An Inventory of His Literary File Photography Collection at the Harry
Ransom Center
Creator:
Doyle, Arthur Conan,
1859-1930
Title:
Arthur Conan Doyle Literary File
Photography Collection
Dates:
1907-1932
Extent:
830 items (2 boxes, 8 bound volumes)
Abstract:
The Arthur Conan Doyle Literary File
consists of 440 photographic prints, 13 glass plate negatives, 4 nitrate negatives,
and 355 prints in 8 albums. Images include portraits of Doyle and/or his second
wife, Lady Jean Leckie Doyle, numerous spirit and fairy photographs, and a series
of
large exhibition prints used by Doyle during his Spiritualism lecture
tours.
Call Number:
Photography Collection
PH-00281
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research. Please note: Negatives cannot be accessed without curatorial
approval. To make an appointment or to reserve photography materials, please contact
the Center's staff at photography@hrc.utexas.edu.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 22, 1859. He was
educated in England before returning to Edinburgh where he trained as a doctor
at
the University. Doyle held a variety of jobs throughout his life, though he is
best
known as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Doyle was also a leader in
the
Spiritualist movement, traveling widely for lecture tours and publishing a number
of
books on the subject.
Doyle was married twice. He married his first wife, Louisa (Louise) Hawkins, on
August 6, 1885. They had two children, Mary Louise and Arthur Alleyne Kingsley,
before her death on July 4, 1906. His second wife was Jean Blyth Leckie, who he
married on September 18, 1907, and with whom he had three children, Denis Percy
Stewart, Adrian Malcolm, and Jean Lena Annette.
Doyle died on July 7, 1930, at his home in Crowborough, England.
Sources:
Edwards, Owen Dudley, "Doyle, Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan
(1859–1930)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University
Press, 2004), accessed June 18, 2016,
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32887?docPos=2.
Scope and Contents
The Arthur Conan Doyle Literary File consists of 440 photographic prints, 13 glass
plate negatives, 4 nitrate negatives, and 355 prints in 8 albums. Images include
portraits of Doyle and/or his second wife, Lady Jean Leckie Doyle, some with their
children. Also included are images of Doyle with Harry Houdini, Mary Pickford,
Douglas Fairbanks, as well individuals involved in the Spiritualist movement.
There
are also numerous spirit photographs, including images of individuals with
manifestations of others, mediums, and images of fairies. In addition, several
albums contain images of Doyle and his family, various foreign cities and countries,
and spirit photographs. Finally, there is a series of large prints of spirit
photographs that Doyle used during his Spiritualism lecture tours (see the Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at the Ransom Center for additional information
on
Doyle’s lectures). Formats include cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, and
stereographs. An index at the end of this guide lists photographers whose work
is
featured in this file.
The photographs are organized by portraits of Doyle, his wife, and images of Doyle
and others in rough chronological order; spirit photographs arranged by subject;
oversized lecture prints arranged by numbers on the prints; and albums. Descriptions
of images were derived by the archivist based on inscriptions on print versos,
where
available.
This file forms a part of the Literary Files Photography Collection, which is
comprised of photographs and albums withdrawn from the libraries and/or papers
of
literary figures and businesses, and generally include portraits and images taken
or
collected by and/or of those people and businesses.
Related Material
Additional materials by and about Doyle, including additional photographic materials,
are located in the Ransom Center's Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Collection.
