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Dec 30, 2020

“As I expected, his reply was typewritten” [IDEN] 

 
While handwriting was and is distinctive enough for a detective like Sherlock Holmes to draw some inferences, typography isn't quite so forgiving. 
 
Whether it was through fonts used in newspapers or flourishes of individual typewriters ("the fourteen other...


Dec 23, 2020

“Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting?” [SIGN] 

 
More than once, Sherlock Holmes used someone's handwriting to guide him toward a solution. Whether it was a hastily-scribbled legal document or a red herring of a note, he was able to discern certain facts by observing the...


Dec 16, 2020

“Holmes smiled and rubbed his hands” [WIST] 

 
Sherlock Holmes enjoyed breakfast. But it was often interrupted. He had a variable knowledge of botany but knew enough to feel chagrined for missing green peas at 7:30.

What can we tell about Sherlock Holmes's food habits from Earle Walbridge's essay from 1940 titled...


Dec 9, 2020

“Holmes smiled and rubbed his hands” [WIST]

 
Did Sherlock Holmes care about teeth? There's evidence that he cared about his own teeth, as seen through his recommendation of dental hygiene, and through his remark about losing a tooth.
 
But what about the potential of dental science as applied to the art of...


Dec 2, 2020

 sinister atmosphere of forgotten nations,” [DEVI] 

It's not quite a holiday for Sherlock Holmes in "The Devil's Foot," but rather a time away from London to be able to recuperate. "The villages which dotted this part of Cornwall" gave a quaint, other-worldly feeling to the setting.
 
But so too did the traces of...