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The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Manuscript Census
4 November 2009
The original autograph manuscript for The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle exists today mainly as separate sheets of paper. As perhaps the most famous Sherlock Holmes story, these manuscript leaves are incredibly rare and valuable. This census identifies the known existing manuscript leaves and provides their current location.
Hound of the Baskervilles Manuscript Leaves
More about Conan Doyle Manuscripts
Manuscript History & Overview
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1901 and the story first appeared in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902. George Newnes published the first English book edition in March 1902 and McClure, Philips & Co. produced the first American edition in April 1902.
Conan Doyle's handwritten manuscript was broken up as part of a publicity campaign for the American publication of the book in 1902. The only complete chapter known to exist resides at the New York Public Library. Various reports provide some information on a few other individual leaves, but most of the manuscript is unrecorded and could be lost forever.
This census identifies 35 manuscript pages. Libraries hold 25 pages in their archives or special collections. Private collectors have 6 pages. The location of 4 recorded pages (H5, H6, H27, and H33) is unknown. Please contact me if you have information on any leaf.
The last Hound manuscript leaf to sell at auction went for $78,000. While the price of an original manuscript leaf from this Sherlock Holmes story is beyond the grasp of most Sherlockians, the Baker Street Irregulars did publish a nice facsimile of Chapter XI in 2001. It's worth adding to your collection.
Hound of the Baskervilles Manuscript Leaves
All owners have been confirmed through direct contact and/or public documents unless noted. Some private owners may prefer to remain anonymous. I respect their requests and will not identify them.
Even if the owner remains anonymous, it's useful for researchers to know that the manuscript leaf still exists and is privately held. Please contact me if you own or know someone who does own a leaf. I'll keep your identity, and theirs, private upon request.
Leaves are listed in the story's narrative sequence. Census item numbers (e.g., "H7") simplify identification since in most cases the actual page number of the leaf in the manuscript is not known. A key to census terminology appears at the end of this list. All pages are in the handwriting of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle unless noted otherwise.
H1. amount of walking with it (Chapter 1: Doubleday pp. 669-670)
Starts: amount of walking with it."
Ends: "Then I was right."
Location: Private collection of Glen Miranker, BSI
Text: McClure pp. 2-4
Notes: Almost certainly page two of the manuscript. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H2. To that extent (Chapter 1: Doubleday pp. 670-671)
Starts: "To that extent."
Ends: under thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and the
Location: Private collection of Glen Miranker, BSI
Text: McClure pp. 4-5
Notes: Includes the publisher promotional label at the bottom of the leaf. See my facsimile checklist #119 for photo citations. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H3. Chapter II. | The Curse of the Baskervilles (Chapter 2: Doubleday p. 673)
Headed: Chapter II. | The Curse of the Baskervilles
Starts: "I have in my pocket a manuscript" said ["Mr" crossed out; superscript "Dr" inserted] James
Ends: "But it is surely something more modern [superscript with caret "and practical"] upon
Location: Harvard University
Exhibited: "Ever Westward": Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in American Culture (5 May – 8 August 2009), Houghton Library, Harvard
Text: McClure pp. 11-12
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 2. The leaf is tipped into a copy of My First Book along with letters from other authors. It's on the first page of Doyle's essay "Juvenalia" and is folded twice. See their HOLLIS online catalog entry for more details, searching under "other call number" for "HEW 10.5.10". Part of the Harry Elkins Widener Collection at Harvard University. (Last updated: 10/25/09)
H4. This from Hugo Baskerville (Chapter 2: Doubleday p. 676)
Starts: [This from Hugo Baskerville to his sons Rodger
Ends: go on until the wheel turns against them, he realised his
Location: Private collection of Stuart Rose
Text: McClure pp. 17-19
Notes: Probably page 13 of the original manuscript. (Last updated: 11/4/09)
H5. May all our difficulties (Chapter 5: Doubleday p. 696)
Starts: "May all our difficulties vanish so easily...
Ends: ...get his name and
Location: Not identified
Text: McClure pp. 68-69
Notes: Last confirmed at a 1966 Parke-Bernet auction in New York. Last reported in Charles Hamilton retail catalog #31 (not seen). (Last updated: 7/9/09)
H6. said to be a young lady of attractions (Chapter 6: Doubleday p. 699)
Starts: said to be a young lady of attractions. There is Mr. Frankland
Ends: and avoid the Moor in those hours of darkness when the
Location: Not identified
Text: McClure pp. 76-77
Notes: Last reported at a 1996 Sotheby's auction in New York. See my facsimile checklist #120 for photo citations. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H7. Chapter VII. | The Stapletons of Merripit House (Chapter 7: Doubleday p. 704)
Headed: Chapter VII. | The Stapletons of Merripit House
Starts: The beauty of the following morning did something to efface from
Ends: woman with a stern set expression of mouth. But her eyes were red
Location: Private collection of Dr. Constantine Rossakis, BSI
Text: McClure pp. 89-90
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 7. See my facsimile checklist #118 for photo citations. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H8. Chapter IX | [Second Report of Dr Watson] (Chapter 9: Doubleday pp. 716-717)
Headed: Chapter IX | [Second Report of Dr Watson] | The Light upon the Moor.
Starts: Oct 15th | Baskerville Hall | My dear Holmes – If I was compelled to leave you
Ends: had gone out to keep some clandestine appointment. So I
Location: University of Minnesota
Text: McClure pp. 121-122
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 9. Includes the publisher promotional label at the bottom. This leaf was remounted and reframed in a black metal frame in 2001. See their MNCAT online catalog entry for a few more details, searching for title "Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaves". One of four leaves that are part of the Philip and Mary Kahler Hench Collection in the Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H34. may fall in with such a superstition (Chapter 10: Doubleday p. 727)
Starts: may fall in with such a superstition, and Mortimer also,
Ends: end of all our difficulties. To this one purpose I must now
Location: The New York Public Library
Text: McClure pp. 148-149
Notes: Included in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle miscellaneous file, part of the Manuscripts and Archives Division at The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. It is not listed separately online but is accessed under Doyle in Box 33 of the Miscellaneous Personal Name Files. (Last updated: 7/30/09)
H9. The man is a public danger (Chapter 10: Doubleday p. 728)
Starts: "The man is a public danger. There are lonely houses
Ends: felony, Watson? But, after what we have heard I don't feel as if I could give the man
Location: Jersey City Museum
Text: McClure pp. 151-152
Notes: Previously in a presentation mat with the publisher promotional label and photographs of Conan Doyle and Joseph Bell to either side. In 1992 the JCM found the mat was acidic, removed it, and treated the leaf for conservation. (Last updated: 2/1/06)
H10. Very good, Barrymore. You can go (Chapter 10: Doubleday pp. 729-730)
Starts: "Very good, Barrymore. You can go."
Ends: for even the firm uplands are
Location: Private collection of Glen Miranker, BSI
Text: McClure pp. 154-155
Notes: (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H35. becoming a morass (Chapter 10: Doubleday p. 730)
Starts: becoming a morass. I found the black Tor upon which [I]
Ends: "No," said he "There are a few gipsies and
Location: Private owner in Texas
Text: McClure pp. 155-156
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: 8/23/09)
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H11. Chapter XI | The Man on the Tor (Chapter 11: Doubleday pp. 732-733) Headed: Chapter XI | The Man on the Tor. Starts: The extract from my private Diary which forms the Ends: prickings of conscience, and drove off upon my | new quest.
Location: The New York Public Library
Text: McClure pp. 162-163
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 Berg's finding aid. See my facsimile checklist #115-117 for photo citations, including the complete chapter facsimile with cover shown at right. (Last updated: 6/26/09)
H12 – H26. [remaining 15 pages of Chapter 11] (Chapter 11: Doubleday pp. 733-739)
Text: McClure pp. 163-180
Notes: The Berg collection holds all of Chapter 11. See entry H11 for other details. (Last updated: 6/26/09) |
BSI Facsimile available at BSJ Website |
H27. Chapter XII | Death on the Moor (Chapter 12: Doubleday p. 740)
Headed: Chapter XII | Death on the Moor.
Starts: For a moment or two I sat breathless, hardly able
Ends: moment when you charged into the empty hut" | "Exactly"
Location: Not identified
Text: McClure pp. 181-182
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 12. Last reported at a 2004 Sotheby's auction in New York. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H28. I thought as much (Chapter 12: Doubleday pp. 740-741)
Starts: "I thought as much -- and knowing your tenacity I
Ends: "My dear fellow, you have been invaluable to me in
Location: University of Texas
Text: McClure pp. 182-183
Notes: This is the second manuscript page from Chapter 12. Accompanied by the publisher promotional label. No entry found in their online catalog or finding aids (7/1/09). Part of the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. (Last updated: 7/1/09)
H29. A low moan had fallen upon our ears (Chapter 12: Doubleday p. 744)
Starts: A low moan had fallen upon our ears. There it was
Ends: [stricken text]. Uncle and nephew have been
Location: University of Minnesota
Text: McClure pp. 190-192
Notes: Previously framed together with the next manuscript page (H30) and a drawing of the scene by Frederic Dorr Steele. This leaf was remounted and reframed separately in a black metal frame in 2001. See their MNCAT online catalog entry for a few more details, searching for title "Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaves". One of four leaves that are part of the Philip and Mary Kahler Hench Collection in the Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota. See my facsimile checklist #111 for photo citations. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H30. murdered, the one frightened to death (Chapter 12: Doubleday pp. 744-745)
Starts: murdered, the one frightened to death by the very sight of a beast which
Ends: "A beard! A beard! The man has a beard!"
Location: University of Minnesota
Text: McClure pp. 192-193
Notes: Previously framed together with the preceding manuscript page (H29) and a drawing of the scene by Frederic Dorr Steele. This leaf was remounted and reframed separately in a black metal frame in 2001. See their MNCAT online catalog entry for a few more details, searching for title "Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaves". One of four leaves that are part of the Philip and Mary Kahler Hench Collection in the Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota. See my facsimile checklist #112 for photo citations. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H31. Chapter XIII | Fixing the Nets (Chapter 13: Doubleday p. 747 )
Headed: Chapter XIII | Fixing the Nets
Starts: "We're at close grips at last" said Holmes, as we
Ends: "Found dead without a mark upon him. You
Location: The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums
Text: McClure pp. 199-200
Notes: The opening page of Chapter 13 as it appears in manuscript and in Doubleday. In The Strand Magazine, Chapter 12 was extended to include this entire page of text plus at least one more manuscript page. Preserved in the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums, which were founded in 1983 by David Karpeles and Marsha Karpeles. See my facsimile checklist #114 for photo citations. (Last updated: 12/15/08)
H32. flowed swiftly in upon them (Chapter 14: Doubleday p. 760 )
Starts: flowed swiftly in upon them, but as we at last reached firmer
Ends: bounding through the darkness of the Moor upon his track.
Location: University of Minnesota
Text: McClure pp. 231-233
Notes: This leaf was remounted and reframed in a black metal frame in 2001. See their MNCAT online catalog entry for a few more details, searching for title "Hound of the Baskervilles manuscript leaves". One of four leaves that are part of the Philip and Mary Kahler Hench Collection in the Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
H33. to be of such intense interest to us (Chapter 15: Doubleday p. 762
Starts: to be of such intense interest to us. The fellow had evidently made
Ends: kenneled it and waited his chance.
Location: Not identified
Text: McClure pp. 237-238
Notes: Last reported at a 1967 Charles Hamilton Autographs auction in New York. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
Cross-Reference Items
H34. may fall in with such a superstition (see entry H34 at Chapter 10: Doubleday p. 727 above)
H35. becoming a morass (see entry H35 at Chapter 10: Doubleday p. 730 above)
Associated Material
HA1. Acknowledgement (Doubleday p. 668)
Dated: 26.1 | 1902
Starts: My dear Robinson
Ends: all thanks.
Signed: Yours most truly | A. Conan Doyle | [stylized capital letter] T
Location: The New York Public Library
Text: McClure pp. [vii]
Notes: This letter provides the text of Conan Doyle's acknowledgement to Bertram Fletcher Robinson used in the first American edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles. It was probably written and signed for Conan Doyle by his secretary Charles Terry. Variants of this acknowledgement appeared in The Strand Magazine and in the first English edition. Part of the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection at The New York Public Library. Listed under "Outgoing correspondence" in the Berg's finding aid. See my facsimile checklist #113 for photo citations. (Last updated: 6/26/09)
A number of leaves come with an identifying label that was probably provided as part of the 1902 publicity campaign for the American first edition. The label reads "Original Manuscript Sheet from | The Hound of the Baskervilles | By A. Conan Doyle | Published by McClure, Phillips & Co., New York." Leaves were typically mounted for display, with the label appearing beneath the leaf. (Last updated: 5/1/09)
HA3. Play Typescript
The Hound of the Baskervilles: a drama in four acts
Attributed to Arthur Conan Doyle, dated Aug. [19]02.
Location: The Newberry Library
Notes: Apparently never completed, the typescript includes Acts 1, 2, and 3 only. Part of the C. Frederick Kittle Collection of Doyleana at The Newberry Library. See their online catalog for a detailed description of the typescript and an associated letter of Aug. 16, 1954 from Adrian Conan Doyle to Lew David Feldman. See also a discussion of the typescript in "The Play's the Thing" by James Bliss Austin in Baker Street Miscellanea. (Last updated: 6/29/09)
Key to Census Entries & Terms
"H" numbers: identify a specific leaf/item since the actual manuscript page number is not known; entry details appear in narrative not H-number sequence
Bold entry title: Selected text from beginning of leaf, also to help identify it
Chapter: the chapter number (as it appears in Doubleday) where the leaf text appears
Doubleday: refers to the current, single-volume, 1122-page edition of The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, n.d.). I used an edition with printing code "S52" on page 1122, which indicates a 1977 printing date. This is one of the most widely available print-editions of the Holmes stories, and includes all the tales in a single volume.
Headed: any title(s) or similar material at the top of the page
Starts: the first line of text on that page, border to border
Ends: the last line of text on that page, border to border
Signed: any material following the last line of text, including dates, signatures, and locations.
Opening page: the first page of a chapter in the manuscript
Vertical bar "|" symbol: a line break
Text: the associated text as published in select online versions of this work
McClure: refers to The Hound of the Baskervilles (New York: McClure, Philips & Co., 1902), a second impression of the first American edition of the book, available on Google Books
Please note that abbreviated dates are given in the American form of month/day/year.
Sources and Acknowledgments
Austin, James Bliss. "The Play's the Thing." Baker Street Miscellanea, No. 24 (Winter 1980): 1-10. Austin discusses the typescript of an unfinished play of The Hound of the Baskervilles (HA3).
Blau, Peter E. Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press, various issues. This invaluable Sherlockian newsletter is available online for 1985+ at <http://members.cox.net/sherlock1/scuttle.htm>.
Frayling, Sir Christopher. "The Writing of The Hound of the Baskervilles." The Baker Street Journal, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Spring 2008): 18-32. Frayling covers the period from initial conception to first publication, and concludes Conan Doyle wrote the story in less than eight weeks.
Green, Richard Lancelyn, and John Michael Gibson. A Bibliography of A. Conan Doyle. First revised edition. New York: Hudson House, 2000. The definitive Conan Doyle bibliography recounts the relevant publication history on pages 129-131 and 716.
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Chapter XI by Arthur Conan Doyle. BSI Manuscript Series general editor Leslie S. Klinger. New York: The Baker Street Irregulars in cooperation with the New York Public Library—Berg Collection, 2001. Part of the Baker Street Irregulars Manuscript Series. This volume includes a facsimile of Chapter 11 of the manuscript, a transcription of the material, and related essays. Available at the Baker Street Journal website.
Stock, Randall. "Conan Doyle Manuscripts: A Checklist of Facsimiles of the Sherlock Holmes Stories." Privately published, 2007, <http://www.bestofsherlock.com/ref/rfmsalph.htm> (5/1/09).
Stock, Randall. "A Sherlock Holmes Census: What's Really Out There." Paper delivered at Harvard University, 9 May 2009, for their Conan Doyle Sesquicentennial Conference. To be published in the conference proceedings in January 2010.
As noted in the census entries, staff members at many of the libraries provided invaluable assistance. Special thanks go to Stephen Crook, Motrja Fedorko, Rachel Howarth, Timothy Johnson, and Jill Peterson.
In addition, private collectors and Sherlockians graciously offered their expertise and knowledge. I'm indebted to Peter E. Blau, David Karpeles, Glen Miranker, Christopher Roden, Stuart Rose, Constantine Rossakis, Doug Wrigglesworth, and others who preferred to remain anonymous.
While this checklist could never have been made without everyone's help, I am solely responsible for any errors or omissions. If I omitted your name, please be assured it was inadvertent and let me know so I can correct it.
More about Conan Doyle Manuscripts
This website has information on many other Conan Doyle manuscripts, including both Sherlock Holmes and non-Holmes material.
The site also has details on other Conan Doyle rarities, including a census of Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887 with the first Sherlock Holmes story, and a census of Sidney Paget original drawings.
Return to Manuscripts Home page and Introduction
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