The Sherlock Holmes Collections isn’t just the world’s largest collection of materials related to the world’s greatest detective. For Tim Johnson, it’s an entire community, a way to connect with friends and the next generation. 

“The stories are a study in friendship,” said Johnson, curator of the Sherlock Holmes Collections.

Coinciding with the collections’ 50th anniversary this year, the Libraries latest exhibit – “Sherlock Holmes at 50” – displays 50 objects that represent the history and development of the collections. 

“Part of me hopes that for those who’ve never really explored or known about Sherlock Holmes, that it’ll be an introduction to the characters and to the stories,” Johnson said. “The hope is that it will create new conversations, and it’ll create new discussions. Part of me hopes that they’ll realize what an amazing world collection this is and just how the Holmes universe continues to grow and expand.”

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the Norwegian Explorers

Twenty-seven years before the Sherlock Holmes Collections’ founding in 1974, five faculty members at the University of Minnesota had lunch at the Campus Club and discovered a shared secret interest: they were all fans of Sherlock Holmes. 

In January 1948, the group held the first meeting of The Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota, a branch of the national Sherlockian society, the Baker Street Irregulars. 

Julie McKuras, a former president of The Explorers, remembers an early brochure for the group that encapsulates its welcoming attitude. The brochure asked 10 questions, and if you answered them all correctly, then you were really smart and should join the Norwegian Explorers, she said. And if you didn’t get them all right, then you should join the Norwegian Explorers to learn more.

The Explorers weren’t just a social club but also a collection scene, thanks in part to its first president, E. W. McDiarmid, a former University Librarian at the University of Minnesota. That culture eventually led McDiarmid and Austin McLean, then curator of the Special Collections and Rare Books, to think, “Wouldn’t it be nice if the University Libraries had a collection of the first editions of Sherlock Holmes stories?”

‘What’s going on in Minneapolis?’

The Libraries’ first major acquisition came in 1974 with a collection of 160 items owned by James Iraldi, a Baker Street Irregular who lived in New York City, as well as additional photographs and memorabilia. 

Then in 1978, Phillip and Mary Hench donated their private collection of 1,800 books and 1,500 periodicals to the Libraries. Their collection included four copies of Sherlock Holmes’ first appearance in print – of which only 34 known copies exist today – four original manuscripts of “The Hound of Baskervilles,” and boxes of original artwork. The Hench and Iraldi collections put Minnesota on the Sherlockian world’s radar. 

“A lot of other people who had an interest in Sherlock Holmes sat up, took notice, and wondered, ‘What’s going on in Minneapolis?’” Johnson said. “All those things created this gravitational field that started pulling in other Sherlockian collections.”

While the Sherlock Holmes Collections started with donations from serious collectors, it quickly expanded to include papers and documents from Sherlock organizations and appearances of the consulting detective in popular culture: books, movies, television shows, animations, clothes, statues, greeting cards, advertisements, and so on. 

“It’s not just the four novels and 56 stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, but there’s a huge popular culture element to it. And that’s what the collection really focuses on,” said Richard Sveum, former president of the Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections and former board member of the Norwegian Explorers.

Expanding beyond the canon was an early decision. From the beginning, the goal was to make the collections the world center for the study and appreciation of Sherlock Holmes, Johnson explained.

“We’ve gone from a traditional literary group to be more inclusive of wide-ranging interests,” he said. “We’re looking at what the LGBTQ community is experiencing, how they’re experiencing the characters in the canon.”

‘It’s a community effort’

For “Sherlock at 50,” Johnson worked with Exhibit Designer Darren Terpstra to give a historical sweep of how the Sherlock Holmes Collections originated and expanded, selecting 50 items from its catalog of over 60,000 books, journals, artifacts, and other materials.

But the exhibit is also reflective of Johnson himself. Like many Sherlockians, Johnson became enraptured with Holmes and Watson as a child – specifically “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” TV show starring Jeremy Brett and David Burke – and then rediscovered the stories and characters in adulthood. 

“The exhibit is very idiosyncratic. It’s very much me,” he said. 

In many ways, these objects are his favorites from the collection. There’s the big ticket items, like four copies of the “Beeton’s Christmas Annual,” which published the first Sherlock Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet.” There are only 34 copies known to exist worldwide, and they’re among the most expensive existing periodicals, as measured by auction prices. This exhibit is the first time all four copies have been displayed simultaneously. 

But there’s also materials from 2015’s SherlockSeattle Con (the first Sherlock conference Johnson attended), McDiarmid’s deerstalker cap, a sign celebrating the “Un-Happy Birthday” of Professor James Moriarity, and photographs from various BBC adaptations, including Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal.  

Johnson especially enjoys the letters from the Edith Meiser Papers. Meiser produced a series of radio adaptations throughout the 1930s and early 1940s. In one letter Princess Nina Mdivani, the wife of Denis Conan Doyle and executor of the Conan Doyle estate, requested copies of Meiser’s contract with the estate. Meiser replied that she had an oral arrangement with the estate and all proper rights and payments were observed. 

“She’s basically telling the princess, ‘Bug off!’” Johnson said. 

Beyond celebrating the collections’ roots, the exhibit showcases newer acquisitions, like the Sonia Fetherston Collection of 1,145 items dating from 1895 to 2023, including Sherlock-themed greeting cards, postcards, and original artwork. 

“One thing that has always struck me, and I hope will strike others, is the generosity of people who donate things that were important to them, because they want to share their treasure with a wider public,” McKuras said. 

“It really is a community effort,” Sveum added. “The community has made this collection what it is, and this wanting to share is deeply rooted among Sherlockians. They’re happy, they’re delighted to share.”

A study in friendship

Johnson may not be around for the Sherlock Holmes Collections’ 100th anniversary, but he’s certain that the character will continue to inspire future generations. Unlike other pop culture icons, Sherlock has continuously been rediscovered and reinterpreted ever since his first appearance in 1887. 

Instead of strictly adhering to the canon, Johnson, the Norwegian Explorers, and the collections embrace Conan Doyle’s world in every form, whether it’s Netlifx’s “Enola Holmes,” bronze busts of Mr. Holmes, and even season four of BBC’s “Sherlock.”  

“Bad Holmes is better than no Holmes,” Johnson said. 

While Johnson is concerned about the increase of primary digital documents – what infrastructure is needed to save and share it, and how sustainable digitization is – he’s excited to see how the community will change as new audiences and participants interact with Sherlock.

“That study in friendship for me has expanded beyond Holmes and Watson, to these friends that I have made by coming into this world that I didn’t know existed,” he said. 

“Sherlock at 50” is currently on display at Andersen Library until Sept. 20. and on Sept. 18, the Libraries will host a book tour event with Nicholas Meyer, director of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” for his upcoming novel, “Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram From Hell.”