Sherlock Holmes in 221 Objects:
Manuscripts, Artwork & More from Glen S. Miranker

By Randall Stock, December 28, 2022 (revised)

An historic exhibition of Sherlock Holmes rarities will open at the University of Minnesota in February 2023. It features manuscripts, original artwork, first editions, letters and much more.

Drawings by Paget and Steele plus a Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaf at the 2022 Grolier Club Exhibition of the Glen S. Miranker collection

Topics

Manuscripts & Letters

Original Holmes Artwork

First Editions

Exhibition Details & Links

The Collection & The Collector

Printed Catalogue

Overview

This magnificent exhibition is something all Sherlockians and bibliophiles should see, whether it is in-person or through the excellent hardcover exhibition catalogue (available via Amazon).

For those in Minnesota from February 13–May 5, 2023, be sure to visit the free exhibition. You can get a sense of the material below, but the following items are just some of the highlights.

This exhibition originally appeared at the Grolier Club in New York City from January 12–April 16, 2022. It then went to the Lilly Library at Indiana University from August 1–December 16, 2022. In February 2023, it is moving to the Elmer L. Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota.

Manuscripts & Letters

The exhibition includes the original handwritten manuscripts of four consecutive Sherlock Holmes short stories from The Return of Sherlock Holmes, as well as three leaves from the manuscript of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

The Solitary Cyclist manuscript - top of page 1

The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist

Catalogue #128

First published in:

The Strand Magazine, January 1904.

Collier's Weekly, December 26, 1903.

Conan Doyle originally titled this story as "The Adventure of the Solitary Man."

The Dancing Men manuscript - top of page 1

The Adventure of the Dancing Men

Catalogue #127

First published in:

The Strand Magazine, December 1903.

Collier's Weekly, December 5, 1903.

While written as the fourth story of The Return, Conan Doyle published it third in order to have a stronger tale in the Strand's Christmas issue.

The Priory School manuscript - top of page 1

The Adventure of the Priory School

Catalogue #125

First published in:

The Strand Magazine, February 1904.

Collier's Weekly, January 30, 1904.

Conan Doyle got a key plot point for this tale from the "Curiosities" section of the May 1903 Strand Magazine.

The Adventure of Black Peter

Catalogue #129

First published in:

The Strand Magazine, March 1904.

Collier's Weekly, February 27, 1904.

Conan Doyle had many of his manuscripts bound in vellum in 1913, but he gave this manuscript to the publisher of Collier's Weekly before that in 1908, and thus is not bound.

Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaf H1

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Catalogue #12

First published in:

The Strand Magazine (London), August 1901.

The Strand Magazine (NY), September 1901.

Hound Leaf H1. amount of walking with it

The American publisher of The Hound used pages from the manuscript for a publicity campaign in 1902. Of the 37 Hound leaves known to still exist, fewer than 14 remain in private hands.

This leaf is from the first chapter of the story and is the second page of the overall manuscript, with a pencil "2" in the upper left corner. It includes the phrase "Interesting, though elementary."

Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaf H2

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Catalogue #13

First published in:

The Strand Magazine (London), August 1901.

The Strand Magazine (NY), September 1901.

Hound Leaf H2. To that extent

The bottom of this page includes a label from the 1902 publicity campaign. A few other extant pages come with the same promotional label.

This is the third page of the manuscript, with a pencil "3" in the upper left corner. Conan Doyle added the phrase "You know my methods. Apply them!" to this page while working on the story.

Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaf H10

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Catalogue #14

First published in:

The Strand Magazine (London), January 1902.

The Strand Magazine (NY), February 1902.

Hound Leaf H10. Very good, Barrymore. You can go

Watson describes the eerie setting of the story in this leaf: "I walked far upon the sodden moor, full of dark imaginings, the rain beating upon my face and the wind whistling about my ears. God help those who wander into the Great Mire now."

This page is from Chapter 10 of the story.

Letters and More

In addition to the above manuscripts, the exhibition includes The Work of Storytelling, a never-before-displayed handwritten speech from June 1896 in which Conan Doyle proclaims "if I had not killed him [Holmes] he would certainly have killed me."

Conan Doyle's Norwood Notebook for 1885-1896 has an entry for December 1893 of "Killed Holmes."

The exhibition also includes numerous letters from Conan Doyle to his literary agent A.P. Watt, a letter to P. F. Collier regarding stories for The Return of Sherlock Holmes, as well letters to friends and colleagues.

Topics

Original Holmes Artwork

This exhibition includes a wealth of original drawings used for the many incarnations of Sherlock Holmes in magazines, books, on stage, and on screen.

Sidney Paget and The Strand Magazine

Sherlock Holmes shot to fame with the short stories in The Strand Magazine. Sidney Paget illustrated all the Strand Holmes stories until his death in 1908, and Paget created the detective's iconic image. Only 30 of Paget's more than 350 Holmes drawings are known to still exist, and this exhibition includes five of them.

Original Sidney Paget Drawing: Silver Blaze #1

Silver Blaze (December 1892)

Catalogue #80

Holmes gave me a sketch of the events

Drawing by Sidney Paget.

Original Sidney Paget Drawing: The Stockbroker's Clerk #1

The Stockbroker's Clerk (March 1893)

Catalogue #81

"Nothing could be better," said Holmes

Drawing by Sidney Paget.

Original Sidney Paget Drawing: The Final Problem #5

The Final Problem (December 1893)

Catalogue #79

My decrepit Italian friend

Drawing by Sidney Paget.

Original Sidney Paget Drawing: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Chapter XIV) #4

The Hound of the Baskervilles (Chapter XIV) (April 1902)

Catalogue #11

"Phosphorus!" I said

Drawing by Sidney Paget.

Original Sidney Paget Drawing: The Priory School #1

The Priory School (February 1904)

Catalogue #126

I heard him chuckle as the light fell upon a patched Dunlop tyre

Drawing by Sidney Paget.

Frederic Dorr Steele and Collier's Weekly

Frederic Dorr Steele established the American image of Holmes with his dramatic illustrations for Collier's Weekly. Steele illustrated 29 Holmes stories, but a complete set of his original drawings still exists for only two of these tales. The only complete set held in a single collection appears below. Published in Collier's as "The Singular Experience of Mr. J. Scott Eccles," Conan Doyle renamed the tale to be "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" for book publication.