The Adventures and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. With illustrations by Sidney Paget -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1892 - George Newnes, London - First Editions
A finely bound set of first editions of the first two short story collections, up to the Reichenbach Falls episode of The Final Problem.
Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget
The Adventures containing twelve stories including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band. .
The Memoirs containing eleven stories including The Final Problem, and “Silver Blaze”.
These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before. 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 of ‘Adventures’: title page dated 1892, and no later editions stated; 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. In second state cloth (covers bound in at rear) with front pictorial cover showing ‘Southampton Street’, which was blank in the first state.
References: DeWaal, The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Green & Gibson, Bibliography of A Conan Doyle, A10a, A14a. BMC No.271, The Great Illustrators. Greene & Glover, Victorian Detective Fiction, 128, 129. 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.
Two quarto volumes (binding size 24.6x17.1cm), pp. [6] 317 [5]; [8] 279 [3]. Finely bound by Bayntun of Bath in full crushed blue morocco, spine compartments ruled in gilt with gilt lettering, gilt tooling to bands, twin gilt filet borders to covers, gilt tooling to edges , and gilt bands to turn-ins, hand-marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, original illustrated cloth upper cover and spine bound in at the rear of each volume. Condition: Fine in fine bindings, with the exception of minor toning to the spines. Ref: 112225 Price: HK$ 45,000
Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget
The Adventures containing twelve stories including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band. .
The Memoirs containing eleven stories including The Final Problem, and “Silver Blaze”.
These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before. 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 of ‘Adventures’: title page dated 1892, and no later editions stated; 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. In second state cloth (covers bound in at rear) with front pictorial cover showing ‘Southampton Street’, which was blank in the first state.
References: DeWaal, The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Green & Gibson, Bibliography of A Conan Doyle, A10a, A14a. BMC No.271, The Great Illustrators. Greene & Glover, Victorian Detective Fiction, 128, 129. 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.
Two quarto volumes (binding size 24.6x17.1cm), pp. [6] 317 [5]; [8] 279 [3]. Finely bound by Bayntun of Bath in full crushed blue morocco, spine compartments ruled in gilt with gilt lettering, gilt tooling to bands, twin gilt filet borders to covers, gilt tooling to edges , and gilt bands to turn-ins, hand-marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, original illustrated cloth upper cover and spine bound in at the rear of each volume. Condition: Fine in fine bindings, with the exception of minor toning to the spines. Ref: 112225 Price: HK$ 45,000