The majority of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original autograph manuscript for The Hound of the Baskervilles has been lost. Only a handful of the classic tale of Gothic mystery and suspense’s twelve pages are still in private hands.
The Hound of the Baskervilles was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1901, and it first appeared in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902. The first English book edition was released by George Newnes in March 1902. McClure, Philips & Co. produced the first American edition in April 1902.
As part of a publicity campaign for the book’s 1902 American publication, Conan Doyle’s handwritten manuscript was torn up. With only 37 leaves reported to still exist, the majority of which are held by institutions, the manuscript’s estimated original length was around 185 pages. The majority of the manuscript is almost certainly lost. The New York Public Library is home to the only known complete chapter.
This census identifies 37 manuscript pages. Libraries hold 24 pages in their archives or special collections. Private collectors have 9 pages. Four recorded pages (H6, H31, H33, and H36), including a leaf that has been reported stolen, are missing. Please contact me if you have information on any leaf.
The final leaf from a Hound manuscript that was sold at auction fetched $423,000 Although most Sherlockians cannot afford the cost of an original manuscript leaf from this Sherlock Holmes story, the Baker Street Irregulars did publish a lovely facsimile of Chapter XI in 2001. Its worth adding to your collection.
Unless otherwise stated, all owners have been verified through direct contact and/or public records. Some private owners may prefer to remain anonymous. I respect their requests and will not identify them.
It’s helpful for researchers to know that the manuscript leaf still exists and is privately held, even if the owner stays anonymous. If you own a leaf or know someone who does, kindly get in touch with me. Ill keep your identity, and theirs, private upon request.
In the story, leaves are listed in chronological order rather than according to item numbers. Census item numbers (e. g. , “H7”) are constant references that make identification easier, and a cross-reference to the item’s narrative position can be found at the end of the main census. In most cases, the leaf’s actual page number within the manuscript itself is unknown. At the end of this list is a glossary of census terms. Unless otherwise noted, all pages are in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s handwriting.
Notes: The manuscript’s page two has a penciled “2” in the upper left corner. (Last updated: 4/1/22).
Notes: The manuscript’s page three has a penciled “3” in the upper left corner. includes the publisher’s promotional label, which is adhered to the leaf’s bottom. See my facsimile checklist #119 for other photo citations. (Last updated: 4/1/22).
Starts: “I have a manuscript in my pocket,” James said [“Mr” crossed out; a superscript “Dr” added].
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 2. The leaf and letters from other authors are folded into a copy of My First Book. It is folded twice and located on the first page of Doyle’s essay “Juvenalia.” For more information, visit their HOLLIS online catalog entry by looking up “003412140” under “Hollis Number” and then looking for the copy marked “HEW 10.” 5. 10″. Part of the Harry Elkins Widener Collection at Harvard University. (Last updated: 4/27/11).
Notes: One of two Hound leaves bearing “Sherlock Holmes” in its entirety Conan Doyle’s marginal notes are included, along with edits and additions in the author’s hand. (Last updated: 11/8/21).
Notes: If you are aware of the location of this leaf, kindly get in touch with me (I can request to keep names/sources private). The Victor and Irene Murr Jacobs collection was last reported as having been sold at the 1996 Sothebys auction in New York. See my facsimile checklist #120 for photo citations. (Last updated: 4/7/22).
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 7. See my facsimile checklist #118 for photo citations. (Last updated: 5/12/17).
begins on October 15 at Baskerville Hall. Dear Holmes, if I had to leave you.
Visit the University of Minnesota Libraries’ “U Media Archive” to view the H8 full-page photograph.
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 9. Includes the publisher promotional label at the bottom. In 2001, this leaf was remounted, and a black metal frame was used to house it. For more information, look up the title “Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaves” in the MNCAT online catalog. It is one of four leaves that were donated in 1983 and are a part of the Philip and Mary Kahler Hench Collection at the University of Minnesota’s Sherlock Holmes Collections. (Last updated: 5/4/19).
Notes: This leaf has a publisher promotional label on the back. Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations’ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Miscellaneous File, located in the Manuscripts and Archives Division of the New York Public Library It is accessible under the name Doyle in Box 33 of the Miscellaneous Personal Name Files D-Z, though it is not separately listed online. (Last updated: 4/30/19).
Ends: felony, Watson? However, given what we have heard, I don’t feel comfortable giving the man a conviction.
Notes: Previously in a presentation mat with pictures of Conan Doyle and Joseph Bell on either side and the publisher’s promotional label. The JCM discovered the mat to be acidic in 1992, removed it, and preserved the leaf. (Last updated: 2/1/06).
Notes: This item comes with the publisher’s promotional label (which is visible in the print catalogue for 2022 but not online). (Last updated: 4/1/22).
Notes: With a few chips and repairs affecting seven words. Previously owned by an employee of Doubleday Page & Co. , and still held by the family. (Last updated: 11/8/21).
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 11. Part of the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection at The New York Public Library. Listed under “Manuscripts” in the Bergs finding aid. For photo citations, including the full chapter facsimile with the cover displayed to the right or below, see my facsimile checklist #115-117. (Last updated: 4/30/19).
Notes: The Berg collection holds all of Chapter 11. See entry H11 for other details. (Last updated: 4/30/19).
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 12. This leaf features the scene shown in the complementary original Sidney Paget drawing. (Last updated: 11/8/21).
Notes: This is the second manuscript page from Chapter 12. Accompanied by the publisher promotional label. No item was discovered in their online catalog (6/2/12), but a cross-reference to their finding aid can be found in the Digital Collection link above. the University of Texas at Austin’s Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (Last updated: 7/24/18).
Notes: If you are aware of the location of this leaf, kindly get in touch with me (I can request to keep names/sources private). This leaf’s text mentions Holmes and Watson four times. There are also the following two leaves of the manuscript, which are listed below. It wasn’t recorded until 2012, and in December 2012 it was sold at auction. (Last updated: 6/3/17).
The University of Minnesota Libraries’ “U Media Archive” has a full-page image of H29.
Notes: Formerly framed with the following manuscript page (H30) and a scene drawing by Frederic Dorr Steele. In 2001, this leaf was detached, remounted, and reframed in a black metal frame. For more information, look up the title “Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaves” in the MNCAT online catalog. It is one of four leaves that were donated in 1978 and are a part of the Philip and Mary Kahler Hench Collection at the University of Minnesota’s Sherlock Holmes Collections. See my facsimile checklist #111 for photo citations. (Last updated: 5/4/19).
The University of Minnesota Libraries’ “U Media Archive” has a full-page image of H30.
Notes: Previously framed with the manuscript page before it (H29) and a scene drawing by Frederic Dorr Steele. In 2001, this leaf was detached, remounted, and reframed in a black metal frame. For more information, look up the title “Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaves” in the MNCAT online catalog. It is one of four leaves that were donated in 1978 and are a part of the Philip and Mary Kahler Hench Collection at the University of Minnesota’s Sherlock Holmes Collections. See my facsimile checklist #112 for photo citations. (Last updated: 5/4/19).
Notes: If you are aware of the location of this leaf, kindly get in touch with me (I can request to keep names/sources private). The first page of Chapter 13 in both the manuscript and the Doubleday edition is shown here. This entire page of text and at least one more manuscript page were added to Chapter 12 in The Strand Magazine. Only three privately owned Hound leaves have a chapter heading, and this one is one of them. Previously housed in the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums, which David and Marsha Karpeles established in 1983. Sold at Heritage Auctions in 2021. See my facsimile checklist #114 for other photo citations. (Last updated: 11/6/21).
Notes: As Holmes sets up a trap for Stapleton, Sir Henry receives instructions. This leaf has two Conan Doyle edits with strikethroughs and a penciled “21” in the left margin. This leaf was gifted to the current owner in 1996 by a person who had bought it at an estate sale in the New York City region. Unrecorded until July 2018; offered at a 2022 Hound auction. (Last updated: 4/1/22).
The University of Minnesota Libraries’ “U Media Archive” has a full-page image of H32.
Notes: In 2001, this leaf was remounted, reframed, and housed in a black metal frame. For more information, look up the title “Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaves” in the MNCAT online catalog. It is one of four leaves that were donated in 1983 and are a part of the Philip and Mary Kahler Hench Collection at the University of Minnesota’s Sherlock Holmes Collections. (Last updated: 5/4/19).
Notes: Last held in the David Light collection. Help us recover this leaf by contacting the FBI at the information provided on my Hound leaf reported stolen page. (Last updated: 9/27/20).
H34. may adhere to a belief like this (see entry H34 at Chapter 10: Doubleday p 727 above).
H36. than before. | Holmes muttered, “Where is it?” (see entry H36 at Chapter 12: Doubleday pp 743-744 above).
Notes: Bertram Fletcher Robinson was acknowledged by Conan Doyle in the first American edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles, and this letter contains that acknowledgement. Most likely, Conan Doyle’s secretary Charles Terry wrote and signed it. Different versions of this acknowledgement were published in the first English edition and in The Strand Magazine. Part of the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection at The New York Public Library. In the Bergs finding aid, it is listed under “Outgoing correspondence” to Robinson. See my facsimile checklist #113 for photo citations. (Last updated: 4/30/19).
Some of the leaves have identification labels that were likely included in the 1902 publicity campaign for the American first edition.
View a picture of the bottom of the Hound manuscript (H2) and the related label from a 2012 exhibition.
View a different label image at the “U Media Archive” of the University of Minnesota Libraries (click to enlarge).
An original manuscript sheet from “The Hound of the Baskervilles” by A Conan Doyle | Published by McClure, Phillips & Co. , New York. The label typically appeared beneath the leaf when leaves were mounted for display (last updated: 4/30/19).
Notes: The typescript only contains Acts 1, 2, and 3, suggesting that the play was never finished. Part of the C. Frederick Kittle Collection of Doyleana at The Newberry Library. For a thorough description of the typescript and an associated letter from August, visit their online catalog. 16, 1954 from Adrian Conan Doyle to Lew David Feldman. See also James Bliss Austin’s “The Plays the Thing” in Baker Street Miscellanea for a discussion of the typescript. Shown at the Footprints of the Hound 2001 exhibition. (Last updated: 4/26/11).
selected public displays of pages from The Hound of the Baskervilles’s manuscript In their census entry, some other exhibitions are only mentioned above.
This incredible exhibition featured seven original Frederic Dorr Steele drawings for “Wisteria Lodge,” three Hound leaves (H1, H2, and H10), four Holmes short story manuscripts, five original Sidney Paget drawings, rare first editions in dust jackets, and more. The excellent hardcover catalogue is both beautiful and informative. Photos and links to a comprehensive online version of the Exhibition as well as related videos are also included on my exhibition overview page.
Exhibition Website: Portland, OR; Columbus, OH; St. Dallas, Texas; Santa Ana, California; Denver, Colorado; and other cities
More than 100 items from the University of Minnesota, including H8 and H29, as well as artwork by Frederic Dorr Steele and an original Sidney Paget drawing of Holmes were displayed in this traveling exhibition. It had facsimiles of the pages from the Hound manuscript after March 2017.
Photos from the 2012 Exhibit of Hound of the Baskervilles Rarities page show a piece that is a part of Glen Miranker’s collection.
The display included illustrations by Frederic Dorr Steele, Sidney Paget, and H1 and H2 from the manuscript. The authentic first edition of the American Hound, M. Brock, a salesman’s dummy, and other rare materials
Since the manuscript page number is unknown, “H” numbers are used to identify specific leaves and items. Census entries appear above in the story’s narrative order rather than in the census’s H-number order.
The current single-volume, 1122-page edition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, n d. ). I used a copy with the printing date of 1977 indicated by the printing code “S52” on page 1122. This print edition of the Sherlock Holmes stories is one of the most widely distributed and contains every story in a single volume.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (New York: McClure, Philips & Co.), according to McClure , 1902), a second printing of the book’s first American edition, is accessible via Google Books.
This census provides a record of the reported manuscript leaves. Despite being based on extensive research, it makes no claims regarding authenticity, genuineness, authorship, or origin of any item and makes no express or implied warranties or guarantees of any kind.
Austin, James Bliss. “The Plays the Thing. ” Baker Street Miscellanea, No. 24 (Winter 1980): 1-10. Austin discusses the typescript of The Hound of the Baskervilles (HA3)’s unfinished play.
Blau, Peter E. Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press, various issues. Online access to this priceless Sherlockian newsletter for 1985 and up is available at http://redcircledc org/index. php?id=39>.
Frayling, Sir Christopher. “The Writing of The Hound of the Baskervilles. ” The Baker Street Journal, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Spring 2008): 18-32. Conan Doyle wrote the story in less than eight weeks, according to Frayling, who covers the time from conception to first publication.
Green, Richard Lancelyn, and John Michael Gibson. A Bibliography of A. Conan Doyle. First revised edition. New York: Hudson House, 2000. The relevant publication history is detailed in the definitive Conan Doyle bibliography on pages 129–131 and 716.
Chapter XI of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle BSI Manuscript Series general editor Leslie S. Klinger. The Baker Street Irregulars and the Berg Collection were published in New York in 2001. Part of the Baker Street Irregulars Manuscript Series. A facsimile of Chapter 11 of the manuscript, a transcription of the content, and related essays are all included in this volume. Details at the Baker Street Irregulars website.
Stock, Randall. A list of facsimiles of the Sherlock Holmes stories from Conan Doyle’s “Conan Doyle Manuscripts” ” Privately published, 2007, (5/1/09).
Stock, Randall. “A Sherlock Holmes Census: Whats Really Out There. ” Papers at an Exhibition, edited by Peter X. Accardo, John Bergquist, and Dan Posnansky, 175-200. The Baker Street Irregulars and Houghton Library, New York, 2009. Paper presented at Harvard University’s Conan Doyle Sesquicentennial Conference on May 9, 2009
Timothy Johnson and the University of Minnesota have given permission for use of the image of the top of leaf H8.
Staff members at many of the libraries provided invaluable assistance. The Berg Collection’s Stephen Crook, the Jersey City Museum’s Motrja Fedorko, the Harvard University’s Rachel Howarth, the University of Minnesota’s Timothy Johnson, the New York Public Library’s Jill Peterson and Tal Nadan, and the Ransom Center’s Arcadia Falcone deserve special thanks.
Additionally, private collectors and Sherlockians kindly shared their knowledge and expertise. Im indebted to Peter E. Blau, David Karpeles, Andrew Malec, Glen Miranker, Christopher Roden, Stuart Rose, Constantine Rossakis, Steven Rothman, Doug Wrigglesworth, and additional individuals who wished to go unnamed Thanks also to Chris Coover at Christies.
Although no one could have created this checklist without their assistance, I alone am responsible for any mistakes or omissions. Please be assured that I made a mistake omitting your name, and let me know so that I can fix it.
For news articles, including several for the Hound manuscript, visit the Conan Doyle Manuscript News Archive section of the website.
This website provides details on numerous additional Conan Doyle manuscripts, including a Sherlock Holmes Manuscript Census and non-Holmes material.
The website also provides information on other Conan Doyle rarities, such as a census of the Beetons Christmas Annual 1887, which contains the first Sherlock Holmes story, a census of original drawings by Sidney Paget, and a census of the extremely rare first edition of Vincent Starrett’s Sherlock Holmes parody “The Unique Hamlet.”
Chapter 4: Sir Henry Baskerville
Dr. Sir Henry Baskerville, who has accompanied Mortimer back to 221B Baker Street, is carrying a puzzling letter that was delivered to him at the Northumberland Hotel. The words on the note were taken from a newspaper and are written as follows: “As you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor.” Nobody, not even Baskerville, was aware that Holmes would be staying at that hotel until he arrived in London, and Holmes believes that Baskerville is being followed. The theft of a brand-new boot that Baskerville had intended to polish also perplexes him. Following Mortimer and Baskerville, Holmes and Watson find that Baskerville is being pursued by a man wearing a fake beard. In order to search through the trash near the Northumberland Hotel for the torn-up newspaper, Holmes hires a messenger boy named Cartwright.
Chapter 12: Death on the Moor
Nearly all the data required for Holmes to crack the case is at his disposal. Watson, however, claims that Holmes has betrayed his trust while also using him. Watson is given the reassurance by Holmes that his investigation was successful. Holmes has already figured out that Laura Lyons holds the key to the puzzle’s solution and that Miss Stapleton is actually Mr. Stapletons wife, not his sister. She therefore gave Henry a warning to avoid the moor in London. Stapleton also misled Laura Lyons into thinking he was a bachelor who would marry her after she got a divorce.
Watson is directed by Holmes to go back to Baskerville Hall and watch over Henry. A piercing wail that breaks the dusk silence suddenly interrupts the two men. They sprint across the moor because they are afraid of the hound and find a man’s body sprawled out on the ground with his head bashed in from falling from a cliff. It appears to be Henry Baskerville. When they realize that the body they are dragging back to the manor is actually Selden the prisoner, dressed in Baskerville’s old clothes that the Barrymores had given him, rather than Baskerville, they stop. When Stapleton shows up, he is visibly disappointed to discover that the person is Selden rather than Baskerville. He inquires as to whether the two have heard the spectral hound that so captures the residents’ fantasies. Even though it is late at night and Stapleton has never met Holmes before, he then calls the detective by name. Watson desires to turn Stapleton over to the police after they part ways. Holmes declines, claiming that their case has not yet been sufficiently established.
Chapter 10: Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson
The chapter is written in the style of Watson’s journals, which are supplemented by his memories. He mulls over plausible explanations for the hound he has heard on the moors twice. He is not as credulous as the “poor peasants,” who think that a dog that can breathe fire is supernatural. He believes the stranger he saw on the tor is someone he has never met before, but he wonders where the dog is during the day and what it eats. Barrymore and Henry disagree on whether Selden should be handed over to the police. They consent to allowing Selden to stay until he can board a ship for South America. Barrymore thanks everyone and shares what he knows about the night Charles Baskerville passed away. Barrymore discovered that Sir Charles was scheduled to meet a woman with the initials L after recovering a partially burned letter from Sir Charles’ study. L. by the gate at 10 oclock that night.
As soon as this happened, Watson immediately informed Holmes, wishing once more that the great detective was present at Baskerville Hall to make sense of the situation. He also questions Holmes’ sporadic and ambiguous correspondence. Later, Watson braves the rain and looks for the man he saw the night before in the tor. He finds nothing, but Dr. When Mortimer passes by, he offers to drive him to Baskerville Hall. Watson asks him if he knows an L. L. as well as Laura Lyons, who also happens to be Mr. He disowned Franklands’ daughter because he disapproved of her marriage. The following evening, Barrymore informs Watson that Selden saw a second man on the moor, camped out in the Neolithic ruins, receiving food deliveries from a Coombe Tracey boy.
FAQ
When was Hound of the Baskervilles written?
One of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most well-known Sherlock Holmes books, The Hound of the Baskervilles, was published in 1901. The novel was published as a book in 1902 after being serialized in The Strand Magazine from 1901 to 1902.
Where was Hound of the Baskervilles published?
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes was published as a book in London in March 1902 by George Newnes, who printed 25,000 copies at a cost of six shillings each. On April 2nd, an additional 15,000 copies were printed for India and the British Colonies.
Who is Hound of the Baskervilles published by?
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes came before The Hound of the Baskervilles on the first edition’s cover, which was written by Arthur Conan Doyle and published by George Newnes Ltd. on March 25, 1902.
Is The Hound of the Baskervilles based on a true story?
Answer and justification: The black hound legend in Dartmoor, which Bertram Fletcher Robinson told Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, served as the basis for this Sherlock Holmes story.