“the return of sherlock holmes in 1903 produced a flood of letters for him ‘care of sir arthur conan doyle.’ those that were not addressed to ‘sir sherlock holmes’ used the polite form of ‘sherlock holmes, esq.’ most were requests for his autograph, some for signed photographs. there were appeals for copies of his family tree and coat-of-arms. most embarrassing to conan doyle were the gifts of tobacco, pipe cleaners, violin strings, intended to be passed on to his detective. conan doyle himself was continually being asked to help in tracing missing relatives, wills, and the perpetrators of minor crimes. vexing holmes problems were debated in the newspapers. was dr. watson twice married? just what had holmes been doing, after the disposal of moriarty at the falls, in that baffling interregnum known to the elect as The Hiatus?”
i’m loving this footnote about 1903 fandom being super embarrassing
