Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | First Editions
1859 - 1930
British writer, physician knighted for medical services during the South African War and creator of Sherlock Holmes, the best-known detective in literature and the embodiment of sharp reasoning. Doyle himself was not a good example of rational personality- he believed in fairies and was interested in occultism. When his son Kingsley died from wounds incurred in the Great War, Doyle dedicated himself to spiritualistic studies. An example of these is the rather bizarre and quite touchingly credulous The Coming of Fairies (1922), but he had already showed interest in occult fantasy prior to Holmes and his early novel, The Mystery of Cloomber (1888), concerns a retired general under assault by Indian magic. Doyle supported the existence of 'little people' and spent more than a million dollars on their cause (by 1920 Doyle was one of the most highly paid writers in the world). The so-called 'fairy photographs' caused an international sensation when The Strand published Doyle's favourable account of them in 1920. The photographs showed fairies dancing in the air, but a year later, The Star newspaper reported that the fairies were from a poster. Doyle became president of several important spiritualist organizations and in 1925 he opened the Psychic Bookshop in London. Among his friends was the legendary American magician and escape artist Harry Houdini (1874-1926). Doyle believed that Houdini possessed supernatural powers, which the magician himself denied. Another friend was D.D. Home, whom the author claimed could levitate. Doyle recorded his own psychic experiences in his final book The Edge of the Unknown (1930).See below our stock of Arthur Conan Doyle First Editions, fine bindings, sets, signed copies, and other collectible material.
Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at the Toronto Public Library
Arthur Conan Doyle
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London
Arthur and George.
London: Jonathan Cape, 2005. [Historical Mystery] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[6] 360 [2]. SIGNED by the author in black ink to the title page. Publisher's olive cloth decorated in black and titled in white to spine and upper. With the original printed paper band to rear board..... More
Bones [in] Tales From Many Sources.
New York, Dodd Mead and Co., 1885. First edition. Four volumes. Octavo. Publisher's dark blue cloth, titled and decorated in gilt to spines and uppers. All volumes clean and sharp with light wear to spine ends, pale spot to lower edge front board volume III. Volume I has some minor..... More
The Hound of The Baskervilles.
London: George Newnes, 1902. [Sherlock Holmes] FIRST EDITION. Crown octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.[viii]; 359; [1] blank. With 16 illustrated plates by Paget. Handsomely bound in full deep red oasis morocco, titled and decorated in gilt to the spine, raised bands, marbled endpapers endpapers, top edge gilt. All plates present..... More
The Fall of Lord Barrymore. [An extract from The Strand Magazine].
London: George Newnes, December 1912. [Magazine Extract] FIRST APPEARANCE. Octavo pamphlet (23 x 16cm), pp.603-611 [1]. With dichromatic illustrations by Brock. Leaves removed from a copy of The Strand Magazine and bound recently in brown paper, with a plain printed title label to upper, stapled twice. Light creasing and marking..... More
Sherlock Holmes: Complete Stories. The Adventures; The Memoirs; The Return; His Last Bow; The Case-Book; A Study in Scarlet; The Sign of Four; The Hound of the Baskervilles; The Valley of Fear.
London: The Folio Society, 1993 and 1994. [Sherlock Holmes] COMPLETE COLLECTION, mainly second impressions thus. Two box sets. Octavo (24 x 15 x 27cm). With eight engraved illustrations by Mosley to each volume. Publisher's black and brown illustrated cloth with gilt titles to spines. With the gilt-decorated brown paper-covered slipcases..... More
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
London: Folio Society, 1958. [Crime Literature] FIRST EDITION THUS, FOLIO EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.[16]; 291; [1]. Burgundy quarter calf, red cloth over sides. With numerous full page illustrations by Hogarth, including a frontispiece. Some minor marking to edges of texblock, wearing to leather at spine leading to some..... More
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes In ORIGINAL INDIVIDUAL PARTS [Strand Magazine] July 1891 to June 1892.
London: George Newnes, 1891. [Detective short stories] FIRST APPEARANCE of these famous Sherlock Holmes short stories in The Strand Magazine. July 1891 to June 1892. Magazine format in paper covers; twelve issues, complete. Contents clean, with acceptable toning. All covers present. Some expected wear and toning to the fragile wrappers..... More
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.
London: John Murray, 1927. [Detective Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.320. Original red cloth, lettered in gilt. Contents clean, front cover with a little discolouration, spine lightly sunned, gilt dulled; very good. The last of the original Sherlock Holmes books, being twelve cases for the great detective which..... More
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Long Stories (A Study In Scarlet, Sign of Four, Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear).
London: John Murray, 1929. [Detective Fiction] FIRST EDITION of this omnibus volume; the first collected edition of the original four Holmes novels, with a brand new preface from Conan Doyle. Octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.640; [6], advertisements. Red cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper, red top edge, pictorial..... More
The Great Keinplatz Experiment, And Other Stories.
Chicago and New York: Rand, McNally and Company, 1894. [Supernatural] FIRST EDITION THUS. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.232. Publisher's red cloth over boards. Gilt titles to upper and spine. Gilt ruling and floral device to upper. Title page lettered in black and red. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Leaves moderately..... More
His Last Bow. Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes.
London: John Murray, 1917. [Detective Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.viii; 305 [7]. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper. Contents clean, some browning to endpapers, cloth shows a few marks, faint cup ring to upper, spine sunned, gilt dulled to same. Overall very good..... More
His Last Bow. Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes.
London: John Murray, 1917. [Detective Fiction] LEATHER-BOUND FIRST EDITION, First Impression. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.viii; 305 [7]. Recently re-bound in burgundy half morocco, with raised bands, gilt titles to spine, and matching cloth over boards. Top edge gilt, others trimmed. A lovely crisp, clean copy in an attractive new..... More
The Hound of The Baskervilles.
New York: McClure, Phillips and Co., 1902. [Detective fiction] FIRST ISSUE (of four), of the First American edition, without the 'R' on the copyright page. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.viii; 249; [1], blank; [8], advertisements; [2], blank. Title page printed in black and red. With eight black and white illustrated..... More
The Lost World. Being an account of the recent amazing adventures of Professor George E. Challenger, Lord John Roxton, Professor Summerlee, and Mr. E. D. Malone of the "Daily Gazette".
London: Hodder and Stoughton, no date [1914]. [Fantasy] LARGE PAPER EDITION. Tall Octavo (23 x 17cm), pp.319. With tissue-guarded mounted illustrations and colour frontispiece unique to this edition. Elegantly bound in half dark blue morocco with raised bands, gilt titles and ornament to the spine, cloth sides, top edge gilt..... More
The Lost World. Being an account of the recent amazing adventures of Professor George E. Challenger, Lord John Roxton, Professor Summerlee, and Mr. E. D. Malone of the "Daily Gazette".
London: Hodder and Stoughton, no date [1912]. [Fantasy] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.[vii]; 319. With photographic portrait frontispiece of members of the expedition, plates and map (complete). Bound in the publisher's pictorial mid-blue cloth with gilt titles to spine and gilt illustration of Challenger to upper, titled and..... More
The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1905. [Detective fiction] First Colonial Edition. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.[viii]; 403; [1], imprint; [8], advertisements. With a frontispiece illustration by Sidney Paget. Publisher's pictorial light blue-green cloth titled and decorated in gilt and black to the spine and front board, 'swan' patterned endpapers. Some..... More
The Sign of the Four.
New York, NY: William L. Allison Co., no date [circa 1900]. [Sherlock Holmes] PIRATE EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.176. Publisher's maroon cloth with gilt titles to spine. Top edge gilt. Repairs to split endpapers. Quite heavily browned and brittle throughout. Moderate wear to cloth, with some white marks to..... More
The Sign of the Four. [A Scandal in Bohemia].
New York, NY: American Publishers Corporation, no date [circa 1900]. [Sherlock Holmes] PIRATE EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.222. Publisher's mauve cloth with gilt titles to spine and blind decoration to boards. Ownership stamp to front pastedown. Hinges badly split, with rear fly-leaf lost and netting exposed. Heavily browned and..... More
The Stark Munro Letters. Being a Series of Sixteen Letters written by J. Stark Munro, M.B., to his friend and former Fellow-Student, Herbert Swanborough, of Lowell, Massachusetts, during the Years 1881-1884. Edited and arranged by A. Conan Doyle.
London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1895. [Biographical] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm) pp.[8]; 346; [2]; 24. With a tissue-guarded halftone frontispiece and title page vignette. Publisher's catalogue to rear. Dark green cloth lettered in gilt to upper and spine. Bevelled edges. Black endpapers. Leaves faintly toned, a few thumbed..... More
A Study In Scarlet [and] A Case of Identity.
Chicago, MI: Donohue, Henneberry & Co., no date [circa 1900]. [Sherlock Holmes] PIRATE EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.230. Publisher's burgundy cloth with gilt titles to spine; top edge gilt. Extremely heavily browned and brittle. Hinges just starting. Black ink ownerships and stamps to endpapers. Wear and bumping to spine..... More
A Study In Scarlet, and A Case of Identity.
Chicago, IL: E.A. Weeks and Company, no date [circa 1900]. [Sherlock Holmes] PIRATE EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.232. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine. Top edge gilt. Textblock browned. Cloth rubbed to extremities, especially to joints, corners and spine ends, some scuffs and marks. Very good... More
A Study In Scarlet.
Chicago, IL: E.A. Weeks and Company, no date [circa 1900s]. [Sherlock Holmes] PIRATE EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.232. With A Case of Identity printed at the rear. Publisher's green cloth blocked to resemble a half morocco binding with gilt titles to spine, top edge gilt. Cheap paper stock a...... More
A Study In Scarlet.
New York, NY: William L. Allison Co., no date [circa 1900]. [Sherlock Holmes] PIRATE EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.175 [1]. Publisher's maroon cloth with gilt titles to spine. Top edge gilt. Bookplate of Herbert F. Mitchell to front pastedown. Heavily browned throughout. Spine toned and lightly rubbed, with a...... More
A Study In Scarlet.
New York, NY: Hurst and Company, no date [circa 1900]. [Sherlock Holmes] PIRATE EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.176. Publisher's cyan cloth with gilt titles to spine. Black ink ownership to fly-leaf. Rear hinge badly split, with fly-leaf detached; front fly-leaf nearly detached. Extremely heavily browned and brittle throughout. Quite..... More
A Study In Scarlet. With an Introduction by Hugh Greene.
London: John Murray and Jonathan Cape, 1974. [Sherlock Holmes] FIRST EDITION THUS. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.145 [3]. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the pictorial dust-jacket designed by Leigh Taylor, priced at £1.95 to front flap. Tan endpapers illustrated with reproductions of George Hutchinson's drawings from..... More