The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

London: George Newnes, 1892 THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: London: George Newnes, 1892. With 104 illustrations by Sidney Paget within the text. First edition, first state, with all the first issue points including blank street sign in the vignette on the front board, "Violent" on p. 317, and "cucaine" on p. 133. Publisher's light blue cloth over heavy beveled boards, blocked and titled in black and gilt, all edges gilt, and floral endpapers. Very good or better, with moderate toning to spine and board edges, light wear to spine ends, rubbing to spine edges and board edges, some soiling to cloth, and ghost of removed bookplate to front pastedown. THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: London: George Newnes, 1894. With 90 illustrations by Sidney Paget within the text. First edition, first printing. Publisher's dark blue cloth over heavy beveled boards, blocked and titled in black and gilt, all edges gilt, tan peacock feather endpapers. Near fine, with bright gilt except for a touch of rubbing to gilt on spine, light rubbing to spine ends, very clean boards and pages, a couple of tiny dots of white paint to front spine edge, corners lightly bumped, sturdy binding with just a small area of webbing exposed on rear hinge, and ink inscription to verso of front free endpaper: "Presented by the proprietors of Tit Bits" [British magazine founded by George Newnes]. Overall, an exceptional set, with hinges intact and without repairs, as is commonly seen. Housed in a custom quarter morocco navy blue slipcase with two matching blue chemises. Green and Gibson A10a., A14a. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the first collection of short stories about the renowned detective who relies on his extraordinary powers of logic to solve crimes, told from the point of view of his loyal friend and assistant Dr. Watson. Originally published serially in The Strand Magazine beginning in July 1891, the collection features twelve stories, four of which Doyle later included on a 1927 Strand list of his twelve all-time favorite Sherlock stories: "A Scandal in Bohemia," "The Red-Headed League," "The Five Orange Pips," and "The Speckled Band" (he cited "The Speckled Band" as his all-time favorite). Doyle followed up The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of twelve more short stories starring the iconic sleuth, culminating in "The Final Problem," which tells of Holmes' demise. The text is illustrated by Sidney Paget, including a frontispiece entitled "The Death of Sherlock Holmes" which depicts the detective as he fights with his arch nemesis Professor Moriarty over the Reichenbach Falls, just before the two apparently fall to their deaths. Doyle intended Memoirs to be the final stories about Sherlock Holmes, but he ended up reviving the detective in 1901 in The Hound of the Baskervilles due to overwhelming public demand. Doyle went on to publish three more Sherlock short story collections in his lifetime: The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905), His Last Bow (1917), and The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927). . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine. Illus. by Sidney Paget.