PROFILES IN HISTORY Announces The Sherlock Holmes Collection Today

Daniel Posnansky has been collecting SHERLOCK Holmes books, manuscripts and ephemera for 60 years. Now, Profiles in History is proud to announce The SHERLOCK Holmes Collection of Daniel Posnansky, December 19th in Los Angeles.

First up, is one of the most important books in the world of Sherlockiana, The Sign of the Four inscribed and signed by Sir Arthur CONAN Doyle with an original drawing and verse. It is a pirated edition, which means it was an unauthorized printing of the book. During Sir Arthur CONAN Doyle's visit to Chicago in 1894, columnist Eugene Field had violently criticized the crude appearance of pirated SHERLOCK Holmes editions. Yet, he did not hesitate to present this edition to Doyle for an inscription. No DOUBT galled by the sight of the book, Doyle obliged with an extra-illustration and some caustic verse:

This bloody pirate stole my sloop
And holds her in his wicked ward.
Lord send that walking on my poop
I see him kick along main-yard [.]

This is Eugene Field's edition. It is estimated to sell for $75,000 - $125,000.

Next is arguably the most comprehensive collection of pirated editions in private hands. There are 1,200 editions in this lot including, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Tales of SHERLOCK Holmes. Aside from Charles Dickens, no other author even comes close in sheer number of unauthorized American editions, which attests to their great popularity. In the end, these "pirate" publishers spread the popularity of the writings of Sir Arthur CONAN Doyle at an unparalleled rate, with editions in hard and soft cover. The lot is estimated to sell for $40,000 - $60,000.

Then a doll of William Gillette in his stage-role as SHERLOCK Holmes in 1899. It is contained in a plexiglass case with wooden base. This doll was presented to William Gillette by his costumer on the opening night of the play. It is authentic in every detail, its clothes were cut from a fabric similar to that used for Gillette's own costume. It is estimated to sell for $10,000 - $15,000.

There will also be a large assortment of SHERLOCK Holmes ephemera like postcards, stamps, cigar bands, lantern slides, coins, ad and novelty items that any fan could own.

ABOUT PROFILES IN HISTORY
Founded in 1985 by Joseph Maddalena, Profiles in History is the world's largest auctioneer & dealer of original Hollywood Memorabilia, historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts. Born into a family of antiques dealers in Rhode Island, Joseph "Joe" Maddalena learned early on how to turn his passion of collecting historical autographs into a career. Upon graduation from Pepperdine, Joe pursued his passion to become a full-time dealer of historical documents, and opened his first office in 1985. Profiles in History has held some of the most prestigious and successful auctions of Hollywood memorabilia and own virtually every Guinness Book record for prices of original screen-used memorabilia. Highlights from their previous auctions include the "Cowardly Lion" costume from The Wizard of Oz for $805,000; Steve McQueen's "Michael Delaney" racing suit from Le Mans for $960,000; From the history-making Debbie Reynolds Auction in June 2011, Profiles in History sold the Marilyn Monroe "Subway" Dress from The Seven Year Itch for $5.52M and the Audrey Hepburn Ascot Dress from My Fair Lady for $4.44M. In February 2012, Profiles in History arranged the sale of a pair of Judy Garland screen-used Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. In June 2017, at his Hollywood Auction 89, Joe sold the Gary Cannavo collection of Battlestar Galactica spaceships for 1.8 million dollars, the Saturday Night Fever dance floor for 1.2 million and an R2D2 for 2.76 million. In addition, Joe Maddalena was the star of Hollywood Treasure, which aired on Syfy. Hollywood Treasure took viewers into the fascinating world of showbiz and pop culture memorabilia.

For more information visit www.profilesinhistory.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.