[Doyle, Arthur Ignatius Conan, Sir] — Vincent Starrett | The Unique Hamlet: "one of the rarest pieces of Sherlockiana"

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

The Unique Hamlet: A Hitherto Unchronicled Adventure of Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Chicago: privately printed, 1920

8vo (192 x 136mm). Untrimmed. Original brown boards, paper label to spine; edges lightly bumped.

The Lackritz copy, and one of only 10 printed "for the friends of Vincent Starrett," inscribed by the author to W. MacDonald MacKay.

This early pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes detective story is widely considered one of the preeminent imitations of Arthur Conan Doyle of the many in existence. It follows Holmes as he solves the case of a missing 1602 edition of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Published as a Christmas book in 1920, it was intended to have a print run of 200 copies, half with "For the friends of Vincent Starrett" to the title, and half with "For the friends of Walter M. Hill." However, due to a printing error, only ten copies were printed with the name of the author. Here Starrett has inscribed this scarce copy: "Dear MacKay—Warmest greetings at Christmas! Dec. 1920." 

Vincent Starrett can be credited with distilling and popularizing Sherlockiana. His famed Sherlock Holmes biography (see lot 13) is considered the first piece of serious Sherlock Holmes scholarship, and he was a founding member of the Baker Street Irregulars, the exclusive literary society for Holmes enthusiasts.

"one of the rarest pieces of Sherlockiana—it is virtually nonextant" (Queen, p. 72).

REFERENCE:

De Waal 6108; Queen's Quorum 66; Honce 7; Baker Street Gasogene, 1961, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 34; The Baker Street Journal, 2020 Christmas Annual, ed. Richard Sveum, 41-52; Stock VS5 (https://www.bestofsherlock.com/unique-hamlet.htm)

PROVENANCE:

W. MacDonald MacKay (bookplate; presentation inscription) — Richard M. Lackritz (his sale, Christie's New York, 17 April 2002, lot 265)