My Original Sherlock Holmes

When I was in high school, I started reading Sherlock Holmes. I got hooked after a few cases, and devoured every story Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about him. I usually rented the volumes from the library. But I wanted to have my own complete volume. I decided to put a want-ad in the local newspaper that read something like this:

"Wanted Sherlock Holmes volumes and/or any Sherlock Holmes souvenirs for a reasonable price."

I received a call from an elderly gentleman who said he had an old volume he'd be willing to part with. I went to his house to take a look at it. He was a kindly old man who had collected old books through the years. He showed me an aged hardback book titled "The Complete Sherlock Holmes". The copyright was 1927. It was in decent condition and had every case from A Study in Scarlet to His Last Bow. After discussing our mutual love for Sherlock Holmes, the old man was quite delighted to sell the volume to me. I bought it for $7.

While I have collected many copies of Sherlock Holmes through the years, this old classic I purchased for $7 has remained my favorite. When I open the book and flip through the yellowed pages, I am transported back to crowded, foggy London where I find myself sitting before a cheery fire in Baker Street.

And that is the story of how I came upon my first Sherlock Holmes book.