Last year I was attending a Conan Doyle conference in Salt Lake City, and decided to take an extra day to do some research at the Special Collections. The staff were very helpful and I was able to see a lot of material.

I often write about Conan Doyle manuscripts, and it was great to see “The Refugees.” Doyle is better-known for his short stories and this was a rare opportunity to see a manuscript for a full-length novel.

I also keep track of Sidney Paget artwork. Paget was the first and best-known artist for the Sherlock Holmes stories in The Strand Magazine. Although there are no Holmes drawings in the Special Collections, there is an original Paget drawing for another detective and it was fascinating to be able to view it closely. Magazines reproduced his drawings in black and white, but the originals have shading and some colors that make them much more dramatic. For those interested in Paget artwork, I have a census of his drawings at
http://www.bestofsherlock.com/sidney-paget-original-art.htm

And a Happy 150th to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!