Title
Sherlock Holmes [Farewell Appearances of William Gillette]
Coverage
New York
Publisher
R. H. Russell
Date
1929–1930 and 1929–1932
Subject
Cover art by Frederic Dorr Steele
Description
The Farewell programs remained the same throughout the tour except for the dates on the cover, initially 1929–1930, then 1929–1932, after Gillette decided to keep going. I collect these programs because each exhibits quirks that allow me to appreciate the thrill of the theatergoers who saved them. In the program for 1929–1930, signed by John Dickson Carr, a mystery writer and author of a 1949 biography of Conan Doyle, there’s a scribbled line about a mad rush from 52nd to Columbia Heights, dated Dec. 9, 1929. The owner’s inscription in the 1929–1932 program is dated the day that Sherlockians traditionally celebrate Holmes’s birthday, January 6th.