A Study in Scarlet

The Siegel-Cooper department store opened in 1887 in Chicago’s Loop. The business flourished and expanded to New York City in 1896, commissioning a block-square Beaux Arts building that was for some years the largest department store in the world. It also published books under its own imprints.

The differences among these three volumes are fascinating. Although the maroon book is the plainest, I prefer it because the 1891 short story, “A Case of Identity,” is included as back matter and listed, unusually, on the title page. The two smaller volumes are identical except for their elaborate bindings.