Books

First illustrated edition of the first Sherlock Holmes story, rare in such fresh condition. George Hutchinson (1852-1942) was one of the leading British illustrators of his day, working extensively with Doyle, Kipling, Hall Caine, and Robert Louis Stevenson. A Canadian-born British artist, Hutchinson studied painting at the Royal Academy in London, later working as an illustrator and cartoonist for numerous publications, including The Illustrated London News. His drawings for A Study in Scarlet were "the first excellent pictorial representations of Holmes" and are often reprinted in modern editions ("About the illustrations", in The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes, p. xiii). This was Hutchinson's second set of illustrations for Doyle, following The Mystery of Cloomber in 1888. A Study in Scarlet was published in Beeton's Christmas Annual (1887). It was the first work of detective fiction to incorporate the magnifying glass as an investigative tool and the first Sherlock Holmes story to be adapted for the screen. In 1914, G. B. Samuelson produced a silent film of the same name, and Holmes was played by James Bragington. Octavo. Original red quarter cloth, spine lettered in gilt with publisher's imprint, pale brown cloth boards, front board lettered in red with "A" blocked in relief, green leaf patterned endpapers, top edge gilt. Halftone frontispiece with tissue guard, 11 wood-engraved plates, similar illustrations in text throughout. With 24 pages of advertisements to rear. Spine cocked and slightly toned, couple of small spots of wear at joints, gauze occasionally visible, contents generally clean and fresh, plate opposite p. 142 neatly reinserted: a bright copy. Green & Gibson A1a (first edition). Arthur Conan Doyle, The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes, 1985.

A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his popular character Sherlock Holmes. It is the first work of fiction to feature Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become one of the most famous detective duos in literature. The novel was first published in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887 and marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes.