I thought that at my 1983 workshops it would be of interest to distribute such a list and I plan to provide a copy to each participant: to guide him through the welter of words that have been printed about Mr. Holmes, his life and times and career, his friends and enemies, and his standing today as a world figure who lives and is revered and respected by all.

I have tried to list One Hundred items which would give one an in-depth view of the entire Holmesian culture. Selection was a most difficult task and I am sure that a number of valuable items have been omitted and that of some of those included many will think better left out. It was especially difficult to limit the inclusion of works done in an ephemeral way as gift books, in periodicals, in a form not yet collected between covers, in foreign languages, and so on. Thus I have had to neglect for this listing a number of fine contributions by such writers as Jay Finley Christ, Lord Donegall, Charles Honce, Nathan Bengis, and Edgar W. Smith. I must not fail to mention the many charming, profound and interesting contributions to The Writings About The Writings done by foreign authors such as Henry Lauritzen, A. D. Henriksen, Karl Krejci-Graf, Ted Bergman, Rudolph Cechura, Kohki Naganuma and many others.

Since I first compiled The Basic One Hundred, a number of important works have appeared. So I have started anew, deleting many from my previous listings and bringing up to date my suggested Holmes Library. Up to date being to 1 March, 1983.

And in a few cases I have, in brackets, suggested other items by the same author that might well serve as a substitute.

Please remember that while I have listed but one hundred items I have not listed some three thousand!

Good reading and good collecting.

The Canon:

Baring-Gould, William S. THE ANNOTATED SHERLOCK HOLMES (Two volumes), 1967 (note: A One volume edition, 1986)

Doyle, Pj and E. W. McDiarmid, editors THE BAKER STREET DOZEN, 1987 (Note: An anthology of Doyle's twelve favorite stories with a thirteenth added - to make it a 'Baker's Dozen' and each with an essay by a noted Sherlockian scholar)

The Canon, Apocrypha:

Doyle, Arthur Conan TALES OF TERROR AND MYSTERY, 1947 (Note: Contents include "The Man With The Watches" and "The Lost Special")

Tracy, Jack, editor SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE PUBLISHED APOCRYPHA, 1980 (Note: Peter Haining, editor, THE FINAL ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1981.  In many instances this is a duplication however Haining has items not in Tracy, and vice versa)

Holmes, General Writings About:

Baring-Gould, William S. SHERLOCK HOLMES OF BAKER STREET, 1962

Bell, H. W. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DOCTOR WATSON, 1931

Blackbeard, Bill, editor SHERLOCK HOLMES IN AMERICA, 1981

Blakeney, T . S . SHERLOCK HOLMES: Fact or Fiction, 1931

Blegen, Theodore C. and E. W. McDiarmid, editors SHERLOCK HOLMES: Master Detective, l952

Brend, Gavin MY DEAR HOLMES, 1951

Cutter, Robert A., editor SHERLOCKIAN STUDIES: Seven Pieces of Sherlockiana, 1917

Dakin, D. Martin A SHERLOCK HOLMES COMMENTARY, 1972

Five Orange Pips, The THE BEST OF THE PIPS: A Collection of the Writings About the Writings, 1955

Grazebrook, 0. F. STUDIES IN SHERLOCK HOLMES (Seven pamphlets), 1949-53

Green, Richard Lancelyn THE SHERLOCK HOLMES LETTERS, 1986

Haining, Peter, editor THE SHERLOCK HOLMES SCRAPBOOK, 1973 (Note: Haining, Peter, A SHERLOCK HOLMES COMPENDIUM, 1980 is similar and equally entertaining)

Hammer, David L. THE GAME IS AFOOT, 1983, and FOR THE SAKE OF THE GAME, 1986 (Note: These two guides to Holmesian places are complimentary)

Hardwick, Michael THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1987

Harrison, Michael A STUDY IN SURMISE: The Making of Sherlock Holmes, 1984

Harrison, Michael, editor BEYOND BAKER STREET: A Sherlockian Anthology, 1976

Harrison,, Michael THE WORLD OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1973 (Note: Harrison's I SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1977 can be substituted)

Haycraft, Howard MURDER FOR PLEASURE: The Life and Times of the Detective Story, 1941

Herbert, Paul D. THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY, 1983

Holroyd, James E . BAKER STREET BY-WAYS, 1959

Holroyd, James E. SEVENTEEN STEPS TO 221B, 1967

Keefauver, Brad THE ELEMENTARY METHODS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1987

Klinefelter, Walter SHERLOCK HOLMES IN PORTRAIT AND PROFILE, 1963

Knox, Ronald A. ESSAYS IN SATIRE, 1928 (Note: This volume contains the cornerstone of any Holmesian library, the essay "Some Studies in the Literature of Sherlock Holmes")

Liebow, Ely M. DR. JOE BELL: Model for Sherlock Holmes, 1982

McQueen, Ian SHERLOCK HOLMES DETECTED, 1974

Merrill, Edward A. FOR THE SAKE OF THE TRUST: Sherlock Holmes and the Musgrave Ritual, 1982

Montgomery, James ART IN THE BLOOD, 1950

Montgomery, James SHOTS FROM THE CANON, 1953

Montgomery, James THREE TRIFLING MONOGRAPHS, 1952 (Note:The three Montgomery items were issued in one volume by Magico, 1983)

Norwegian Explorers, The CULTIVATING SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1978

Redmond, Donald A. SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Study in Sources, 1982

Roberts, S. C. HOLMES AND WATSON: A Miscellany, 1953

Sayers, Dorothy L. UNPOPULAR OPINIONS, 1946

Scowrers and Molly Maguires of San Francisco, The, and The Trained Cormorants of Los Angeles County WEST BY ONE AND BY ONE: An Anthology of Irregular Writing, 1965

Shepherd, Walter ON THE SCENT WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1978 (Note: Issued in an enlarged edition by Gaslight, Bloomington, Indiana, 1988)

Shreffler, Philip A., editor THE BAKER STREET READER: Cornerstone Writings about Sherlock Holmes, 1984

Simpson, A. Carson Simpson's SHERLOCKIAN STUDIES (A series of Eight Pamphlets), 1953-60

Smith, Edgar W., editor BAKER STREET AND BEYOND, 1957

Smith, Edgar W., editor A BAKER STREET FOUR WHEELER: Sixteen Pieces of Sherlockiana, 1944

Smith, Edgar W. THE INCUNABULAR SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1958

Smith, Edgar W. INTRODUCING MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1959

Smith, Edgar W., editor PROFILE BY GASLIGHT, 1944

Sons of the Copper Beeches, The LEAVES FROM THE COPPER BEECHES, 1959 (Note: or MORE LEAVES FROM THE COPPER BEECHES,1976)

Speckled Band, The THE SECOND CAB, 1947 (Note: also three more volumes in series)

Starrett, Vincent THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1933

Starrett, Vincent, editor 221B: Studies in Sherlock Holmes, 1940

Tracy, Jack THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA SHERLOCKIANA, 1977

Van Liere, Edward J . A DOCTOR ENJOYS SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1959

Williamson, J. N. and H. B. Williams, editors THE ILLUSTRIOUS CLIENTS CASE-BOOK, 1948 (Note: a second and a third volume were issued )

The Agent:

Carr, John Dickson THE LIFE OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, 1949

Carr, John Dickson THE LIFE OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, 1949

Doyle, Arthur Conan MEMORIES AND ADVENTURES, 1924

Edwards, Owen Dudley THE QUEST FOR SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Biograhical Study of Sir Arthur Cona Doyle, 1983

Lellenberg, Jon L., editor THE QUEST FOR SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE: Thirteen Biographies in Search of a Life, 1987

Nordon, Pierre CONAN DOYLE, 1966

Pearson, Hesketh CONAN DOYLE: His Life and Art, 1943

Bibliography and Chronology:

Baring-Gould, William S . THE CHRONOLOGICAL HOLMES, 1955

Christ, Jay Finley AN IRREGULAR CHRONOLOGY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES OF BAKER STREET, 1947

De Waal, Ronald B. THE WORLD BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON, 1974, THE INTERNATIONAL SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1980 (Note: Hopefully this essential project will be completed with a third volume in 1989)  [Porlock Note: Third installment issued in '94 in 4 volumes titled 'The Universal Sherlock Holmes')

Green, Richard Lancelyn and John Michael Gibson A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF A. CONAN DOYLE, 1983

Redmond, Christopher A. THE TIN DISPATCH BOX: A Compendium of the Unpublished Cases of Sherlock Holmes, 1965

Smith, Edgar W. BAKER STREET INVENTORY: A Sherlockian Bibliography, 1945

Smith, Edgar W. SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE WRITINGS OF JOHN H. WATSON, M.D., 1962

Zeisler, Ernest Bloomfield BAKER STREET CHRONOLOGY, 1953

Performing Arts:

Doyle, Arthur Conan and William Gillette SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Drama in Four Acts, 1922

Hardwick, Michael and Mollie FOUR SHERLOCK HOLMES PLAYS, 1964

Pointer, Michael THE PUBLIC LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1975

Steinbrunner, Chris and Norman Michaels THE FILMS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1978

Specialized Items:

Beaman, Bruce R., compiler THE SHERLOCK HOLMES BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, 1980

Goodrich, William D. GOOD OLD INDEX, 1987 (Note: a much needed concordance to The Canon)

Rosenblatt, Julia Carlson and Frederic H. Sonnenschmidt DINING WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1976

Thomas, Frank SHERLOCK HOLMES BRIDGE DETECTIVE, 1973

Titus, Eve BASIL OF BAKER STREET, 1958

Warrack, Guy SHERLOCK HOLMES AND MUSIC, 1947

Wolff, Julian THE SHERLOCK HOLMES ATLAS, 1952

Parodies and Pastiches:

Boucher, Anthony THE CASE OF THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS, 1940

Boyer, Richard L. THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA, 1976

Carr, John Dickson and Adrian Conan Doyle THE EXPLOITS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1960

Council of Four, The THE SCIENCE FICTIONAL SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1960

Derleth, August IN RE: SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE ADVENTURES OF SOLAR PONS, 1945 (Note: This interesting series of Pon's cases continued through seven more volumes and in 1982 a collected edition in two volumes THE SOLAR PONS OMNIBUS was published)

Fish, Robert L. THE INCREDIBLE SCHLOCK HOLMES, 1956 (Note: And equally charming is THE MEMOIRS OF SCHLOCK HOLMES, 1974)

Gardner, John THE RETURN OF MORIARTY, 1974 (Note: A second volume THE REVENGE OF MORIARTY, 1975)

Gardner, John THE RETURN OF MORIARTY, 1974 (Note: A second volume THE REVENGE OF MORIARTY, 1975)

Greenberg, Martin Harry and Carol-Lynn Rssel Waugh, editors THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1987

Hardwick, Michael THE PRISONER OF THE DEVIL, 1979

Heard, H. F. A TASTE FOR HONEY, 1941

Kurland, Michael THE INFERNAL DEVICE, 1979

Leblanc, Maurice ARSENE LUPIN VERSUS HERLOCK SHOLMES, 1910

Meyer, Nicholas THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION, 1974

Queen, Ellery, editor THE MISADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1944

Starrett, Vincent THE UNIQUE HAMLET, 1920

Periodicals:

THE BAKER STREET GASOGENE Edited by Peter A. Ruber, New York, 1961-62 (Note: Volume I, Number 1 reprinted by Magico, 1985)

THE BAKER STREET JOURNAL c/o Fordham University Press, University Box L, Bronx, N.Y., 10458

BAKER STREET MISCELLANEA c/o The Sciolist Press, P.O.Box 2579, Chicago, Ill. 60690

THE PONTINE DOSSIER (Note: ceased publication in 1978)

THE SHERLOCK HOLMES JOURNAL c/o The Sherlock Holmes Society of London, Attn. Nicholas Utechin, Highfield Farm House, 23 Highfield Avenue, Headington, Oxford, England U.K.

A Final Note:

Interesting developments in the literature of The Holmesian World are the various items designed for computers. Especially noteworthy is AN ELECTRONIC HOLMES COMPANION published by PsyLogic Systems, Tolland, CT. This includes on software discs the complete Canon together with various programs of use to Holmesians.

This revision of The Basic List prepared for presentation to The Great Alkali Plainsmen on the occasion of their 25th anniversary celebration, Kansas City, MO., October 1988

The Top 100 Basic Holmesian Library, John Bennett Shaw, 1983, 1988
 general layout/some notes, Yoxley Old Place