first edition
1905 · n.p.
by Paget, Sidney
n.p.: n.p., 1905. Good plus.. Extensively used notebook of pencil sketches by the famed illustrator of Sherlock Holmes — including a portrait of Bram Stoker. Sidney Paget (1860–1908) was a well-established working illustrator for publications such as PICTORIAL WORLD and THE SPHERE before he took on the job for which he would be remembered: the art for Arthur Conan Doyle's STRAND publications of the Sherlock Holmes stories. His images of Holmes have become iconic — indeed, the detective wearing his now-characteristic deerstalker hat comes not from Doyle's text, but from Paget's October 1891 illustration in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery."
This sketchbook captures the life of the artist just after he would have completed his illustrations for the stories that comprise THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1903-4). Most are quick drawn pencil sketches, executed apparently in situ, showing the ephemeral working practice of a professional artist. The subjects vary widely, though all with turn-of-the-century flare that conjures up the world in which Holmes and Watson solved their cases: portrait studies; Egyptian sarcophagi; a woman on a bicycle; a few striking detailed Gibson-girl-esque portraits; British landscapes and architecture (including a box office scene at the theatre); and even one sketch added by his youngest son, Jack (John) Paget.
Most notably, Paget has drawn an individual portrait of Bram Stoker, as well as a preliminary sketch, annotated, of the scene of the sale of Sir Henry Irving's Property at Christie's in 1905. (He notes actors Sir Charles Wyndham, Mary Moore, Sir Squire Bancroft, and James Fernandez as in attendance, as well as Bram Stoker and Henry Irving himself.) This sketch seems to have been the basis for an illustration that appeared in THE SPHERE (the original of which is now at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum). Around this scene Paget has sketched out a couple versions of Irving in his epochal role as Mephistopheles in FAUST (a part some believed Stoker drew upon in his creation of Dracula).
This sketchbook was originally sold as part of a three-notebook lot that appeared at Sotheby's London in 1981, consigned from Paget's son, John. That same lot appeared the following year in a catalogue from George S. MacManus Co. The last owner of the sketchbook recalled purchasing it on its own at an auction in the 1990s or early 2000s, though the specifics have been forgotten and we've been otherwise unable to trace. (We suspect it may have been a charity or small regional auction.) Original art by Paget is scarce on the marketplace; his Holmes illustrations are highly sought — one of the most famous, "The Death of Sherlock Holmes," sold for $384,000 at Sotheby's in 2024.
An evocative artifact, connecting two of the most potent literary creations of the era: Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. 6.25'' x 4''. Original stiff black paper boards, saddle-stitched, paper label to front board with ink title "Sidney Paget / Sketch Book." Red edges. [100] pages, of which 71 include pencil sketches by Paget. Text block loose from boards, else stitching intact. Provenance: Miss Winifred Paget and the Reverend John R. Paget (children of Sidney Paget), sold at Sotheby's Parke Bernet (London, March 26th 1981, lot 636), to George S. MacManus Co. (Catalogue 267, 1982). (Inventory #: 52496)
This sketchbook captures the life of the artist just after he would have completed his illustrations for the stories that comprise THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1903-4). Most are quick drawn pencil sketches, executed apparently in situ, showing the ephemeral working practice of a professional artist. The subjects vary widely, though all with turn-of-the-century flare that conjures up the world in which Holmes and Watson solved their cases: portrait studies; Egyptian sarcophagi; a woman on a bicycle; a few striking detailed Gibson-girl-esque portraits; British landscapes and architecture (including a box office scene at the theatre); and even one sketch added by his youngest son, Jack (John) Paget.
Most notably, Paget has drawn an individual portrait of Bram Stoker, as well as a preliminary sketch, annotated, of the scene of the sale of Sir Henry Irving's Property at Christie's in 1905. (He notes actors Sir Charles Wyndham, Mary Moore, Sir Squire Bancroft, and James Fernandez as in attendance, as well as Bram Stoker and Henry Irving himself.) This sketch seems to have been the basis for an illustration that appeared in THE SPHERE (the original of which is now at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum). Around this scene Paget has sketched out a couple versions of Irving in his epochal role as Mephistopheles in FAUST (a part some believed Stoker drew upon in his creation of Dracula).
This sketchbook was originally sold as part of a three-notebook lot that appeared at Sotheby's London in 1981, consigned from Paget's son, John. That same lot appeared the following year in a catalogue from George S. MacManus Co. The last owner of the sketchbook recalled purchasing it on its own at an auction in the 1990s or early 2000s, though the specifics have been forgotten and we've been otherwise unable to trace. (We suspect it may have been a charity or small regional auction.) Original art by Paget is scarce on the marketplace; his Holmes illustrations are highly sought — one of the most famous, "The Death of Sherlock Holmes," sold for $384,000 at Sotheby's in 2024.
An evocative artifact, connecting two of the most potent literary creations of the era: Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. 6.25'' x 4''. Original stiff black paper boards, saddle-stitched, paper label to front board with ink title "Sidney Paget / Sketch Book." Red edges. [100] pages, of which 71 include pencil sketches by Paget. Text block loose from boards, else stitching intact. Provenance: Miss Winifred Paget and the Reverend John R. Paget (children of Sidney Paget), sold at Sotheby's Parke Bernet (London, March 26th 1981, lot 636), to George S. MacManus Co. (Catalogue 267, 1982). (Inventory #: 52496)
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