As my research into various Sherlockian topics and themes grows deeper, I find myself searching through the catalogs of special collections at an assortment of key libraries throughout the world. Below is a wish list of sorts detailing a few of the libraries I hope to visit some day soon:
Search the ACD Collection at the Toronto Public Library here.
“The Toronto Reference Library has one of the world’s foremost collections of library materials devoted to the life and work of Arthur Conan Doyle. Much of the collection, of course, is devoted to Doyle’s most famous character, Sherlock Holmes. The Collection is housed in a room evoking 221B Baker Street, where people can browse along open shelves in a manner unusual in a special collection.”
Search the Sherlock Holmes Collection at the University of Minnesota here.
“The Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries constitute the world’s largest gathering of material related to Sherlock Holmes and his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Collections consist of over 60,000 items including books, journals, and a wide variety of other forms through which the transformation of the Holmes character from the printed page to a cultural icon can be traced.”
[Book jacket mockup for Profile by Gaslight by Frederic Dorr Steele.]
“This is a synthetic collection consisting of manuscripts, typescripts, correspondence, an undated notebook, financial and legal documents, and a photographic portrait. The manuscripts and typescripts comprise plays, stories, chapters from novels, poems, essays, and drafts of a Sherlock Holmes play by W. H. Gillette. The correspondence consists of letters from the author, dating from 1881 to 1930. There are 1,192 items in total.”
Located in the Berg Collection of English and American Literature.
* Portsmouth History Centre (Central Library): Arthur Conan Doyle Collection – Lancelyn Green Bequest.
“The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Richard Lancelyn Green Collection is one of the most wide-ranging in the world. It includes first editions of books, related letters, film and television memorabilia, as well as Richard’s recreation of Sherlock Holmes’ Baker Street study. Richard collected items with some connection, however obscure, with Sherlock Holmes – from matchboxes with Sherlock Holmes on them, to adverts in magazines and even copies of the Radio Times with listings of related programmes.”
“The Trust is a special part of the Baker Street Irregulars, the literary society dedicated to the study of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Trust is designed to collect, archive and preserve historical documents for the study of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, the Victorian world and the individuals and organizations like the BSI that have devoted themselves to such studies. The Trust has a special interest in preserving materials relating to the history of the BSI, its members and friends.”
Further information about the BSI Trust Collection at Houghton Library can be found in the For the Sake of the Trust newsletter (pdf).
“The Starrett Collection at Northern Illinois University Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections began as a modest collection of Chicago Renaissance material many years ago. Items in the collection have been purchased over the years by the library or donated by collectors and other libraries. The collection consists of Starrett’s novels, bibliographies, essays, poems, correspondence and letters, biographies, autobiographies, and miscellaneous odds and ends such as greeting cards and book plates.”
“the world’s largest gathering of material related to Sherlock Holmes and his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle“ at the University of Minnesota! Has anyone physically been there and seen the collection, or is it closed to the public and only viewable online?
I tried to see the NYPL collection when I was there but it required academic credentials. Does anyone know how someone without paperwork can see any of these collections? Do I need to kidnap a librarian friend?
Speaking as both an academic and a librarian-in-training, you could probably get away with calling yourself an “independent scholar” or something similar as long as you can find someone with aca-credentials to write you a letter of recommendation. My master’s advisor, who has written most of those letters for me, said it basically amounts to “I trust this person and they will not steal or destroy your materials.” As an academic, those letters were not always necessary for me – I’d often bring them into the archive/library and be told “Oh we don’t need that”, but they would probably help if you don’t have those credentials yourself.
ALSO: it will really help if you plan your visit in advance. Even most academics will get turned away if they show up to the library/archive without advance notice, particularly if the stuff you want to see is kept off-site. Email the person in charge of the collection, explain what aspects of it you’re interested in and when you’d like to see them, and that should help your chances a LOT.
Also2: I’ve been to the collection at Portsmouth and it is FANTASTIC. If you’re ever in the area and can get into the archive, I highly recommend it. My thesis wouldn’t have been possible without the help of those archivists.
Oh, I can’t believe it! This is amazing, @ebaeschnbliah. You surely remember how I kept going on about the changed layout of the Watson flat which drove me crazy. And now this!
And then of course the box falling open – this is a wonderful discovery.
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