The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1892 - George Newnes Ltd., London - First Edition
A smart bright and thus scarce first edition, first issue of Doyle’s first and classic short story collection, twelve in total including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band. These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.
Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
When the publisher Newnes accepted a Doyle piece for the very first issue in 1891, he did so with the hope that it would provide him access, through Doyle's agent, to another writer in the agent's stable - Rudyard Kipling - but then beginning in the very first year, "Sherlock Holmes" took off and The Strand was a phenomenal success. First edition: - front pictorial boards without the street name on the street sign, in the second edition (1893) and third edition (1894) this was corrected to show ‘Southampton Street’; textual error of ‘Miss Violent’ [line 23 page 317], which was corrected to ‘Miss Violet’ in the fourth edition; and for clarification, the textual error of ‘cucaine’ for ‘cocaine’ on [line 20, page 133] is also not a ‘first issue’ or ‘first edition point’ as it remained at least up to the fourth edition of 1895.
References: DeWaal, The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, 520. Green & Gibson, Bibliography of A Conan Doyle, A10a. BMC No.271, The Great Illustrators. Greene & Glover, Victorian Detective Fiction 128. Haycraft, Murder For Pleasure 45. Cooper & Pike Detective Fiction 115. Eric Quayle Detective Fiction. Hardwicke Complete Guide to Sherlock Holmes. Keating; Sherlock Holmes and his World. Ellery Queen, Queen’s Quorum, 16.
Quarto (book size 17.5x24.5cm), pp. [4] 317 [3]. In publisher's pale blue cloth over bevelled boards, spine blocked in gilt with gilt and black lettering, upper board with gilt lettering, black outlining and vignette blocked in black, olive green floral patterned endpapers, all edges gilt. Condition: Near fine binding, with toning to spine, light soiling, minor wear to edges, internally very good, the usual foxing to first end last few pages, with a few small scattered spots to one or two pages, generally clean, hinges without repair or restoration. Ref: 112093 Price: HK$ 45,000
Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
When the publisher Newnes accepted a Doyle piece for the very first issue in 1891, he did so with the hope that it would provide him access, through Doyle's agent, to another writer in the agent's stable - Rudyard Kipling - but then beginning in the very first year, "Sherlock Holmes" took off and The Strand was a phenomenal success. First edition: - front pictorial boards without the street name on the street sign, in the second edition (1893) and third edition (1894) this was corrected to show ‘Southampton Street’; textual error of ‘Miss Violent’ [line 23 page 317], which was corrected to ‘Miss Violet’ in the fourth edition; and for clarification, the textual error of ‘cucaine’ for ‘cocaine’ on [line 20, page 133] is also not a ‘first issue’ or ‘first edition point’ as it remained at least up to the fourth edition of 1895.
References: DeWaal, The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, 520. Green & Gibson, Bibliography of A Conan Doyle, A10a. BMC No.271, The Great Illustrators. Greene & Glover, Victorian Detective Fiction 128. Haycraft, Murder For Pleasure 45. Cooper & Pike Detective Fiction 115. Eric Quayle Detective Fiction. Hardwicke Complete Guide to Sherlock Holmes. Keating; Sherlock Holmes and his World. Ellery Queen, Queen’s Quorum, 16.
Quarto (book size 17.5x24.5cm), pp. [4] 317 [3]. In publisher's pale blue cloth over bevelled boards, spine blocked in gilt with gilt and black lettering, upper board with gilt lettering, black outlining and vignette blocked in black, olive green floral patterned endpapers, all edges gilt. Condition: Near fine binding, with toning to spine, light soiling, minor wear to edges, internally very good, the usual foxing to first end last few pages, with a few small scattered spots to one or two pages, generally clean, hinges without repair or restoration. Ref: 112093 Price: HK$ 45,000