I'm so pleased to see a dedicated thread to exploring Doyle's works! I have a substantial collection of rare Holmes treasures and am actively exploring the original tales, myself.
In this blog post from 2020 I showcase a few of my rarities, including an original 1967 first-single-volume-edition of
The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, comprising the complete texts of the four novels and fifty-six short stories, accompanied by an introduction, notes, maps, diagrams, photographs, and drawings – an indispensable possession for all mystery fans.
I also have the complete 223-CD collections of every radio dramatization in existence, including the 83-CD original CBS Radio Mystery Theater's
New Adventures..., the 79-CD BBC
Adventures..., the 60-CD complete unabridged audiobooks, and Orson Welles' Mercury Theater broadcast of
The Immortal Sherlock Holmes.
I also maintain a Blu-ray video library of
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection featuring every Basil Rathbone portrayal of the great detective - 14 films on 5 DVDs. And I've framed original artwork by Sidney Paget in my home.
But the rarest and most beloved of my Holmes artifacts is something I tracked down in celebration of my 40th birthday - an original printing of the 1893 first-ever publication of the concluding tale of Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of The Final Problem" in which the great detective meets his untimely demise.
The Strand magazine serials were published in clothbound hardcover editions biannually, and "The Final Problem" first appeared with four other Holmes adventures in Vol VI July-to-December 1893. I had a copy flown in from Northumberland in North East England for my library. This lavishly illustrated first edition includes Sidney Paget’s famous image titled, “The Death of Sherlock Holmes” depicting Holmes and Professor Moriarty’s final battle over Reichenbach Falls.
A treasure for my collection.
Just this week I watched the first two Basil Rathbone films,
The Hound of the Baskervilles and
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes each released in 1939. I'll look forward to your future features! "The game is afoot!"