Upcoming Sotheby's auction of the library of Rodney Swatko

It was recently announced that the library of Rodney Swatko would be auctioned at Sotheby's. The major item that received attention in the news was the manuscript copy of 'The Sign of The Four' - one of Doyle's four Sherlock Holmes novels. See for example this article in the Smithsonian Magazine.

The full auction list has now been posted by Sotheby's; https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/the-library-of-dr-rodney-p-swantko 

Some information on Swatko from the Sotheby's site.

"Rodney Swantko (1940–2022) was born in Indiana and became a specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery. He conducted his book collecting almost entirely by telephone bidding at major auctions and maintained a low profile in the book world, although he was a generous benefactor to both the Lilly Library at his alma mater, Indiana University, and the Newberry Library, Chicago. While undoubtedly part of the fabric of the book-collecting world, Swantko remained very private about this collection. Many people were familiar with some of what he had, but no one really knew all of what he had."

Let's take a look - it's a small list of exceptional items. It will be interesting to discover whether any of the people who purchase these items allow themself to be known to the public!

The complete autograph manuscript signed three times ("A. Conan Doyle") of The Sign of the Four, the second Sherlock Holmes novel, 1890

What a beauty! The earliest known Sherlock manuscript. I love the inlaid letter where Doyle points out an inconsistency in the story that needs to be repaired ; and another debating on the title between 'The Story of the Sholtos' and 'The SIgn of Four'. The manuscript was handed to Stoddart (editor of Lippincott's who commissioned the story). The first page of the manuscript went missing and Doyle provided a replacement - that first page is now held by the University of California San Diego.

Official description:

161 leaves of ledger-ruled paper (324 x 200 mm), comprising an original covering title-sheet and 160 text leaves, foliated [4], 5–160 in several hands, written on rectos only in brown-black ink in a clear, confident hand with only occasional, and usually minor, autograph revisions, emendations, and deletions, Bush Villa, Southsea, [September 1889], the first text leaf an autograph fair copy supplied by Doyle (see below) with Conan Doyle's card mounted at top and inscribed in his hand "With kind remembrances," verso of leaf 122 with a pencil sketch apparently by Doyle; with additional editorial annotations, mostly in pencil, regularizing the author's punctuation and other incidentals to American conventions and Americanizing British spellings (e.g., cucaine, grey, neighbourhood, coloured, demeanour, endeavoured, harbour, odour, splendour); occasional light finger-soiling and a few short marginal tears at front and rear, supplied fair-copy leaf with clean tear at edge of mounted card, withal in remarkable condition considering the manuscript served as the printer's copytext. Red skiver gilt by Stikeman, marbled endpapers, red edges; extremities quite rubbed, front free endpaper loose.

Accompanied by 4 important autograph letters signed by Conan Doyle ("A. Conan Doyle") to Joseph Marshall Stoddart, editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, relating to the composition of The Sign of the Four and its first publication in that periodical: all Bush Villa, Southsea,... the letters all inlaid to size and bound, on guards at the front of the volume with a typographic title-page printed in red and black bound at front and with a mounted albumen photograph portrait of Conan Doyle (145 x 98 mm) serving as frontispiece; the letters, title-page, and photograph all evidently later additions to the binding 

Sidney Paget's original illustration of "The Death of Sherlock Holmes"

Wow. This is a truly iconic Paget illustration of the tussle with Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls. This was owned by Adrian Conan Doyle and was part of the 1951 Sherlock exhibition in London. 

"Original pen and ink and wash drawing heightened with white of The Death of Sherlock Holmes (269 x 186 mm), an illustration for the story "The Adventure of the Final Problem," signed and dated lower left "Sidney Paget | 1893," the drawing done on two sections of paper (the lower portion 95 mm height), mounted on board, with a clear but close, even horizontal separation between them, the lower margin evidently bearing a sizing instruction, "5 inche." Matted, framed, and glazed."

 

The Hound of the Baskervilles; perhaps the best-loved crime story

A first edition of Hound of the Baskervilles.

Vincent Starrett | The Unique Hamlet: "one of the rarest pieces of Sherlockiana"

I have to be honest, I don't love pastiches. This early pastiche was produced in a small print run, and is considered to be one of the rarest and most sought-after Sherlockian items. More information on this item at the ACD Encyclopedia.

 

"This early pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes detective story is widely considered one of the preeminent imitations of Arthur Conan Doyle of the many in existence. It follows Holmes as he solves the case of a missing 1602 edition of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Published as a Christmas book in 1920, it was intended to have a print run of 200 copies, half with "For the friends of Vincent Starrett" to the title, and half with "For the friends of Walter M. Hill." However, due to a printing error, only ten copies were printed with the name of the author. Here Starrett has inscribed this scarce copy: "Dear MacKay—Warmest greetings at Christmas! Dec. 1920."

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, a large paper dedication copy of this pinnacle of Sherlockiana

Two copies of 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'. One of them was one of three copies privately bound by Starrett - absolutely beautiful:

The full page inscription by Starrett as follows: "Before The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes was officially published in October 1933, I was inspired to ask the publisher for three sets of the unbound sheets untrimmed and uncut, intending to have them appropriately bound for three favored Sherlockians of my acquaintance. Nothing, alas, came of this commendable gesture, and the sheets remained in my possession for a quarter of a century, gathering a little dust (I fear) on my shelves. Now, at long last, through the generosity of a friend, I have been enabled to fulfill my original intention. This, then, is one of three (only) large paper copies of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, especially bound for the author (aet. 72) in February 1959. This first copy is signed in friendship for Lloyd Springer, for whom the game is always afoot. Vincent Starrett".