Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes manuscript to be auctioned for $1.2M
A rare manuscript, The Sign of Four, penned by the celebrated author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is set to be auctioned. The anticipated price could reach as high as $1.2 million. Sotheby's New York will host the auction, which also includes other literary works. This manuscript is considered the most valuable Conan Doyle item ever offered at an auction by Sotheby's.
Manuscript offers an unfiltered glimpse into Conan Doyle's work
The manuscript, written in Conan Doyle's hand, provides an unfiltered look into the book. Selby Kiffer, a senior specialist at Sotheby's for books and manuscripts, noted that the manuscript is in pristine condition. It bears minor edits by Joseph Marshall Stoddart to adapt spellings for an American audience and a few adjustments made by Conan Doyle himself.
Manuscript's history and other notable auction items
This significant manuscript was once part of a collection curated by the late Dr. Rodney P. Swantko, a Chicago-based collector. Most surviving manuscripts from Conan Doyle are preserved in museums with similar minor edits. The auction will also feature letters by Conan Doyle about his dinner with Oscar Wilde in 1889, an event that reportedly inspired both authors' subsequent works. Other items include four novels by F. Scott Fitzgerald, including a signed copy of "The Great Gatsby."
The golden evening of 1889
On August 30, 1889, Joseph Marshall Stoddart, managing editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, met Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde at London's Langham Hotel. Stoddart aims to produce an English version of Lippincott's with British contributors. The dinner led to the publication of iconic stories by Wilde and Conan Doyle. Conan Doyle later described it as a "golden evening" in his 1924 autobiography, "Memories and Adventures."
Debut of 'Sign of Four'
Soon the novel The Sign of Four debuted in the February 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, marking Sherlock Holmes' second appearance following The Study in Scarlet. Other than this, first edition copies of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, personally addressed to writer Graham Greene and Nabokov's wife, Vera, are also up for auction. The live sale will take place in New York at 10 a.m. ET on June 26th this year.
