The Surprising Amount of Real Life Mail Sent to Sherlock Holmes

TL;DR

Despite not existing, Sherlock Holmes received fan mail at 221B Baker Street, leading the bank to hire a personal secretary to respond to the letters, and later resulting in a legal battle with the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

Transcript

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Key Insights

• ❓ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle intentionally selected the address 221B Baker Street to enhance the mystery surrounding Sherlock Holmes.
• 💌 The bank located at 221 Baker Street hired a secretary to respond to the fan mail addressed to Holmes, maintaining the fiction of Holmes' retirement.
• 📬 The Sherlock Holmes Museum later tried to claim exclusive rights to open Holmes' fan mail, leading to a legal battle with the bank.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle choose an address that didn't exist for Sherlock Holmes' residence?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle intentionally chose the address 221B Baker Street for Sherlock Holmes' residence to add to the mystery and intrigue of the character.

Q: What happened when the mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes started arriving at the bank located at 221 Baker Street?

The bank hired a personal secretary to respond to the mail, claiming that Sherlock Holmes had retired to the countryside to raise bees on a farm, maintaining consistency with Holmes' backstory.

Q: Did the bank continue to respond to Sherlock Holmes' fan mail?

Yes, the bank continued to respond to Sherlock Holmes' fan mail for several decades, hiring a secretary to handle the correspondence and perpetuating the myth of Holmes' retirement.

Q: Was there a legal battle over Sherlock Holmes' fan mail?

Yes, the Sherlock Holmes Museum opened nearby and claimed to be the only entity allowed to open Holmes' fan mail. However, the courts ruled in favor of the bank, as they owned the address 221 Baker Street.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle intentionally chose the address 221B Baker Street for Sherlock Holmes' residence, even though it didn't exist at the time of writing.

• In the 1930s, the street numbers in London were rejigged, and the address 221 Baker Street was allocated, leading to the bank located there receiving mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes.

• Instead of dismissing the mail, the bank hired a secretary to respond, claiming that Holmes had retired to the countryside, raising bees on a farm, in order to maintain consistency with Holmes' backstory.