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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
Results 26 - 50 (of 57)
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The Great Boer War. With Maps.
London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1900. [Military History]. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm) pp.x; 552; [12], advertisements. Five folding maps, printed in colour. Half dark green morocco with raised bands and gilt titles to spine, cloth sides, edges untrimmed, original spine bound in at rear. Internally clean, one small..... More
The Great Shadow. A Novel.
New York, NY: Harper and Brothers, 1893. FIRST US EDITION. Crown Octavo. pp.[iv]; 218 [2], advertisements, in the second state. In publisher's oatmeal-coloured cloth, blocked in red to spine and upper board. A very good used copy with a few marks and bumps plus some age-related toning. 'The Great Shadow'..... More
His Last Bow. Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes.
London: John Murray. 1917. FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp. v, 305 [6]. In publisher's original red cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper board. In new matching red cloth jacket with matching gilt titles to spine. A well-handled copy with guttering of front end papers slightly split. Spine faded to..... More
His Last Bow. Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes.
London: John Murray, 1917. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.vii; [1]; 306; [6 of advertisements]. Publisher's red cloth, gilt titles to spine and upper. Some foxing to preliminaries, edges toned, rear endpapers partially split along the gutter, with the binding still sound. Binding slightly bumped and worn to extremities..... More
The Lost World. Being an Account of the Recent Amazing Adventures of Prefessor George E. Challenger, Lord John Roxton, Professor Summerlee, and Mr. E. D. Malone of the "Daily Gazette."
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1912. First Edition, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR on label. Octavo. pp. vii, 319. With 5 monochrome plates featuring illustrations of dinosaurs and landscapes. Also featuring the clipped signature of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle affixed to the front pastedown. In maroon morocco leather binding of W. Perkins..... 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". New Edition.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, [1914]. LARGE PAPER EDITION. Tall Octavo, pp.319. Mounted illustrations and colour frontispiece unique to this edition. This is the first issue, bound in light blue gilt-decorated cloth, with blind-stamped dinosaur print to covers, and illustrated endpapers. Of the 1000 copies printed, just 190 were bound in..... More
The Maracot Deep and Other Stories.
New York, NY: Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1929. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, FIRST PRINTING. Octavo, pp.307. Publisher's black decorative cloth printed in yellow in the original colourful pictorial dust jacket. A little dusty to top edge but essentially a fine copy of the book. The jacket is faded and browned to..... More
The Maracot Deep. And Other Stories.- The Disintegration Machine, The Story Of Spedegue's Dropper and When The World Screamed.
London, John Murray 1929. FIRST EDITION, 8vo. Publisher's deep pink cloth, titles in gilt to the front board and spine. Including a list of Conan Doyle's works, printed opposite title page, plus 10 pages of advertisements to the back of the text Generally very good; a little toning to text..... More
![Memories and Adventures. [With a Sherlock Holmes Pastiche]. Arthur Conan DOYLE, Sir](/pictures/thumb/54825.jpg?v=1569589677)
Memories and Adventures. [With a Sherlock Holmes Pastiche].
London: John Murray, 1930. [Autobiography] Second Edition, being the FIRST MURRAY PRINTING in the PRIMARY BINDING, revised and enlarged. Octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.460; [4] advertisements. Publisher's navy blue gilt-titled cloth covers ruled in blind, pale blue-green dust-jacket priced at 7/6. Colour-printed advertising brochure for 'The Edge of The Unknown'..... More
Micah Clarke. His Statement.
London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1889. FIRST EDITION INSCRIBED PRESENTATION COPY. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.vi; 421; [1]; [16 of advertisements]. Publisher's blue cloth blocked in gilt to spine and upper, patterned endpapers. With a card inscribed and signed by Conan Doyle affixed to the pastedown: "R. Hemingsley. | from..... More
The Mystery of Cloomber.
Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1910. [Strange Tales] COPYRIGHT EDITION. Sextodecimo (16 x 12cm), pp.286; [34]. Publisher's printed paper wraps. Dated 1909, with the latest printed date being April 1910 on the rear cover. Blue stamp of a Florentine bookseller to the front cover. Some light rubbing and water marks to spine..... More
Our Second American Adventure.
Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1924. [Psychic phenomena] FIRST U.S. EDITION, using British sheets. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.250. Publisher's dark green cloth lettered in gilt to backstrip, pale green dust-wrapper printed in red, priced at $3.00. A lovely fine copy of the book (gilt a little dulled) in..... More
The Parasite.
London: Constable, 1894. [Supernatural Fiction]. FIRST EDITION, bibliographer's copy. Small octavo (16 x 9cm), pp.125. Ribbed blue cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper, gilt dragon design to upper. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Minor toning to edges, cloth a little worn at extremities, bookplate 'Christopher Clark Geest', pencil..... More
The Parasite.
London: Constable, 1894. [Supernatural Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Small octavo (16 x 9cm), pp.125; [1]. With 'macabre' illustrated title page. Elegantly bound in half blue calf over marbled sides, gilt titles, speckled edges. Internally clean, exterior unmarked. A fine copy in an attractive recent leather binding. Doyle's own unique attempt at..... More
A Public Debate On "The Truth of Spiritualism".
London: Watts and Co., 1920. [Spiritualism] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.vi; 57; [1] blank. Publisher's printed wraps, stapled twice. Damp staining to bottom part of the textblock, some chipping to the bottom corner, some light spotting. Covers a little soiled, chipped and nibbled, staples rusted. Good. This title..... More
The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
London: George Newnes. 1905. [Detective mysteries] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.[8]; 403; [1]; [4] publisher's advertisements. Publisher's blue cloth, simply titled in gilt to spine and upper. Illustrated with a frontispiece and fifteen further plates by Paget. Housed in a modern protective cloth wrapper. Internally nice and clean..... 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 Return of Sherlock Holmes.
New York: McClure, Phillips and Co., 1905. [Literature] FIRST EDITION, predates first UK printing. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.vii; 381; [1], blank. With thirteen illustrations by Charles Raymond Macauley. Publisher's black cloth pictorially blocked in yellow and tan. A curious ASSOCIATION COPY, formerly belonging to the great Sherlockian authority Vincent..... More
Round the Red Lamp, Being Facts and Fancies of Medical Life.
London: Methuen, 1894. [Strange tales] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.vii; 328; [32], advertisements (dated October 1894). Elegantly hand-bound in red half calf, spine gilt-lettered in six compartments with raised bands, black morocco title label, marbled sides, publisher's original cloth bound in at rear. Very clean within, adverts partially..... More
The Sign of the Four.
Chicago, IL; M.A. Donohue and Co., no date [circa 1900s]. [Detective fiction] PIRATE EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.189; 42; [28]. Publisher's green cloth blocked in cream and gilt to spine and upper, decorative endpapers. With the short stories My Friend the Murderer and A Night Among the Nihilists at..... More
![The Speckled Band [An Adventure of Sherlock Holmes]. Arthur Conan DOYLE, Sir](/pictures/thumb/55363.jpg?v=1576515246)
The Speckled Band [An Adventure of Sherlock Holmes].
London: Samuel French, 1912 [actually 1923]. [Crime drama] FIRST EDITION. Third of four issues [impressions]; textually the same, but with slight differences concerning wrapper styles and imprints. This issue with French's address on the upper cover showing as '25 West 45th Street' and word 'Publisher' [singular], p.126 lists twenty-three plays..... More
Spiritualism and Rationalism. With a Drastic Examination of Mr Joseph McCabe.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, no date [1920]. [Spiritualism] FIRST EDITION. Slim octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.32. Thick grey paper covers ruled and titled in black. Some spotting, two faint owner stamps to upper. A rare survival of a throwaway item; just one other example is available at the time of..... 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
Three of Them.
London; John Murray 1923. First Edition. Small 8vo. Fine in publisher's grey paper covered boards over red linen spine with paper label. Fresh, clean and bright in a near fine dustwrapper, closed tear to spine hinge of upper rear panel. Slight scuffing and soiling, very light edgewear. Internally clean and..... More
Results 26 - 50 (of 57)
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