Pictorial History of Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes has been a character that has fascinated readers for well over a century. This book appeared near the centennial mark, and shows the very rich history of Holmesian portrayal in theatre, film, television, comic strips, memorabilia, souvenirs, and the illustrations that have accompanied the actual canonical stories. The author/compiler of this volume, Michael Pointer, was a member of the Sherlock Holmes Society from its formation in 1951; he is also the author of several other books on Holmes, including The Sherlock Holmes File and The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes. This book is a giant in the field, literally. It is a huge, coffee-table book (in fact, it is almost as tall as my coffee table is wide) - this size is a bonus for those who appreciate the pictorial element, for one can really appreciate the details in the pictures, graphics and other images presented; like the great detective himself, they seem larger than life. Pointer's organisation is straightforward. The first chapter looks at the images in the stories, both magazine and book forms of publications. Many images, both black-and-white and colour, come from the Strand magazine; others come from other magazines, and some photographs show interesting bits such as the re-creation of Holmes' rooms at 221B Baker Street (the room shown in this chapter is one such from the Chateau de Lucens in Switzerland, which is not the only such re-creation in the world). The second chapter looks at images from the theatre - this includes both photographs of actors and sets (heavy emphasis here is on one of the earliest actors portraying Holmes, William Gillette). Often there were cross-over stars - Gillette, perhaps best known for his stage portrayals, did act in a film; on the other hand, Ellie Norwood, famous for the early portrayals of Holmes in films, acted in one film. Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett also took a turn at stage portrayals of Holmes. In films, Holmes has been a popular, recurring figure. Many famous actors have taken a turn portraying Holmes, but perhaps the best known pair for Holmes and Watson remains Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, whose portrayals included Holmes set in Victorian times as well as settings in contemporary times, as films were done during World War II, enlisting the great British detective as an officer of morale and propaganda for the defence of the United Kingdom. More recent portrayals range from Peter Cushing as an aging detective and Nicolas Rowe as Holmes in prep school. Television has also been a happy medium for the detective, despite some renditions being less than stellar in execution. Rarely have many years gone by without some major nod to the great detective. Peter Cushing did a turn as Holmes, as did Stewart Granger, Roger Moore, Christopher Plummer, Ian Richardson, and Jeremy Brett, the last great television portrayal on British television. At the time of the publication of this book in 1991, the author was s