Sherlock Holmes

CRIME SCENE SKETCHES

REPRODUCED IN FAC-SIMILE FROM THE PEN AND INK DRAWINGS
IN THE NOTE BOOK OF A PRIVATE ENQUIRY AGENT

Edited By Thomas F. Hanratty

Sketches done in the style of Hans Gross
Criminal Investigation, R. M. Howe (ed.)
London: Sweet & Maxwell, Ltd. (1949)



Thomas F. Hanratty is a retired Forensic Investigator who wondered how the crime scene notebook of Sherlock Holmes would have appeared.

"I know a crime scene is a chaotic clutter of evidence and my own books were filled with quick sketches and notes as to the locations of various items in the room or area.

"Memory, even for the Master, would need to be refreshed days or weeks after visiting the scene, so I reasoned Holmes must have jotted down the location of the body, the furniture and clues he had discovered.

"At the time I sketched the book, I was the President of the Milwaukee Scion (The Bagatelle Card Club), so the work was a labor of love."

"One of the great enjoyments of the Sherlock Holmes saga for the true Sherlockian is investigating the details. In order to produce the Crime Scene Sketches book, I had to re-read the Canon carefully, focusing on the descriptions of the locus delicti as transmitted by John H. Watson, MD.

"Unfortunately, only eighteen of the original experiences of the two men provided enough detail to fairly accurately reproduce a quick drawing of what might have been seen at the time of the investigation.

"Several of the cases had no crime scene described, although an illegal act had been perpetrated. Others didn't lend themselves to a simple sketch, and various competent artists have done them justice (i.e. HOU, MUS, etc).

"I'm sure Holmes himself had no such misgivings and undoubtedly had detailed drawings and measurements of the evidence placement in those cases. And, as the title of the work is 'Crime Scene Sketches', I felt no obligation to reproduce those investigations not of a criminal nature.

"The dates are from Baring-Gould,et. al., and the style from Hans Gross, a contemporary of the Men of Note.

"Although the vast majority of the recorded investigations are not represented, each had to be researched in detail to be included or eliminated. Had I had access to Holmes' notebook itself, a more complete work would have resulted.

"Fortunately, it is being rumored among some members to the British Holmes group that the priceless object, Holmes' notebook itself, has been recovered and is, as we speak, making its way across the Atlantic. Perhaps soon we will get to see the original sketches from the pen of the Master himself. Stay tuned."

Baring-Gould, William S., The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Vol I & II, 1967, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc, Publisher, New York, 2nd Edition.

Gross, Hans, Criminal Investigation, originally published in 1891, reproduced and edited by R.M. Howe, 1949, Sweet and Maxwell, Publishers, London

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Crime Scene Sketches
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See another book by Thomas Hanratty:
The Art and Science of Tracking Man or Beast

"I am enthusiastic about CRIME SCENE SKETCHES: about its concept of expanding the reader's knowledge of The Watsonian Canon, about its filling a need in the understanding of Holmes and his methods and results that we all want, and about the fact that this book is in the grand tradition of strict, careful, basic explication of The Sixty stories."

John Bennett Shaw, B.S.I.



"I then proceeded to make a
careful examination of the room. . . ."

Crime Scene Sketches:
  1. Introduction by John Bennett Shaw
  2. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
  3. The Resident Patient
  4. The Sign of Four
  5. A Study in Scarlet
  6. The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
  7. The Adventure of the Three Students
  8. The Adventure of the Dancing Men
  9. The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez
  10. The Reigate Squires
  11. The Adventure of the Second Stain
  12. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
  13. The Problem of Thor Bridge
  14. The Crooked Man
  15. The Adventure of the Priory School
  16. The Naval Treaty
  17. The Adventure of Black Peter
  18. The Man With the Twisted Lip

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The Stories of Sherlock Holmes

Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories about Sherlock Holmes.

Almost all were narrated by Dr. Watson, with the exception of two narrated by Holmes himself and two more written in the third person.

The stories first appeared in magazine serialization, notably in The Strand, over a period of forty years. This was a common form of publication in those days; Charles Dickens wrote in a similar fashion.

The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.

Novels
  • A Study in Scarlet (serialized 1887)
  • The Sign of Four (published 1890)
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles (serialized 1901-1902; original illustrations by Sidney Paget)
  • The Valley of Fear (serialized 1914-1915) (briefly involves Professor Moriarty)

Short stories
The following are organized by collection. (Note: Frequently, "The Adventure of ..." is dropped from some story titles in current-day anthologies. However, in their original appearance in The Strand, this is how the titles were given in many cases.)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Contains stories published 1891-1892 with original illustrations by Sidney Paget.
  • A Scandal in Bohemia
  • The Red-Headed League
  • A Case of Identity
  • The Boscombe Valley Mystery
  • The Five Orange Pips
  • The Man with the Twisted Lip
  • The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
  • The Adventure of the Speckled Band
  • The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
  • The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
  • The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
  • The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Contains stories published 1892-1893 with original illustrations by Sidney Paget.
  • The Adventure of Silver Blaze
  • The Adventure of the Cardboard Box (this story is included as part of His Last Bow in American editions of the canon)
  • The Adventure of the Yellow Face
  • The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk
  • The Adventure of the Gloria Scott (Holmes's first case, described to Watson)
  • The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual (another early case, told by Holmes to Watson)
  • The Adventure of the Reigate Squire
  • The Adventure of the Crooked Man
  • The Adventure of the Resident Patient
  • The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter (Mycroft appears for the first time)
  • The Adventure of the Naval Treaty
  • The Adventure of the Final Problem (Watson reports the death of Holmes)
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Contains stories published 1903-1904 with original illustrations by Sidney Paget.
  • The Adventure of the Empty House (the return of Holmes)
  • The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
  • The Adventure of the Dancing Men
  • The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist
  • The Adventure of the Priory School
  • The Adventure of Black Peter
  • The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton
  • The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
  • The Adventure of the Three Students
  • The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez
  • The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter
  • The Adventure of the Abbey Grange
  • The Adventure of the Second Stain
His Last Bow
Contains stories published 1908-1913, 1917.
  • The Singular Experience of Mr. John Scott Eccles
  • The Tiger of San Pedro (the above make up a two-part story usually listed in anthologies as "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge", but originally published simply as A Reminiscence of Mr Sherlock Holmes)
  • The Adventure of the Cardboard Box (this story is in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes in British editions of the canon)
  • The Adventure of the Red Circle
  • The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans (Mycroft appears)
  • The Adventure of the Dying Detective
  • The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
  • The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
  • His Last Bow" (told in third-person)
The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
Contains stories published 1921-1927.
  • The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
  • The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier (narrated by Holmes)
  • The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone (told in third-person)
  • The Adventure of the Three Gables
  • The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
  • The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
  • The Problem of Thor Bridge
  • The Adventure of the Creeping Man
  • The Adventure of the Lion's Mane (narrated by Holmes)
  • The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
  • The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
  • The Adventure of the Retired Colourman
Information provided by Wikipedia.org

CRIME SCENE SKETCHES is reproduced on this website with permission from Thomas F. Hanratty

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CRIME SCENE SKETCHES, Copyright , 1976
Web version, Copyright , 2005