Going, going, gone...
Lost Conan Doyle archive sold for a million pounds
Reuters
A collection of long-lost papers giving a rare glimpse into the private life of Sherlock Holmes' creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was sold at an auction in London for almost 1 million pounds (almost $1.7 million) on May 19.The 3,000 personal letters, notes and hand-written manuscripts sold for 948,546 pounds ($1.69 million), auction house Christie's said. The Scottish author's early notebooks, including the initial outline for the first Sherlock Holmes novel, was the top seller at 139,560 pounds. Frank correspondence with his family also drew large bids, with letters the writer sent to his brother, Innes, and other relatives selling for 71,700 pounds. The notes contain an acknowledgement that Conan Doyle began a relationship with another woman before the death of his ailing first wife. Correspondence with Winston Churchill, Oscar Wilde and Theodore Roosevelt were also included in the sale. The sale has ignited a furore among Holmes enthusiasts and politicians, with some saying the collection should have been bequeathed to the British nation rather than sold off piecemeal. The collection was only discovered last year in the offices of a London law firm after it disappeared during a dispute over the author's estate following his death in 1930.
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A page from a log book Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle kept during his time on SS Hope, a Peterhead whaler, which forms part of collection of lost papers and personal effects auctioned in London on May 19. PHOTO: AP |
