Huge collection of Sherlock Holmes first editions to go under the hammer in Norfolk

Rare Sherlock books going under the hammer in Aylsham. Keys head of books Robert Henshilwood with Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie first editions. Picture: ANDY NEWMAN. Archant

The ‘Sherlock Effect’ will be coming to Norfolk when a huge collection of the author’s first editions go under the hammer in Aylsham.

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Rare Sherlock books going under the hammer in Aylsham. First edition Hound of the Baskervilles cover. Picture: ANDY NEWMAN. Rare Sherlock books going under the hammer in Aylsham. First edition Hound of the Baskervilles cover. Picture: ANDY NEWMAN.

Fictional detective fans from across the globe will be eager to sniff out these Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels – including a rare first edition of The Hound Of The Baskervilles dating from 1902 – when they go to auction on Wednesday.

Keys Fine Art Auctioneers three day book and ephemera sale includes a total of 55 Sherlock Holmes first editions, alongside dozens of detective fiction works by many other authors.

The sale also includes a first edition of the first Agatha Christie Poirot novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles, published in 1921.

First edition hound of the Baskervilles front plate. Rare Sherlock books going under the hammer in Aylsham. Picture: ANDY NEWMAN. First edition hound of the Baskervilles front plate. Rare Sherlock books going under the hammer in Aylsham. Picture: ANDY NEWMAN.

Robert Henshilwood, Keys head of books, said: “The continuing popularity of the TV series Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, has rekindled interest in the original Conan Doyle books.

“This ‘Sherlock Effect’ means that demand is very strong for anything to do with Holmes, and we are expecting Conan Doyle fans from all over the world to be focussing on Norfolk during the sale. This is one the finest collections of first edition Sherlock Holmes books to come to the market for many years.”

The Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie first editions will go up for auction on the first day of the three day sale, which starts on Wednesday June 7. Full details, and a downloadable catalogue, can be found at www.keysauctions.co.uk.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes:

- The fictional consulting detective first appeared in 1887 in the story A Study In Scarlet, the first of four novels and 56 short stories. Many were serialised in the Strand magazine.

- The BBC series Sherlock, which sets the fictional detective in modern times and stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, first aired in July 2010, and is the latest in a long line of film and television adaptations of the Holmes stories, starring such actors as Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett.

- There have been over 200 Sherlock Holmes feature films, with over 70 different actors playing the great detective.

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who created the character, was born in 1859 and originally trained as a physician before turning to writing in his twenties. He was also a successful sportsman, playing for Portsmouth Football Club, as well as ten matches for the Marylebone Cricket Club (the forerunner of the England team). He took just one first class wicket as a bowler, but it was that of the legendary W.G.Grace.

- He was knighted in 1902 and died in 1930, aged 71.