A handwritten page from the Sherlock Holmes novel ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ was sold for $423,000 (Rs 3.13 crore) at the Heritage Auction in Dallas, Texas. The manuscript measuring 20 cm by 33cm was bought by a private buyer .
The page is labelled ‘Chapter XIII, Fixing the Nets’ and is claimed to be in good shape. It features Holmes and Dr Watson debating whether or not to arrest a suspect after a murder on the moor. Where Doyle altered the manuscript, a line has been crossed out.
Also Read: Rajinikanth’s ‘Annaatthe’ earns 100 crore worldwide in 2 days
After the fictitious investigator had been slain eight years back, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle recreated the character of Sherlock Holmes in the 1902 novel. The page is one of 185 pages from ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ original manuscript that was sent to book dealers as part of the book’s elaborate advertising effort. As Doyle wrote on acidic paper, the majority of the sheets dissolved over time. Today, just 37 pages are known to exist.