[Doyle, Arthur Ignatius Conan, Sir] — Vincent Starrett | The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, a large paper dedication copy of this pinnacle of Sherlockiana

[Doyle, Arthur Ignatius Conan, Sir] — Vincent Starrett

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. New York: Macmillan Company, 1933

8vo (203 x 135 mm). Large paper copy, untrimmed and partially unopened, three manuscript corrections by author to pp. 41 and 51. Quarter green calf gilt over patterned boards by The Lakeside Press, Chicago; spine a little sunned, bumped at corners.

[With:] The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1960. 8vo. Pictorial cloth, dust jacket. Revised, enlarged edition, inscribed and signed by the author to Lloyd Springer.

One of three large paper copies, specially bound for the author and inscribed and signed by him to Lloyd Springer.

The full page inscription by Starrett as follows: "Before The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes was officially published in October 1933, I was inspired to ask the publisher for three sets of the unbound sheets untrimmed and uncut, intending to have them appropriately bound for three favored Sherlockians of my acquaintance. Nothing, alas, came of this commendable gesture, and the sheets remained in my possession for a quarter of a century, gathering a little dust (I fear) on my shelves. Now, at long last, through the generosity of a friend, I have been enabled to fulfill my original intention. This, then, is one of three (only) large paper copies of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, especially bound for the author (aet. 72) in February 1959. This first copy is signed in friendship for Lloyd Springer, for whom the game is always afoot. Vincent Starrett".

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes marked a pivotal moment in Sherlockian scholarship. It takes the form of a biography and acts as a close companion for those reading the Sherlock series. Starrett was one of the pre-eminent scholars of Sherlock Holmes and a founding member of the Baker Street Irregulars, the exclusive literary society for Holmes enthusiasts. (See lot 12.)

REFERENCE:

De Waal 2227-2228

PROVENANCE:

Lloyd Springer (presentation inscriptions)