"at the Danish capital" [STUD]
Here's your chance to own an authentic letter from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Our regular listener / reader Christian Mongaard let us know that auction house Bruun Rasmussen is offering this autograph letter signed by Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. The single page letter is 11.3×17.6 cm and was written by Conan Doyle on letterhead from his Crowborough home, dated July 24, 1911.
The text of the letter is as follows:
Dear SirArthur Conan Doyle
Pray excuse the delay in answering your kind invitation. I am not clear whether Mr. Schwensen may have made some arrangement for us upon Tuesday. We are of course in his hands. If not we shall be happy to accept your invitation to dinner.
Yours very truly
As with many handwritten items, this comes with a story. According to the site:
The occasion is Doyle's attendance at his brother's wedding on 2 August 1911. His brother, Major John Innes Doyle (1873–1919), was actually married in the Church of Holmen in Copenhagen with the Danish concert singer, Miss Clara Schwensen (1881–1930), daughter of Landowner Reinholdt Schwensen (1829–1917) from Lolland, who is described in the letter as “Mr Schwensen”.This letter was in the collection of collector, late President of The Danish Baker Street Irregulars, and member of the Baker Street Irregulars Bjarne Nielsen, BSI ("The Veiled Lodger").
The recipient of the letter is anonymous, but it is most likely the English emissary, Sir William Conyngham Greene (1854–1934), with whom Doyle had dinner with in Copenhagen the day before the wedding. In this way the letter is not only related to the world of Sherlock Holmes in general, but also has a fun historical relevance for especially Danish Sherlockians.
The auction is set to take place on December 13, 2016 at 6:30 pm in Copenhagen and online. Bidding starts at 4,000 kr. (approx. $580) and the estimate is thought to be between 8,000 and 10,000 kr. ($1,160 - 1,450)
We trust that it will find an equally deserving home.
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