In 1887, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle, defended smallpox vaccination in newspaper letters. As Harriet Hall notes, the anti-vaccine arguments he answered sound much like today's.

Now is also a very good time to register for NEXT WEEK’S Worldwide Doyle lecture by Ollie Randall (“Doyle and Cricket: A Passion for the Game”), Tuesday, July 1, also at 11am PT, 2pm ET, 7pm BST, also online and free, and also easy to register for: wegottickets.com/f/22404.

This arrived today. Silver plated Sherlock Holmes teaspoon. It has me wondering if there's a set somewhere 🤔 #theoldoakcase #silverplate #collectables #cutlery #conandoyle #sherlockholmes #timefortea

we picked our top ten on Tripwire this week in case you are curious;) tripwiremagazine.co.uk/headlines/tr...

'The recognition of their existence will jolt the material twentieth-century mind out of its heavy ruts in the mud, and will make it admit that there is a glamour and a mystery to life.' A. Conan Doyle in the article 'Fairies Photographed', on the Cottingley Fairies. The Strand, 1920 #BookWormSat

Now listening to: Doctor Watson Meets Sherlock Holmes and The Final Problem dramatised by John Keir Cross, music by Sidney Torch & played by Campoli. Holmes: Sir John Gielgud Watson: Ralph Richardson Moriarty: Orson Welles Decca records LK 4164 #theoldoakcase #vinyl #rare #spokenword #conandoyle

A curiosity. The appendix of this book is interesting by having two Sherlock essays: The Opera Ghost & The Living Corpse. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux with a foreword by Peter Haining. Published in paperback by Star, 1986. #theoldoakcase #booksky #conandoyle #holmes #mystery

Some new Sherock/Doyle books 221bcooee.blogspot.com/2026/06/some...

Song of the Bow. Dedicated to and sung by Mr. Kennerley Rumford. Words by A. Conan Doyle. Music by Florence Aylward (Signature at bottom right, or a stamp?) Price 2/ Chappell & Co. Ltd. 1898 [20637] G&G p614 5a/b has it as price 4/ 1898/99 so mine comes after 5a 20636. #theoldoakcase #sheetmusic

@doingsofdoyle.com In ep 20. Jelland's Voyage, you mention you haven't seen a copy of Phil May's Illustrated Winter Annual re the illustrations. This is my copy and there are no illustrations except for his own image. He does illustrate most others. #theoldoakcase #conandoyle #rarebooks #booksky

A short blog post on some interesting UK newspaper tidbits on the 1887 Beeton's appearing in the 20th C. 221bcooee.blogspot.com/2026/06/beet...

My own lifesize #booknook 🙂 From #shakespeare to #sherlock, from #myths to #medieval, from #philosophy to #fantasy, from #dictionaries to #dante, from #history to #horror, and from the #esoteric to #escape: #mylibrary lives in the #poetry of #bakerstreet. #booksky #acd #theoldoakcase #conandoyle

Book delivery! Angels of Darkness: A Drama in Three Acts by Arthur Conan Doyle. A Facsimile of a Portion of the Original Manuscript. Edited, with an introduction by Peter E. Blau. The Baker Street Irregulars Manuscript Series, 2001. #theoldoakcase #conandoyle #play #rarebooks #acd #holmes

Charles Doyle's 'A Dance Around the Moon' as a 300 piece jigsaw puzzle along with a few Sherlock Holmes jigsaw puzzles. One day when I put the pieces together again, I'll take a photo 🙂 #theoldoakcase #conandoyle #charlesaltamontdoyle #fairies #fantasy #art #jigsawpuzzle #cad #acd

The Bible. A Bibliography of A. Conan Doyle by Richard Lancelyn Green and John Michael Gibson, with a foreword by Graham Greene. New Revised and Expanded Edition of 726 pages. Hudson House, 2000. #theoldoakcase #conandoyle #booksky

NEW EPISODE: J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement (1884) - ACD's breakthrough story about the mystery of the Marie Celeste. Chat about: the Cornhill, Stevenson and Hope Hodgson, Mary Celeste, the black stone, West Africa, racism and more. bit.ly/DOD075sn

An episode of The Lost World in Eagle 14th July 1962, Vol.13 No. 28. This week, the four adventurers are faced with further perils! I only have this single issue. #conandoyle #lostworld #eaglecomic #booksky #comicsky

Sitting with my feet on the fire-escape on a Sunday morning with a book and a coffee, and waiting for the sun to reach me as it's a bit chilly! #readingsky #books #Sundays #coffee #brrrrr

Interesting book, but more of a travels with a camera. It always amazes me how people in the 1800s managed to take all that photographic equipment plus developing chemicals on their journeys. The Unknown Conan Doyle: Essays on Photography. Green & Gibson. #conandoyle #travel #Photography #booksky

Ahhhh.... Honey Jack Daniel's on a rainy evening 😋 in a special glass too! #Sherlock and #jd

Theatre programme for The Fires of Fate. A morality play in four acts by Arthur Conan Doyle. Adapted from The Tragedy of the Korosko. Second showing running from 15th June - 8th October, 1909 at the Lyric Theatre, London. #vpconandoyle #stageplay #booksky

Sherlock looks so sinister in the dark! #poddingtonpeas #holmes #vpconandoyle #collectables #conandoyle

Come here old chap, look at this. I think it's a clue! #poddingtonpeas #holmes #thegameisafoot #vpconandoyle

Now listening to Leslie Bricusse's Sherlock Holmes: The Musical starring Ron Moody as Holmes, Derek Waring as Dr Watson, Julia Sutton as Mrs Hudson... Recorded April 1989. #vpconandoyle #sherlock #vinyl

"I hear of Sherlock everywhere..." #vpconandoyle #holmes #happycolorapp

First shelf of Conan Doyle done. Time for a cup of oolong tea and sourdough toast with damson jam. #sundayshelfie #booksky #vpconandoyle

I'm putting these here for now while I'm still moving my library. Just waiting on two bookcases to be delivered, hopefully one will be here tomorrow. #vpconandoyle #booknook not 221b I'm afraid, but #sherlockholmes looks interested. #poe #shelfie #conandoyle #booksky #miniaturebooks

Ahhhhhh! I'm so nervous/excited about SLEUTH-HOUND! It's about the Scottish surgeon, Joe Bell, who inspired the creation of Sherlock Holmes. It has a bit of everything: Victorian forensics, Jack the Ripper, and even a ballistics expert named Dr. Watson. You can preorder here: shorturl.at/fdGnV