considered possible, however, to distinguish...
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... one tobacco ash from another, particularly as ash varies according to the rate at which the tobacco is smoked.
Specimens of two types of cigar which could be purchased in the eighties together with examples of their ash are exhibited. A method of identifying these two ashes is outlined below. The exhibits have been arranged by Mr. Sidney Phillips of Godfrey Phillips, the tobacco manufacturers.
CIGAR TYPE 23 - CASSANDRA CHEROOTS Ash is completely burned in furnace. One gram of this ash is dissolved in 25 cubic centimetres of normal hydrochloric acid solution. This. solution is made up to 250 cubic centimetres and 25 cubic centimetre portions are titrated with decinormal caustic soda solution using methyl orange as indicator. On average 13.5 cubic centimetres of alkali is required. This means that 11.5 (i.e. 25-13.5) cubic centimetres of normal acid is required to dissolve one gram of this particular ash.
CIGAR TYPE 46 - BAHADUR BURMA CHEROOTS Ash is completely burned in furnace. One gram of this ash is dissolved in 25 cubic centimetres of normal hydrochloric acid solution. This solution is made up to 250 cubic centimetres and 25 cubic centimetre portions are titrated with decinormal caustic soda solution using methyl orange as indicator. On average 10.8 cubic centimetres of alkali is required. This means that 14.2 (i.e. 25-10.8) cubic centimetres of normal acid is required to dissolve one gram of this particular ash.
179. PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BEE CULTURE, with some observations upon the segregation of the Queen, by Sherlock Holmes, John Murray, 1912.
180. AN ESSAY ON THE POLYPHONIC MOTETS OF LASSUS, by Sherlock Holmes, Chiswick Press,
1896. Reproduction of the title-page.
Lent by The Danish Baker Street Irregulars.
In view of certain evidence brought to light by Mr. Guy Warrack in Sherlock Holmes and Music it appears possible that-this 'monograph was never, in fact, published. Perhaps Holmes never progressed beyond the title-page.
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181. THE TYPEWRITER AND ITS RELATION TO CRIME.
" I think of writing another little monograph some of these days on the
typewriter and its relation to crime. It is a subject to which I have devoted some little
attention." little attention."
(A Case of Identity.
Specimens typed on the following machines, which were in use towards the end of the
last century, have been supplied by the Science Museum, South Kensington.
(a) A Blickensderfer, I893.
(b) An Underwood No. I., 1897.
(c) Another Underwood No. I., 1897.
(d) A Pittsburg Writing Machine, 1898.
The modern method of identifying typewriters by photographic means is illustrated by a set of prints supplied by New Scotland Yard.
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Charles Rogers appears to have been the first author of a Holmes play ; his Sherlock Holmes was produced in Glasgow in May 1894, with John Webb as Holmes and St. John Hammond as Watson. We may regard John Webb as the first man ever to portray Holmes, for he preceded William Gillette by five years; but although Gillette must relinquish his honoured position as the first stage (and screen) Holmes, he has probably never been surpassed in his portrayal, and is revered by many as the greatest Holmes of the footlights. With Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's permission (on behalf of Dr. Watson), Gillette concocted a melodrama entitled Sherlock Holmes from the stories, and the American impresario Charles Frohman presented it in New York in 1899, where it ran for 236 performances. After a tour of the United States, Frohman brought the play to London, where it ran at the Lyceum for another 216 performances.
Many other actors appeared in the title role during the numerous revivals, tours and translations of the play, but such was the singular attraction of Gillette as Holmes that over thirty years after the original production, Gillette could still achieve a remarkable success with a farewell tour.
Parody presupposes original talent, and if proof of the success of Gillette's play is needed, it is to be found in the burlesque Sheerluck Jones (or Why D'Gillette Him Off?) with Clarence Blakiston in the title role, which appeared at Terry's Theatre in the Strand only a month after Sherlock Holmes had opened at the Lyceum. This was closely followed by John Lawson's An Adventure in the Life of Sherlock Holmes which began on the music halls in January 1902.
In 1903 there appeared another unauthorised drama entitled Sherlock Holmes, Private Detective, and 1905 saw the production of The Bank. of England: An Adventure in the Life of Sherlock Holmes by Max Goldberg, a prolific minor dramatist of that time. Also in 1905 came The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes a frivolous episode devised by William Gillette, who played Holmes, assisted by Master Charles Chaplin as Billy, and Irene Vanbrugh as the lady who talked so much and so incessantly that Holmes was unable to get in a word, until two warders came in to take her away.
The failure of the play Rodney Stone in 1910 caused Conan Doyle...
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... to revert to his highly popular accounts of Sherlock Holmes's cases, and he wrote a play version of The Speckled Band in a week. It was a great success, with Lyn Harding giving a masterly performance as the formidable Dr. Rylott (sic), and H. A. Saintsbury as a fine Holmes. This play was revived several times, and, by its compactness, lent itself admirably to amateur productions.
The Crown Diamonds : An Evening with Sherlock Holmes, another stage adventure by Conan Doyle, appeared at the Coliseum in 192I, with Dennis Neilson-Terry as Holmes ; and in 1923 Eille Norwood capped a brilliant and successful series of short Holmes films by producing and starring in The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Harold Terry and Arthur Rose.
The last Holmes play to appear in this country was in 1933, significantly soon after the establishment of the talking film. The play was The Holmeses of Baker Street, by Basil Mitchell, and it broke new ground in showing Holmes as a widower of over sixty, with a grown-up daughter, Shirley Holmes.
In all, some fourteen stage plays featuring Sherlock Holmes have been produced in
England and America alone, whilst innumerable versions have appeared in other parts of the
world.
(Michael E. Pointer)
182. SHERLOCK HOLMES: A PLAY; wherein is set forth The Strange Case of Miss Alice
Faulkner, by William Gillette, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Incomparable Stories.
With an Introduction by Vincent Starrett, Preface by William Gillette, Reminiscent Notes
and Line Drawings by Frederick Dorr Steele. New York, Doubleday, Doran and Co., New York,
1935.
Lent by Mr. Denis Conan Doyle.
The definitive edition of the play. A souvenir brochure of this play is also exhibited (Item 30).
183. WILLIAM GILLETTE in the title role of Sherlock Holmes: three photographs.
'An absurd, preposterous, and thoroughly delightful melodrama, Mr. Gillette's
"Sherlock Holmes" is possibly as Frederic Dorr Steele has said of it, the best
realization of a novelist's conception ever produced upon the stage.'
(Vincent Starrett).
(a) A portrait study from Act II.
(b) A scene from Act III, showing Sherlock Holmes in the Stepney Gas Chamber.
(c) The final curtain. Alice Faulkner (Katherine Florence) in the arms of Sherlock Holmes.
" Your faculty - of observation - is - is somewhat remarkable Miss Faulkner - and your deduction is quite correct! I suppose, indeed know - that I love you. I love you . . . "
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184. WILLIAM GILLETTE , Sherlock Holmes as seen by "Spy": a cartoon which
appeared soon after Gillette's Play began its London run in 1910.
Lent by Mr. J. E. Holroyd.
185. SHEERLUCK JONES (or WHY D'GILLETTE HIM OFF): a parody on William Gillette's famous
play. Contained in the November issue of a bound volume of The Playgoer, Volume
1, October, 1901, to March, 1902.
Lent by Mr. J. E. Holroyd.
186. HOLOGRAPH LETTER FROM WILLIAM GILLETTE, Plaza Hotel, New York City, 16th November,
1923.
Lent by Mr. J. E. Holroyd.
'I read, " Return of Sherlock Holmes " but did not like it--although it would be exciting enough to do ... Tell me how it struck you on seeing it from the front.'
187. SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE with EILLE NORWOOD as Sherlock Holmes : a photograph taken at the Princes Theatre, October, 1923, after a performance of The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Harold Terry and Arthur Rose.
' [Norwood] has that rare quality which can only be described as glamour, which
compels you to watch an actor when he is doing nothing. He has the brooding eye which
excites expectation . . . ' (Conan Doyle).
Lent by Mr. Adrian Conan Doyle.
188. THE SPECKLED BAND: an adventure of Sherlock Holmes. Programme of the first
production at the Royal Adelphi Theatre, 4th June, 1910.
Lent by Mr. J. E. Holroyd.
This first edition of this play, together with a programme for a later production are also exhibited (Items 44 and 45).
189. CHRISTMAS EVE: an unrecorded adventure of Sherlock Holmes, newly edited from the
MS. by S. C. R[oberts]. Cambridge University Press, 1936.
Lent by Mr. D. Martin Dakin A one-act play.
190. SHERLOCK HANDLEY SEEKS A CLUE IN DR. WATSON'S MOUSTACHE: photograph from Tommy
Handley, by Ted Kavanagh. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1949.
Reproduced by courtesy of the Publishers.
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On the screen Sherlock Holmes has been even more popular and, excluding the numerous parodies and burlesques, he has been featured in some 110 films.
The first cinema actor to play the famous role is believed to be the Danish film pioneer Holger Madsen, who made a short one reel film entitled Sherlock Holmes for the Nordisk Film Company in 1908. The story was not based on any of the authentic cases, but Professor Moriarty figured prominently, assisted by Raffles. A sequel was filmed soon afterwards and so great was the public response that Nordisk made eleven more Holmes films during the next two years, with Holger Madsen and Alwin Neuss.
The American and Italian film companies quickly realised the potentialities of Holmes on the screen and numerous cheap films with lurid and incredible plots appeared in the cinemas. By the end of 1910 the Germans had entered the field with two greatly superior films by Deutsche Vitaskop featuring Sherlock Holmes against Arsene Lupin and based on the apocryphal stories by Maurice Leblanc.
However, in 1912 Conan Doyle sold the film rights to the Eclair Company of France and films bearing more resemblance to the original stories began to appear. Eclair made a series of nine films, including the earliest version of Silver Blaze. The first British film was A Study in Scarlet produced by G. B. Samuelson in 1916. Probably the most interesting and historic of these early films was a version by Essanay in May 1916 of the celebrated play Sherlock Holmes featuring William Gillette in his original role.
But it was the year 1921which marked a real turning point in the history of Holmes in the cinema, for in March of that year the Stoll Film Company of Great Britain released the first of a long series of forty-seven extremely good Sherlock Holmes films featuring Eille Norwood. They were of a very high standard, sincere and, except for a slight modernisation, accurate in fidelity to the original stories. Nearly all the better known adventures were filmed and both the production and Eille Norwood's interpretation of Holmes earned the praise of Conan Doyle. An admirable Dr. Watson was seen in Hubert Willis.
The last of the silent films was the much publicised Goldwyn...
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... production of Moriarty (or Sherlock Holmes in its American title), with John Barrymore as Holmes and Roland Young as Watson. Its most novel feature was the prologue dealing with the youth and college career of Sherlock Holmes.
In 1929 came the first talking film made by Paramount entitled The Return of Sherlock Holmes with Clive Brook in the title role. Brook made a sequel to this in 1933 for Fox Pictures. The advent of sound, combined with rapid improvements in film technique, gave these later Holmes films immeasurable advantages over their predecessors and the period between 1929-1939 saw the production of the best Holmes films. During the past twenty-two years some twenty-five sound films have been produced in British and American studios, whilst on the Continent (especially Germany) and throughout the world there have been many others. Among: the other better-known actors who have portrayed Holmes may be mentioned Arthur Wontner, Raymond Massey, Robert Rendel and Basil Rathbone; Dr. Watson has been portrayed by Ian Fleming, lan Hunter, Athole Stewart, Frederick Lloyd and Nigel Bruce. A curious claim to distinction can be made by Reginald Owen, who is probably the only actor who has played both Holmes and Watson on the screen; in 1933 he was Watson to Clive Brook's Holmes, then later in the same year he was cast as Holmes in A Study in Scarlet.
One of the most distressing and inexcusable features of the great majority of the Holmes films is their little resemblance to the stories or characters of the books, for especially in recent times the most appalling perversions of Dr. Watson's immortal narratives have been filmed. Amongst the silent films, the Stoll productions with Eille Norwood were quite outstandingly the best, and with regard to sound films the choice is similarly not difficult; two actors Arthur Wontner and Basil Rathbone-immediately stand out.
Arthur Wontner has been seen in five films which, although brought slightly up-to-date, closely follow the original stories even though their titles are somewhat misleading. The first film, The Sleeping Cardinal (alternatively known abroad as Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour) for Twickenham in 1931, was an adaptation of The Final Problem and The Empty House ; this was followed by The Missing Rembrandt (based on Charles Augustus Milverton) a year later, and by The Sign of Four in the same year. His last two films, and probably the best, were an adaptation of The Valley of Fear in 1935 under the title of The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes and in 1937 came a splendid version of Silver Blaze. In the majority of these films Dr. Watson was played by lan Fleming, Professor' Moriarty by Lyn Harding, and Mrs. Hudson by Minnie Rayner. In Arthur Wontner was seen an ideal Sherlock Holmes, and his excellent...
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... portrayal of the great detective is widely held to be the most authoritative.
The latest Holmes and Watson on the screen have been Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Of their fourteen films, the best were The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1939 and Sherlock Holmes (American title : The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) in 1940. Both films were kept strictly in period for the first time in film history and were careful and accurate productions.
A short Sherlock Holmes film has just been released, The Man with the Twisted Lip,
featuring John Longden as Holmes and Campbell Singer as Watson. With this exception, no
new films have been made for the past five years, but it is a safe prophecy that the film
adventures of Sherlock Holmes are by no means at an end.
(Anthony D. Howlett.)
All photographs in this section have been selected by Mr. Anthony D. Howlett. In the choice of exhibits, the main problem has been one of selection from a very wide field and the primary aim has been to be representative. Mr. Howlett wishes to acknowledge with thanks the co-operation of Mr. Arthur Wontner and the untiring, assistance and courtesy of Miss. N. Traylen of the National Film Library. The majority of film photographs are reproduced by courtesy of the British Film Institute; acknowledgment with thanks is also made to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Co. Ltd., General Film Distributors Ltd., Museum of Modern Art, New York and Det Danske Filmmuseum.
191. SHERLOCH HOLMES (Nordisk, Denmark, 1908) with Holger Madsen as Sherlock Holmes.
This is believed to be the earliest Holmes film and was the first of a series of twelve one-reel adventures, which appeared under various alternative titles. The scene depicted shows Raffles, Moriarty and Holmes.
192. SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE GAS CHAMBER (Nordisk, Denmark, 1908) with Holger Madsen as Sherlock Holmes.
The film, a sequel to Sherlock Holmes, was remotely based on Gillette's play and this scene shows Holmes in the cellar just prior to his sensational escape.
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193. THE MURDER IN BAKER STREET (Nordisk, Denmark, 1910) with Holger Madsen as Sherlock Holmes.
Another film in the Nordisk series. The photograph shows Holmes in his Baker Street rooms receiving 'assistance' from Scotland Yard.
194. SHERLOCK HOLMES (Essanay, U.S.A., 1916) with William Gillette as Sherlock Holmes.
This is a very rare photograph from Gillette's film version of his famous play and shows " My singular interview with Professor Moriarty. I confess that it left an unpleasant effect upon my mind"
195. MORIARTY (Goldwyn, U.S.A., 1922) known in America under the title Sherlock Holmes, with John Barrymore as Sherlock Holmes and Roland Young as Dr. Watson.
An interesting feature of this film was its depiction of Holmes's college days (filmed at St. John's College, Cambridge). One of the two scenes displayed shows Holmes with Professor Moriarty, played by Gustav von Seyffertitz.
Eille Norwood was the most widely-accepted actor in the role in the silent films. He appeared in a series of forty-seven films, all made by Stoll Productions, Great Britain, between 1921 and 1923. All closely followed the authentic stories.
196. Scenes from the following films are shown :-
(a) THE DISAPPEARANCE OF LADY FRANCES CARFAX.
(b) THE SIGN OF FOUR, with Isobel Elsom as Mary Morstan, later Mrs. Watson.
(c) CHARLES AUGUSTUS MILVERTON, with Hubert Wills as Dr. Watson.
(d) TI-IE CARDBOARD BOX, with Tom Beaumont as Inspector Lestrade.
(e) THE DANCING MEN.
(f) THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. Two photographs.
(g) THE FINAL PROBLEM, with Percy Standing as Professor Moriarty. (h) THE EMPTY HOUSE.
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197. THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (Paramount, U.S.A., 1929).
This was the first talking Holmes film and marked the beginning of the modernised Holmes upon the sound screen. It also set the fashion for dressing Holmes in a tweed fishing hat, instead of the familiar deer-stalker. Five photographs.
198. SHERLOCK HOLMES (Fox, U.S.A., 1933) with Reginald Owen as Dr. Watson and Miriam Gordon as Alice Faulkner, Holmes's fiancée.
199. THE SPECKLED BAND (Gaumont, Great Britain, 1931) with Raymond Massey as Sherlock Holmes and Lyn Harding as Dr. Grimesby Roylott.
200. THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (Gainsborough, Great Britain, 1932) with Robert Rendel as Sherlock Holmes and Frederick Lloyd as Dr. Watson. Two photographs.
201. A STUDY IN SCARLET (World-Wide, U.S.A., 1933) with Reginald Owen as Sherlock Holmes.
Reginald Owen also played Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes (Fox, U.S.A., 1933) and is the only actor who has played the parts of both Holmes and Watson on the screen. Photographs of him in both roles are shown.
202. DER MANN DER SHERLOCK HOLMES WAR (U.F.A., Germany, 1937) with Hans Albers as Sherlock Holmes and Heinz Ruhmann as Doktor Watson.
This is the latest of the many German Holmes films, several of which were very popular even during the war.
ARTHUR WONTNER AS SHERLOCK HOLMES '
'No better Sherlock Holmes than Arthur Wontner is likely to be seen and heard in
pictures in our time... his detective is the veritable fathomer of Baker Street, in
person. The keen, worn, kindly face and quiet, prescient smile are out of the very pages
of the book. '
(Vincent Starrett).
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203. THE SLEEPING CARDINAL (Twickenham, Great Britain, 1931) known in America as Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour, with Ian Fleming as Dr. Watson and Minnie Rayner as Mrs. Hudson.
This was Arthur Wontner's first Sherlock Holmes film and was one of the first British films to become outstandingly popular in America, where it ran for over a month on Broadway. The story is based on The Final Problem and The Empty House.
(a) " Excellent ! " I cried. " Elementary," said he.
(b) " Mrs. Hudson, I am much obliged for your assistance."
204. THE MISSING REMBRANDT (Twickenham, Great Britain, 1932) with Phillip Newland as Inspector Lestrade, Francis L. Sullivan as Baron von Guntermann, and Jane Welsh as Lady Violet Lumsden.
This film was adapted from the story of Charles Augustus Milverton.
(a) " The worst man in London."
(b) " I caught my breath as I read the time-honoured name of the great nobleman whose
wife she had been."
205. THE SIGN OF FOUR (Associated Radio, Great Britain, 1932).
The scene shows Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes disguised as ' a respectable master-mariner who had fallen into years and poverty.'
206. THE TRIUMPH OF SI-IERLOCK HOLMES (Real Art, Great Britain, 1935).
This was the film version of The Valley of Fear. The scene depicts Sherlock Holmes in his apiary after his retirement.
" I live and keep bees upon the South Downs."
207. SILVER BLAZE (Twickenham, Great Britain, 1937) with D. J. Williams as Silas Brown, Robert Horton as Colonel Ross, and John Turnbull as Inspector Lestrade.
(a) "A more perfect compound of the bully, coward and sneak than Master
Silas Brown I have seldom met with."
(b) " Hum! " said Holmes. " Somebody knows something, that is clear."
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208. HOLOGRAPH LETTER from Lady Jean Conan Doyle to Arthur Wontner, dated 21st February, 1935.
'Dear Mr. Wontner : I want to tell you how delighted my children and I were with
your really splendid acting in the part of Sherlock Holmes in the film The Triumph of
Sherlock Holmes. It was masterly! You looked the part and you seemed the living
incarnation of Sherlock.'
' Your performance in The Sleeping Cardinal was just as fine. Altogether that
film too was a great production. I felt 1 did not want one word or action altered. With
kind regards and sincere appreciation of your masterly personation of Sherlock
Holmes.-Yours sincerely, Jean Conan Doyle.'
Lent by Mr. Arthur Wontner.
209. THE VALLEY OF FEAR, by Arthur Conan Doyle. Uniform edition. London, John Murray,
1934. Inscribed on the fly-leaf : ' To Mr. Arthur Wontner in appreciation of his very
clever and most excellent rendering of the part of Sherlock Holmes, from Jean Conan Doyle,
Denis Conan Doyle, Adrian M. Conan Doyle, Jean L. A. Conan Doyle.' A signature is pasted
above the inscription-' Arthur Conan Doyle '.
Lent by Mr. Arthur Wontner.
210. DEERSTALKER, used by Arthur Wontner in his Sherlock Holmes films.
Lent by Mr. Arthur Wontner.
211. PIPE, used by Arthur Wontner in his Sherlock Holmes films.
Lent by Mr. Arthur Wontner.
Basil Rathbone has portrayed Holmes in fourteen films and has given three different interpretations of the role : (1) ' the period ' Holmes ; (2) the ' patriotic ' Holmes of World War II; (3) the 'modern' Holmes of to-day. He has also made over five hundred Holmes broadcasts in America.
212. THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (20th Century Fox, U.S.A., 1939) with Nigel Bruce (Dr. Watson), Richard Greene (Sir Henry Baskerville), Morton Lowry (Stapleton), Wendy Barry (Beryl Stapleton), Lionel Atwill (Dr. Mortimer) and John Carradine (Barrymore).
For the first time in film history the story was kept correctly in period and followed the original narrative fairly closely. It is often considered the best individual Holmes film.
(a) " We must leave you now," said Holmes. " The rest of our work
must be done, and every moment is of importance. We have our case, and now we only want
our man."
(b) " My dear fellow, you have been invaluable to me in this as in many other
cases."
(c) " There's our man, Watson! Come along!
(d) " The hound! " cried Holmes. " Come, Watson, come I Great heavens, if
we are too late 1 "
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213. SHERLOCK HOLMES (20th Century Fox, U.S.A., 1940) known in America as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, with Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.
The film relates how Holmes foiled Professor Moriarty's attempted theft of the Crown jewels in the 1890's. Two photographs.
214. SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON (Universal, U.S.A., 1943).
' The locks of Sherlock! ' Punch. This is an episode in the exploits of an ageless Holmes in World War II, as conceived by Hollywood.
215. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET CODE (Universal, U.S.A., 1946).
The last of the series of modern Holmes films, remotely based on the story of The Dancing Men.
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216. SOME THEORIES ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF 221B BAKER STREET.
' How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible,
whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth '.
(The Sign of Four).
Until the incorporation in recent years of Upper Baker Street and York Place into Baker Street the numbers ended at 85. There is, therefore, some difficulty in deciding which house 22IB really was. A number of theories have been published, and a collection of these in typescript is shown. The following exhibits help to illustrate at least some of them.
217. MAP SHOWING BAKER STREET IN 1896.
Reproduced by permission of The Director General, Ordnance Survey.
218. MAP SHOWING BAKER STREET TO-DAY.
Reproduced by permission of the London County Council.
219. No. 118 BAKER STREET. From a photograph reproduced in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, by Vincent Starrett. London, Nicholson and Watson, 1934.
' The place was pitch dark, but it was evident to me that it was an empty house
...
" Do you know where we are ? " he whispered ...
" We are in Camden House, which stands opposite to our own old quarters"'
(The Empty House).
Until recent years No. 118 was Camden House School, a well known preparatory school, now removed to Gloucester Place.
220. THE STORY OF CAMDEN HOUSE SCHOOL: By Margaret E. Nuth. London and Harrow, George
Pulman, [1950].
Presented by the Principal.
221B. No. 118 BAKER STREET, 1951.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
222. No. 111BAKER STREET: water colour by Pitts, 1939.
From the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
This house is favoured by Dr. Gray Chandler Briggs of St. Louis, because it faces Camden House, the Empty House.
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223. No. 111 BAKER STREET: in the twenties, enlarged from a photograph in Vincent Starrett's Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.
224. No. 111 BAKER STREET, 1951.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
225. BAKER STREET, c. 1900, looking north to Baker Street Station (the site of Chiltern
Court).
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
The hansom cab appears to be awaiting Holmes outside No. 111. This portion of Baker Street, however, was until January 1. 1921, known as York Place, No. 111 itself being No. 30 York Place.
226. THE WEST SIDE OF BAKER STREET, 1951, showing No. 27, formerly No. 74.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
A house suggested by Dr. Maurice Campbell in his Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson : a medical digression. The name 'Hudson Brothers' as Dr. Campbell points out is to be seen over the shop.
227. THE EAST SIDE OF BAKER STREET, 1951, showing No. 66, formerly No. 30.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
No. 66 once satisfied Mr. Vincent Starrett's ' occult sense of rightness ' as the dwelling place of Sherlock Holmes.
228. THE WEST SIDE OF UPPER BAKER STREET, c. 1910, showing the site of Abbey House,
Nos. 219 to 227 Baker Street.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
Site of the exhibition, and of ' our chambers ' ?
229. MARYLEBONE ROAD AND BAKER STREET STATION, at the beginning of the century.
1. North Side.
From a negative in the possession of Alex Corbett of Baker Street.
230. MARYLEBONE ROAD AND BAKER STREET STATION, at the beginning of the century.
2. South Side.
From a negative in the possession of Alex Corbett of Baker Street.
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231. THE EAST SIDE OF BAKER STREET, looking north from Dorset Street, c. 1900.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
232. THE EAST SIDE OF BAKER STREET, looking north from Portman Square, c. 1900.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
233. SHERLOCK MEWS, 1951.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
The name was changed from ' York Mews South ' in 1936.
234. THE WEST SIDE OF BAKER STREET, 1951, showing Nos. 59-63.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
235. THE WEST SIDE OF BAKER STREET, showing Abbey House, looking south from Regent's
Park, 1951.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
236. BAKER STREET, looking north towards Baker Street Station, 1951.
Photograph from the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
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' . . . he was ... in his personal habits one of the most untidy men that ever drove a fellow-lodger to distraction . . . his cigars in the coal-scuttle, his tobacco in the toe-end of a Persian slipper, and his unanswered correspondence transfixed by a jack-knife into the very centre of his wooden mantelpiece . . . [he] would sit in an armchair, with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges, and proceed to adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V.R. that neither the atmosphere nor the appearance of our room was improved by it.
Our chambers were always full of chemicals and of criminal relics, which had a
way of wandering into unlikely positions, and of turning up in the butter-dish, or in even
less desirable places ... He had a horror of destroying documents ... every corner of the
room was stacked with bundles of manuscript. . . '
(The Musgrave Ritual).
Our old chambers had been left unchanged . . . the old land marks were all in
their places. There were the chemical corner and the acid-stained deal-topped table. There
upon a shelf was the row of formidable scrap-books and books of reference which many of
our fellow-citizens would have been so glad to burn. The diagrams, the violin-case, and
the pipe-rack-even the Persian slipper which contained the tobacco ... a wax-coloured
model of my friend, so admirably done that it was a perfect facsimile. It stood on a small
pedestal table with an old dressing-gown of Holmes's . . . draped round it. . . '
(The Empty House).
Mr. Michael Weight has reconstructed the living-room.
Room built by : Brunskill and Loveday, Ltd.
Painted by : The Harkers.
Lighting by : Joe Davis.
Electrical apparatus by : The Strand Electric and Engineering Co., Ltd.
Sound equipment by : Bishop Sound and Electrical Co., Ltd.
Bust of Holmes by: Hugh Skillen.
Wines by: Chalié, Richards and Co.
Tobaccos by : Fribourg and Treyer (for Bradley's of Oxford Street).
Scrapbooks by : Dunn and Wilson. Crumpets by : Sheldrakes Ltd.
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The desk and chair of Sherlock Holmes are the ones which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used when writing many of the Holmes stories. They have been lent by Mr. Denis Conan Doyle. The basket-chair and the dressing-gown belonged to the late Mr. Sidney Paget and were depicted by him in his illustrations in The Strand Magazine. They have been lent by Miss Winifred Paget.
Other articles used in furnishing the room have been lent by :-
Mr. Robert L. Abrahams; Mr. D. M. Anderson; Messrs. Bapty and Co., Ltd.; Mr. Alfred E. Blackwell; Mr. G. W. M. Blewett; Lady Mary Clive; Miss E. F. Coote Lake; The Daily Mail; Messrs. Francis Edwards Ltd., Booksellers; The Exeter City Library; Mr. S. Fox; The Gordon Boys Home; Mr. J. Ainger Hall; Mrs. Dorothy Jones; Miss D. M. Kesteven; Mrs. H. A. Lake Barnett; The London Library; Messrs. L. & H. Nathan Ltd., Costumiers; Old Times Furnishing Co.; Mr. Cyril Raphael Merton; Mr. Will. Nickless ; Miss Winifred Paget ; Mr. A. T. Polden ; Major Hugh Pollard; Mrs. Charles Potter; Mr. George Robertson; Messrs. Robinson Bros. (Jewellers) Ltd.; Mr. R. H. Sharp; Mr. A. J. Spratt; The Wallace Collection; The Wellcome Historical Medical Museum; Mr. R. H. Wilkinson; Dr. W. T. Williams; Mr. J. Woodforde.
" Each may form his own hypothesis upon the present evidence, and yours is
as likely to be correct as mine."
(The Empty House).
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(The Mazarin Stone)
The following items arrived too late for inclusion in the original catalogue :
12A. A STUDY IN SCARLET, by A. Conan Doyle. Illustrated by D. H. Friston. Contained in Beeton's
Christmas Annual, twenty eighth season. London, Ward, Lock [1887].
Lent by Mr. A. E.. Rowe.
62A. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE, by A. Conan Doyle. With an introduction by
Christopher Morley. Edited with a bibliographical note by Edgar W. Smith. New York, The
Baker Street Irregulars, 1948.
Lent by the editor.
The first book to be published by the Baker Street Irregulars.
83A. DE NALATENSCHAP VAN SHERLOCK HOLMES, door Clifford Semper. Amsterdam, Andries
Blitz, [1950].
Lent by the publishers.
The legacy of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of the unpublished cases, as they might have been written, had the world been 'prepared' for them.
110A. THE BAKER STREET JOURNAL: an Irregular Quarterly of Sherlockiana, edited by Edgar
W. Smith. Volume 1, No. 3. New Series. New York, 1951.
Lent by the editor.
Publication has now been resumed. This number contains a special supplement on this Exhibition.
119A. MY DEAR HOLMES : a study in Sherlock, by Gavin Brend. London, Allen and Unwin,
1951.
Lent by the author.
168A. ENVELOPE ADDRESSED 'COL. ELIAS OPENSHAW, Horsham, Sussex, England'. Postmarks:
Pondicherry Feb. 6, 1883 ; Horsham March 10, 1883. The letters K K K appear under the
flap.
Lent by Mr. Edgar W. Smith of New York.
216A. 221B BAKER STREET? by James Edward Holroyd. Contained in The Cornhill,
No. 987, Summer, 1951. London, John Murray, 1951.
From the St. Marylebone Public Libraries Collection.
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Go to the 1951 Sherlock Holmes Exhibition home page.
Go to the 1951 Sherlock Holmes Exhibition text-index.
Copyright notice
Last updated 21/05/01