| Home | Manuscripts | Top-10 Lists | e-World | Site Index |
|
The Best of Sherlock Holmes |
www.bestofsherlock.com/mss/hound-baskervilles-h31-2019.htm
The Hound of the Baskervilles Manuscript:
Profiles in History 2019 Sale Information
By Randall Stock, July 12, 2019
One of only three privately-held chapter head manuscript pages from Conan Doyle's classic tale of Gothic horror and suspense was offered at auction on July 11. The story became one of the first bestselling novels of the 20th century.
The Hound of the Baskervilles Manuscript (H31) Description
Lot 49: Manuscript Leaf From The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Headed at top of page as "Chapter XIII | Fixing the Nets." Not signed, no location or date, but 1901.
This leaf from Conan Doyle's original autograph manuscript is written in ink on one side only of a sheet that is about 12 3/4 x 8 inches. Previously folded, it has archival repairs to and tape removed from the verso. It is housed in a custom quarter morocco clamshell case. See below for a photo and transcription of the entire manuscript leaf.
As noted in the census for The Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript, only 37 leaves from this story still exist and most of those are held by libraries and similar institutions. In addition to this leaf, there are only two other surviving privately-held leaves that contain chapter headings (H7 and H27 on the census).
This leaf (H31 on the census) opens by mentioning Holmes's name in the first line of text. Watson is named twice, once with the well-known phrase "My dear Watson." Other references central to the story include the moor, the hound, and the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. Conan Doyle strengthened his plotting for the story's climax by cancelling a line on this leaf involving the hound's hiding place.
These fine textual attributes, combined with being a most unusual chapter head (see the history section), make for an especially appealing manuscript leaf. A different leaf from the Hound (H36) sold at auction in 2012 for $158,500.
The pre-sale estimate is US$120,000 – US$150,000.
Sale Results
Bidding on July 11, 2019 did not reach the undisclosed reserve price, and the manuscript was not sold.
Publishing History
Inspired by a west country legend conveyed to him by Bertram Fletcher Robinson, Conan Doyle wrote this tale in roughly three months from May to July 1901. His handwritten manuscript was broken up as part of a publicity campaign for the American publication of the book in 1902. Most of the manuscript is almost certainly lost, with only 37 leaves reported to still exist, and the majority of those held by institutions.
Conan Doyle originally planned for this leaf to be the opening of Chapter 13, but he changed that prior to its first serial publication. In The Strand Magazine, this leaf's text appears near the end of chapter 12, although the chapter heading from this leaf is used for the heading of Chapter 13 in the Strand. This change was carried through in the first English book edition, but both the first American edition and later American reprints by various publishers retained the chapter break and text as indicated on this leaf.
The Hound was serialized in both the London and New York editions of The Strand Magazine. The English version appeared from August 1901 through April 1902, while the American version went from September 1901 through May 1902. George Newnes published the English first edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1902, and McClure, Phillips & Co. produced the American first edition.
Manuscript Ownership History
A member of the Baker Street Irregulars literary society owned this leaf in 1952, and displayed it at the 6 November 1952 meeting of The Five Orange Pips in New York. Later owners included BSI members Lew David Feldman and Rollin Hadley. Pepper & Stern advertised it in 1989 in their Rare Books Catalogue 25, and it was last reported as owned by David Karpeles as leaf H31 on the manuscript census.
The Hound of the Baskervilles Manuscript (H31) Photo
Leaf H31 of Conan Doyle manuscript for The Hound of the Baskervilles
Text From Leaf H31 of The Hound of the Baskervilles Manuscript
"We're at close grips at last" said Holmes, as we walked together across the moor. "What a nerve the fellow has! How he pulled himself together in the face of what must have been a paralysing shock when he found that the wrong man had fallen a victim to his plot. I told you in London, Watson, and I tell you now again that we have never had a foeman more worthy of our steel."
"I am sorry that he has seen you."
"And so was I at first. But there was no getting out of it."
"What affect do you think it will have upon his plans, now that he knows you are here?"
"It may cause him to be more cautious or it may drive him to desperate measures at once. Like most clever criminals he may be too confident in his own cleverness and imagine that he has completely deceived us."
"Why should we not arrest him at once?"
"My dear Watson, you were born to be a man of action. Your instinct is always to do something energetic. But supposing for argument's sake that we had him arrested tonight, what on earth the better off should we be for that? We could prove nothing against him. I know where he keeps his hound, but what of it? There's the devilish cunning of it! If he were acting through a human agent we could get some evidence, but if we were to drag this great dog to the light of day it would not help us in putting a rope round the neck of its master."
"Surely we have a case."
"Not a shadow of one - only surmise and conjecture. We should be laughed out of court if we came with such a story and such evidence."
"There is Sir Charles' death."
"Found dead without a mark upon him. You...
For more details on the manuscript, see the description section above.
Profiles in History Catalog & Sale Information
The Profiles in History website includes a page for their Historical & Pop Culture Autograph Auction 104 sale. It includes links to a 113MB PDF catalog for laptops/desktops and a 16MB PDF catalog for mobile users. Their Flipbook prefers to use Flash and is not recommended.
In the PDF catalogs, Lot 49 with The Hound leaf appears on pages 18-19 (PDF file pp. 20-21), and includes a full-page reproduction of the leaf. This story was actually the third Holmes novel, although it was the fifth Holmes book in the series. Only about 2/3 of the Holmes story manuscripts still exist, and some of them, including The Hound, are not complete.
Sale Information
Historical & Pop Culture Autograph Auction 104
Thursday July 11, 2019 at 11:00 AM PDT in California
Profiles in History
26662 Agoura Road
Calabasas, CA 91302
Phone: +1 310-859-7701
The 24% buyer's premium is discounted to 20% when paid in cash/check, but is 28% if purchased via the Internet.
Pre-sale Viewing by appointment only.
Acknowledgements and Page History
Manuscript photo courtesy of www.profilesinhistory.com.
My thanks to Peter E. Blau and Evan Holzwasser for their assistance.
This page is based on information from the Profiles in History catalog as well as other research including prior auction catalogues and sale reports.
The first version of this report appeared June 12, 2019. It was updated on July 12, 2019 to include the sale result.
Census of the Manuscript of The Hound of the Baskervilles
Census of Sherlock Holmes Manuscripts
News Archive for Conan Doyle Manuscripts
Other Sherlockian rarities like Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887 and Sidney Paget drawings.
Lists of each year's best Sherlock Holmes books & DVDs, the most famous Sherlock Holmes quotes, and more Top 10 Lists.
Return to Manuscripts Home page and Introduction
Vers. 2.1bx-RN Original work
Copyright ©2019
Randall Stock. All Rights Reserved.