Isn’t this just delightful! Someone read a nonfiction book about Miss Marple and referenced "From Holmes to Sherlock"—as if my book were the wise old relative in a new generation of books. I love the thought of FHTS sitting in a rocking chair, nodding approvingly at its younger counterparts.

In Feb 1909, Puck magazine published this political cartoon by Louis M. Glackens. It plays on President Roosevelt’s fresh criticism of Congress, accusing members of abusing power for personal gain. As a leading satirical magazine, Puck often exposed corruption and privilege in U.S. politics.

From "In Which Hearts Lead: A Book of Rhymes," by John Lenord Merrill, Jr., published in New York, 1897.

In the March 1981 issue of Driver, "the traffic safety magazine for the military driver," Jeri Rood wrote a 7-page educational pastiche, The Adventure of the Damp Street. It featured 11 photos showing theater director and educator Stuart Campbell as Holmes and photographer Cliff Munkacsy as Watson.

In 1961, the Police and Sheriffs Association of North America recommended that officers read Sherlock Holmes stories to sharpen their powers of observation. This advice comes from "The Policeman's Handbook of Law: Especially Written for Law Enforcement Officers."

Charles "Bart" Bartholomew (1869–1949) was best known for his political cartoons, both local and international, which appeared on the front page of the Minneapolis Journal at the turn of the 20th century. His cartoon from November 3, 1899, focused on British authors and the Boer War.

The signature on this cartoon from Life magazine (December 2, 1909) appears to be 'H. B. Levering.' Albert Levering, a well-known cartoonist who also contributed to Life, shares the surname, but I haven't been able to determine if they might be related.

Advertisement for Sterling 7-point gum from The Judge magazine, dated September 25, 1915. The comic strip features Holmes and Watson (I've divided it into sections for easier reading).

Conan Doyle's "pâté de foie gras" quote is often cited to illustrate his feelings about Holmes in the 1890s. However, the source is less widely known—a letter written to his friend and fellow author David Christie Murray. The letter was published in Christie Murray's posthumous Recollections (1908).

The American writer Eugene Field (1850–1895), known as the "poet of childhood," was an admirer of Conan Doyle's work. He attended Doyle's first lecture in Chicago on October 12, 1894—a day made memorable when Field gifted Doyle a copy of "A Second Book of Verse" and composed a verse in his honor.

In June 1905, The Metropolitan Magazine announced a "prize story contest," inviting readers to offer advice to the main character of a new detective series. The announcement featured an illustration of Sherlock Holmes—but I need your help. Where have I seen this illustration before? Who created it?

The Dutch Treat Club, a NYC society of artists, writers, and performers founded in 1905, featured this illustration by Frederic Dorr Steele in its 1930 yearbook. The artwork depicts Sherlock Holmes attending one of the Club's lunches.

The American film distributor and production company Educational Pictures was best known for its various comedy series. In their 1922–1923 season program, they showcased the British films starring Eille Norwood as Sherlock Holmes.

"To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman" is an example of article usage in the 1899 book "A Manual of English Pronunciation & Grammar for the Use of Dutch Students." The book includes nearly 250 quotes from Conan Doyle, among other authors, to illustrate various aspects of the English language.

In 1932, the US Senate wanted to limit commercial radio advertising, e.g. by limiting it to a simple statement of sponsorship of the program. The advertising agencies protested, among them the one that produced the Sherlock Holmes series. During 1931 they received 300,000 letters from the listeners!

I can't change the world's challenges, but I can spread a little joy among my fellow Sherlockians. That's why I have started to share fun and interesting Holmes content on Facebook and Bluesky daily. It's a small gesture, but I hope it brings a smile and a sense of connection to those who see it.

In 1937, New York Times hailed The Three Garridebs as “the most ambitious experiment in tele-showmanship so far attempted in the air over New York.” Television was still in its infancy and few could watch the broadcast. Here’s a rare photo: Arthur Maitland as John Garrideb, Louis Hector as Holmes.

I can’t help but feel the waves of literary history wash over me when I read a letter from Robert Louis Stevenson to Arthur Conan Doyle. (This is from "The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson to His Family and Friends," 1901.)

My daughters play an iPad game called Avatar World. I noticed this scene at the movie studio in the game.

Regarding the name “Forrest Holger-Madsen,” this is what the legendary Danish Sherlockian A. D. Henriksen wrote in the September 1971 issue of The Baker Street Journal.

In 1908, Danish actor Holger Madsen played Raffles in two Sherlock Holmes films. He later added a hyphen to his name. But in many modern sources (back to the 1940s) he is called Forrest Holger-Madsen, because of a misunderstanding of a caption from 1936. In Danish, “forrest” means “in the front”.

Lovely illustration by Frederick Dorr Steele for Richard Harding Davis's novel "In the Fog" (1901), two years before Steele started illustrating "The Return of Sherlock Holmes".

In 1901–1902, during William Gillette's Sherlock Holmes run at London's Lyceum Theatre, an unexpected performer often appeared in the second act—a cat named Tom. Once a stray taken in by Henry Irving, Tom would make himself comfortable on Holmes's lap, curled in the folds of his dressing gown.

In January 1902, Conan Doyle's book "The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct" was published. Here is Life magazine's American perspective on the work, as featured in its May 1, 1902 issue.

It is noteworthy how popular the Danish Sherlock Holmes films from around 1908–1909 became in the United States. Some of these films (from Nordisk Film) featured Viggo Larsen as Sherlock Holmes and Holger Madsen as Raffles. (The Moving Picture World, Feb 6, 1909)

Anonymous illustration for "The Red-Headed League" in the 1919 educational book, The Literary World: Eighth Reader, ed. by Metcalf, Withers, and Browne (Johnson Publishing Company, Richmond, Virginia). The story is accompanied by 3 pages of notes designed to prompt further discussion and analysis.

Don't miss the best online source for anything concerning Conan Doyle: www.arthur-conan-doyle.com I find new things every time I visit the website: texts, photos, facts. And whenever I think I have found something previously unknown, the Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia already has it ...

Conan Doyle and Seymour Hicks at Frinton-on-Sea (photo from Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, September 20, 1913). The actor and playwright Hicks wrote the 1893 Sherlock Holmes parody "Under the Clock", in which he played Watson, with Charles Brookfield as the first ever Holmes on stage.

In 1918, Kingsley Conan Doyle, the oldest son of Arthur Conan Doyle, passed away just a few weeks before his 26th birthday. Here is a rare mention of him in Major H. Hesketh-Pritchard's book "Sniping in France."

13-year-old Kingsley Conan Doyle at his father's shooting range in Hindhead. (Penny Illustrated Paper, May 5, 1906)

In 1926, Bernard Partridge created the famous Punch cartoon of Conan Doyle shackled to Holmes. 17 years earlier, he had drawn a lesser-known cartoon for Punch, reflecting Doyle's return to writing Holmes stories in 1908, despite announcing four years earlier that he was done with the detective.

A Swedish 1954 illustration of: ”A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. […] Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish, be conceived than that dark form and savage face […]”

Just started reading the 1181-page “Writers, Readers & Reputations: Literary Life in Britain 1870-1918,” by Philip Waller. It seems to be an essential book in order to understand the literary landscape in which Sherlock Holmes became a success. Important research for my next nonfiction book.

The chain of previous owners is lovely in these two Basil copies. The author Eve Titus gave them to Åke Runnquist, BSI, who later gave them to Ted Bergman, BSI, who much later gave them to me. I only met Åke once, and we corresponded briefly. Ted was one of my dearest friends for thirty years.

Those left over from Christmas. Save the date!

Hahahaha oh god

The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes, compiled by Richard Lancelyn Green, is my absolute favorite cornerstone book on Sherlock Holmes. Not because of its Conan Doyle stuff, but thanks to its 138-page introduction packed with RLG’s unique and groundbreaking research and knowledge on Holmes & Conan Doyle.

Registering on Bluesky today gave me a similar positive feeling to what I felt fifteen years ago on Twitter. Nice people with whom I wanted to interact, preferably discussing Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle.