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Since Sherlock Holmes was introduced to the public in The Study in Scarlet, first published in 1887 thousands of people have taken part in a Sherlock Holmes ‘fan’ culture. They do this through collecting, writing fan fiction, creating art work, making pilgrimages and other activities.
Many early Sherlock Holmes fans were actively involved with the stories. Most famously when Holmes was killed off in 1893 some wrote to Arthur Conan Doyle to complain and called him a ‘brute’. Their support encouraged Conan Doyle to bring Holmes back in 1901.
In the 1930s Sherlock Holmes groups began to spring up all over the world. These included The Baker Street Irregulars in the US and an early version of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London in the UK. Members had dinners together and wrote essays that play ‘The Great Game’, which is to treat Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson as real people. This tradition continues today and many of these essays are published by Sherlock Holmes groups in dedicated journals.
Many fans and Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts now connect online through websites dedicated to fan fiction and fan art, and social media. These creative works span a range of genres and styles and some celebrate adaptations as well as the original stories.
Items on display are chosen from the Arthur Conan Doyle Richard Lancelyn Green Bequest Collection, this exhibition is based upon Sherlock Holmes fandom from 1897 to the present day.
Katharine Brombley, a student at the University of Portsmouth, curated the new display case for the permanent exhibition A Study in Sherlock at Portsmouth Museum. The exhibition is available to see in person at Portsmouth Museum (free entry, open 10am–5.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday and on bank holiday Mondays).
A number of items in the Collection are stored behind the scenes. Hunting through the stores and choosing the items to add to the display was a time consuming but fascinating task. Narrowing down to fit into the space available was no easy task.
A selection of items from the exhibition
Statue of a young Jeremy Brett
Made from fibreglass made to resemble bronze, this is a statue of Jeremy Brett, who played Sherlock Holmes for many years in the Granada television series. Interstingly, it bears more than a passing resemblance to Benedict Cumberbatch who played Sherlock in the BBC series of the same name.
Persian Slipper
This is the Persian slipper which Richard Lancelyn Green collected for his creation of 221B Baker Street.
In “The Musgrave Ritual” Watson says Holmes 'keeps his cigars in the coal-scuttle, [and] his tobacco in the toe end of a Persian slipper'. Conan Doyle also discussed this unusual habit in The Complete Stories and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Baker Street Studies
This first edition of Baker Street Studies was published in 1934. The book includes essays written by members of the early Sherlock Holmes Society, including Dorothy L. Sayers, Vincent Starrett, Ronald A. Knox, and S. C. Robers, and is edited by H W Bell.
Topics include Holmes’s college career, the medical career of Dr. Watson, Mrs. Hudson’s little-known exploits and the mystery of Mycroft Holmes. There is also speculation regarding Holmes' view of women and his Mr. Moriarty. Did he exist? A. G. Macdonell attempts to prove otherwise.
“Bell’s work is a landmark and a model of method.”—Barzun and Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime
This copy is inscribed to the president of the society, Dick Sheppard, and signed by the secretary A G Macdonnel.
Sherlock Holmes postcards
These postcards were released in 1903 by The Strand Magazine to celebrate the release of The Return of Sherlock Holmes. They feature Sidney Paget illustrations for the Sherlock Holmes stories:‘The Final Problem, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Adventure of the Empty House and The Adventure of the Norwood Builder.
Baker Street Postbox insert
This insert from Baker Street's postbox gives the time of the postal collections. Souvenirs like this one are popular amongst fans and collectors for their link to Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes lived.
Souvenier from Reichenbauch Falls
This wooden box is from the Reichenbach Falls in Meiringen, Switzerland where Holmes fought Moriarty in The Final Problem and was thought to have died. It was pressure from the fans that encouraged Conan Doyle to resurrect his hero in 1901, The box contains two phials: one filled with water and one with earth collected from the Reichenbach Falls.
To see more images and find out more about The Conan Doyle Collection, please email: sherlock.holmes@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
Inspiration
Online exhibitions featuring items from The Conan Doyle Collection and celebrating Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's connection with Portsmouth.- You are here: Exhibitions > Arthur and George 123 Arthur and George A joint exhibition from The Arthur Conan Doyle Collection, at Portsmouth City Council, and the ITV production which starred Martin Clunes as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which first aired in March 2015.
- As part of the Sharing Sherlock project Portsmouth MIND group designed, built and painted their own personal version of this most famous of imaginary places, the study of Sherlock Holmes and his fellow detective
- Not only did sport feature in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fiction, he was also an active sportsman himself.
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his first two Sherlock Holmes stories while living in Portsmouth where he had arrived in 1882 to set up a doctor’s practice at 1 Bush Villas, Elm Grove, Southsea
- Due to his success as a writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had the opportunity to travel widely and often took his family. From Canada and America, to Australia, Ceylon and Egypt,
- Best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also wrote science fiction and had a surprising belief in fairies at the bottom of the garden.
- Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about 60 stories starring his most famous creation, the detective Sherlock Holmes.
- Arthur Conan Doyle’s science fiction novel The Lost World is an exploration of a dangerous and exotic place, where prehistoric creatures still thrive
- When Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, he had no idea of how popular his hero was to become. Soon famous as a man of many disguises,
- In Arthur Conan Doyle’s story The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, a resourceful young woman seeks help from Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson
- In the summer of 1917, in leafy Cottingley Glen near Shipley in West Yorkshire, Elsie Wright aged 16, and her cousin Frances Griffiths aged 9, claimed to have taken photographs of fairies.
- The students of Harbour School’s Key Stage 3 Group created fanciful masks and costumes inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle’s story Charles Augustus Milverton.
- Learn all about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's celebrated 'consulting detective' Sherlock Holmes, in this free exhibit at Portsmouth Museum.
- Sherlock Holmes fame spread throughout the world and Arthur Conan Doyle's books attracted many fans.
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