LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 October Rare Books & Manuscripts #675  / 

30306

Arthur Conan Doyle ALS Referencing Holmes

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:16,000.00 USD Estimated At:18,000.00 - 25,000.00 USD
Arthur Conan Doyle ALS Referencing Holmes
<B>Arthur Conan Doyle Autograph Letter Signed to an Editor at McClure Magazine,</B></I> the magazine that introduced Doyle's work to the United States. Great association and content ALS "<I>A Conan Doyle</B></I>", one page on his Greyswood Beeches, Haslemere stationery, one page, 4.25" x 7", n.d. (but a previous collector has noted 1896 in pencil), thanking the recipient and discussing his plans for writing future stories. <BR><BR>Doyle writes: "<I>We thought the Certificate came from Walt and acknowledged it to him. Many thanks, it arrived all right. I have done one of those studies which I will forward tonight so that you may have some idea what sort of thing I mean. Of course the Holmes stories are all criminal studies, and your brother was very keen on my doing them. If on seeing this he determines however that he would rather have pure fiction he shall have them - but it will throw back the date of them, as I feel at present rather drawn towards these</B></I>" The recipient, addressed simply as "<I>McClure</B></I>", is either Samuel Sidney McClure, or a brother who worked with him at the magazine. McClure was a key figure in publishing in the late 19th Century. His magazine, <I>McClure,</B></I> filled an important niche in the literary world and often syndicated novels-in-progress by such noted authors as Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Although the magazine would later be remembered most for giving birth to muckraking journalism, its true origin was to promote thought-provoking literature and political essays. <BR><BR>Doyle, a doctor by training, turned to writing short stories during long lulls while waiting for patients. The great success of the Sherlock Holmes series never sat well with him, and in December of 1893 he wrote the death of his famous detective; Holmes and his arch nemesis Moriarty plunged to their deaths in the story "The Final Problem". Doyle always believed his Holmes short stories were folly, and resented that they took time away from more serious scholarship. However public outcry demanded that his fictional hero be brought back to life. To couch the stories as criminal studies made their prospect more bearable to Doyle. And in several instances, his brilliant logic and deducting skills saved a few innocents that had been wrongly accused, most notably in the case of Oscar Slater. The inconsistencies in the case provoked Doyle's curiosity, and his investigations would eventually prove Slater innocent. Letters by Doyle mentioning his great literary creation are very rare, and one citing his desire to focus on them would be most desirable. The letter is quite clean with bold ink and in near fine condition, save a thin band of discoloration at top and a paper-clip mark.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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