Donald Girard Jewell’s Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series

Thanks to some serendipity, some kindness, and some impulsive purchase decisions I've finally managed to collect the complete set of nine volumes Donald Girard Jewell's Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series. 

This is a delightful set of booklets, each of the nine in the series focused on an aspect of natural history and their appearances in the canon. The books were self-published by the 'Pinchin Lane Press', and each volume has a card wrapper of a different bright color. Each book identifies references to the topic, and provides detailed history and context for the natural features mentioned in the canon.

The preface to each volume states:

"A careful study of the Canon, that collection of sixty cases committed to print, reveals how planst and animals figure prominently in the action and atmosphere of 221B Baker Street. Understanding more about natural history adds new meaning to many of the adventures."

Jewell himself is a naturalist. His 'about the author' section in the books reveal Jewell appears frequently in publications in the United States and Europe. Along with the Sherlockian series, Jewell used Pinchin Lane Press to publish 'A Field Guide to Wild Plants in Winter' and 'A Field Guide to the Underside of Life'. 

Donald G. Jewell’s Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series

• A Trout in the Milk: A Monograph on Fish and Fishing in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, 1991. 300 copies published.
• A Few Hours to the Birds: A Monograph on Birds and Birding in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, 1991. 500 copies published.
• Canonical Cats: A Monograph on Felines in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, 1992. 500 copies published.
• Butterflies & Blind Beetles: A Monograph on Insects and Insect Collecting in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, 1993. 500 copies published.
• A Canonical Dog's Life: A Monograph on Canines in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, 1993. 300 copies published.
• The Botanical Holmes: A Monograph on Plants in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, 1995. 100 copies published. 
• Horses of Different Colors: A Monograph on Horses in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, 1995. 100 copies published. 
• The Herpetological Holmes: A Monograph on Reptiles in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, 1996. 100 copies published. 
• The Meteorological Holmes: A Monograph on Reptiles in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, 1997. 100 copies published. 

In the ninth and final issue, the 'About the Author' section concludes with 'Look for his next book in The Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series, The Geological Holmes. It will deal with geology and its role in the cases of the famous detective.' This tenth volume was not published.

Each copy was signed by the author on the title page prior to sale/shipment.

Uniquely for the series, The Botanical Holmes could be ordered 'hand tinted', apparently with 25 such copies issued. Every black & white figure in these volumes were hand-colored by the author.

Many of my copies include a 'bookmark' of a matching color for that volume, which is a very nice touch.

As for where my copies came from, two contain receipts from when they were purchased by Richard Lakritz MD of San Antonio TX. I don't know if Richard owned the entire set of books, but only two were sold from his estate at the time I found them. Two other books came to me from a very kind Sherlockian James Vogelsang who helped me complete the set.

There is no question these books have had an enduring impact as Sherlockian scholarship. Perhaps this is best exemplified by the fact that over the past few years Burt Wolder and Scott Monty have used this series of books as source material to discuss trifles in the canon on their popular podcast. Three examples can be heard here: 

Trees, Part 1 https://ihose.co/trifles274 

Trees, Part 2 https://ihose.co/trifles276 

Herpetology: https://ihose.co/trifles260 

Surely a fitting tribute over two decades after the series was published, and when things like podcasts didn't even exist!