1995: The first version

I drew the first version of the 221B Baker Street illustration in the spring of 1995 in Tokyo after reading the entire collection of sixty Sherlock Holmes stories for the first time. I was thirty eight years old at the time.

The books were not illustrated, but the flat at 221B Baker Street flat began to take shape in my imagination.

I read all the stories twice and took notes in the blank pages of every detail I could find that had to do with the famous flat. I even roughed out a basic sketch which I constantly erased and re-drew as more details emerged.

Then I drew the image on a large sheet of paper in black ink with technical pens which I still had from my art school days many years before. My day job was teaching English to junior and senior high school students in Tokyo, so I printed the illustration up along with a work sheet that contained a list of all the elements for my students to circle. Now the illustration had a practical purpose.

That year I sent a copy of the illustration and its accompanying quiz to the Japan Sherlock Holmes Club. They published it in The World of Holmes No. 18 which was their regular publication. The illustration itself was printed as a separate insert because of its size. This was the first time the illustration appeared in a print publication, and I was thrilled.

Later I scanned the illustration, added a parchment background, and uploaded it to my website. It started started to appear in other publications, websites and at the top of web search results.

Eventually this illustration became the most famous thing I would ever draw. I am not famous (you probably couldn't even guess my name now without cheating) but my illustration has become well-known among Sherlock Holmes fans.

Whenever anyone contacted me and asked me if they could use it in a publication or game, I freely granted permission without asking for royalties. This increased its exposure and made it famous all around the world. By the way, the terms "rich and famous" are definitely not linked.

2008: The second version

I created the second version in 2008 when I was 51, thirteen years after the first version. I converted the first version to vector art and made modifications and additions in Adobe Illustrator. During those thirteen years I had read the stories again and again, and listened to them countless times in audio book form and came across details which should have been reflected in the original illustration.

This version has also apparently been featured in several video games which I have not seen and have forgotten the details, but I do recall giving free permission as I always do.

This illustration in its first or second version has appeared on many other other web sites in various languages including Sherlockian-Sherlock.com and Smithsonian.com.

It has also appeared in print publications around the world such as the Financial Times in London. I have several Sherlock Holmes books on my shelf which include this illustration -- in languages I can't read. Some of those books are in the photo below to the left.

The illustration has also been displayed in an exhibition in Italy. The photo above on the right came from a video promoting the exhibition.

2022: The third version

I created this third version in 2022 at the age of 65. This was 27 years after the first edition and 14 years after the second edition. One could say that this illustration took 27 years, but the actual time I worked on it was three months. For this version I used an iPad and an Apple pencil.

Instead of drawing from imagination as I had done in the past, I referred to the original illustrations which were approved by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Strand Magazine. My well-worn copy of The Original Illustrated 'STRAND' Sherlock Holmes never left my desk throughout this project.

For elements not found in the Strand illustrations I used reference photos of Victorian era items.

Confronting the elephant in the room

This illustration in all three versions is the only depiction I know of that deals with the challenges found in The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone and reconciles them with the various descriptions found in other stories.

The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone can be found in the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories called The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes which was still under copyright in the United States until January 1, 2023. Now all of the stories are in the public domain.

What is in that story that makes the place so challenging to depict? First, the structure of the sitting room makes it possible to hang a curtain which covers the alcove of the bow window, and this hidden area is large enough for an adult to sit in an armchair. There is also enough space to allow Holmes to enter silently and remove a life-size facsimile of himself from the chair and replace it with himself.

Then there are the extra doors. One door is a second exit which allows Holmes and Watson to go out through the bedroom and leave the premises undetected. The other door leads from the bedroom to the area behind the curtain.

So the curtain does not just cover the window, but must also leave some hidden space in front of the window to allow Holmes to enter and perform his secret task without making any noise or ruffling the curtain.

The uniqueness of the place as described in that particular story was one of the main reasons that compelled me to create the illustration back in 1995. If one could just ignore that story, then constructing a floor plan would be simple -- and most artists who have attempted to depict 221B Baker Street have done just that.

They apparently chose to conform to the architecture of typical dwellings on Baker Street at the time rather than deal with the absolutely unique dwelling described in The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone. This elephant in the room is what sets my illustration apart from the others. See the section below, Was 221B Baker Street a Terraced House? for more details.

The Baker Street illustration published in Strand Magazine in 1950 addresses some of the problems in The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone but doesn't deal with details found in other stories. I've posted my notes on every detail I've found so you can judge for yourself.

Regarding prints

Based on my experience with the first two versions, I imagine that some people would like to own a high resolution print of this illustration. I'm trying to figure out the best way to have these printed and made available. I'm just a guy who draws pictures, and these nuts and bolts business details are beyond me.

In the past I've used Zazzle, but I'm exploring other possibilities as well, including signed and framed limited edition prints is there is any interest. I'll of course post more information on this web page when things become clearer.

What is different in the third version?

The most obvious difference is the inclusion of the occupants, Holmes and Watson. Nearly all other depictions leave them out. Watson's face appears very different throughout the stories so I based my drawing on several of the Sidney Paget illustrations. For Holmes' face (which also has a bit of variety between the stories) I used a typical representation which is found in a Sidney Paget illustration for The Adventure of the Norwood Builder. For more about Holmes' facial features I have a section below called The face of Sherlock Holmes.

There is now a bow window as mentioned in The Adventure of the Beryl Cornet and The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone instead of a bay window.

There is now a safe which is mentioned in The Adventure of the Six Napoleons in the wall hidden behind the curtain. This omission was conveyed to me in 2013 by some 4th grade students and their teacher. I suggested that the safe was hidden, but finally fixed the problem by the time these clever students were ready to graduate from college. Sorry for the delay!

Holmes' chamber upstairs has a second door which opens to the hallway in The Adventure of the Beryl Cornet so now the hallway stairs go up another floor.

In The Five Orange Pips there was apparently only one vacant chair for a visitor to sit in, so I made sure to limit the number of chairs to:

• Two arm chairs as mentioned in The Adventure of the Three Gables
• A basket chair from The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
• A set of four rounded back wooden chairs found in several of the Sidney Paget illustrations at the dining table (two have been moved to the desks)
• A wooden chair with a square back (for hanging a hat in the The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) in Holmes' room which could be easily brought out to the sitting room when needed.

The arm chair in the bow window in The Mazarin Stone has also been removed. Apparently that chair was Holmes' own arm chair as Watson's armchair was still in its regular place.

The cupboard containing the oranges in The Five Orange Pips is now part of the sideboard.

The coal scuttle from The Musgrave Ritual and The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone is the box type with lid which could more easily be used to store cigars, pipes and tobacco rather the open bucket type used in the previous illustrations.

The spirit case is now a tantalus which was common in the Victorian era.

The cigar case is a portable case which was common at the time which could easily be thrown as it was in A Scandal in Bohemia.

In order to keep all the rooms in the one building, Mrs. Hudson's room is on the floor upstairs, either on the same floor as Watson's bedroom and Holmes' chamber or on the floor above that.

The bearskin heathrug conforms to the Sidney Paget depiction which appears in The Adventure of the Priory School

The curtain rail in front of the bow window in The Mazarin Stone is supported by the wall above an arch.

There are now a hundred bullet-pocks in the V.R. corresponding to the hundred Boxer cartridges Holmes fired into the wall in The Musgrave Ritual.

The large tin box in The Musgrave Ritual is based on the original illustration and has a very distinct design.

The sofa design widely varies throughout the stories but the orientation with the head rest on the left is demanded in a scene in The Adventure of the Cardboard Box, a story which appears in some editions and not others. The same scene is also duplicated in some editions of The Resident Patient where The Adventure of the Cardboard Box is omitted. The illustration in The Adventure of the Cardboard Box is my source for this depiction.

There is a reading lamp (a.k.a. student lamp) near Holmes' chair which can direct light to a vacant chair nearby which appears in The Five Orange Pips.

As in the second edition I included the "facsimile" of Sherlock Holmes' head from the The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone which does not have bullet hole in it. The wax head in the The Adventure of the Empty House had a bullet hole, but that sculpture was only wax-colored because it was only required to cast a shadow on the screen of the window, while the Mazarin Stone head was realistic and convincing enough to fool people who saw it even at close range (and the head was detachable as Billy demonstrated in the story).

I started out with the intention of conforming the general layout in the third version to a terraced house which seems to be the trend among recent 221B Baker Street depictions, including movies and TV dramas. But after some research I rejected this idea as unsupported and causing more problems than it solves. See the section below, Was 221B Baker Street a Terraced House? for more details.

What in the world am I looking at?

A few things up close

Sherlock Holmes in deep thought in his arm chair	Watson in his arm chair reading the newspaper with a pipe in his hand	"V.R." in bullet-pocks on the wall opposite Holmes' arm chair: The Musgrave Ritual
A sofa with a pipe rack within reach on the right: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle	Small octagon tables: several Sidney Paget illustrations	A shelf next to Watson's chair containing the American Encyclopedia: The Five Orange Pips
A poker near Watson's arm chair: The Adventure of the Three Gables	A bearskin hearthrug near the table: The Adventure of the Priory School	A cocaine bottle on the mantlepiece: The Sign of Four
Unanswered letters transfixed by a jack-knife to the center of mantlepiece: The Musgrave Ritual	A photo of Irene Adler in evening dress: A Scandal in Bohemia	A coal scuttle containing cigars, pipes and tobacco: The Musgrave Ritual and The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
A Persian slipper with tobacco in the toe end: The Musgrave Ritual	A reading lamp which Holmes turned away from himself and towards a vacant chair: The Five Orange Pips	A basket chair: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
A violin case leaning in the corner: The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone	An acid-charred bench of chemicals: The Adventure of the Naval Treaty and The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone	A bow window: Adventure of the Beryl Coronet and The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
A curtain in front of the bow window alcove: The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone	A sideboard: The Five Orange Pips and The Adventure of the Beryl Cornet	A detachable facsimile of Holmes' head: The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
A gasogene in the corner: A Scandal in Bohemia	A spirit case in the corner: A Scandal in Bohemia	A cupboard containing oranges: The Five Orange Pips
A case of cigars small enough to be thrown: A Scandal in Bohemia	A framed picture of General Gordon: The Resident Patient and The Adventure of the Cardboard Box	An unframed picture of Henry Ward Beecher: The Resident Patient and The Adventure of the Cardboard Box
A gramophone in Holmes' bedroom: The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone	A large tin box in Holmes' bedroom: The Musgrave Ritual	A second exit in Holmes' bedroom: The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
A space behind the head of the bed large enough to allow Watson to hide: The Adventure of the Dying Detective	A second door in Holmes' bedroom leading to the bow window: The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone	A safe: The Adventure of the Six Napoleons

Some notes related to elements in the Baker Street flat:

A Study in Scarlet a couple of bedrooms a large airy sitting room two broad windows a sofa in sitting room an arm chair a table for dinner stairs going down to the street level Holmes' door at top of stairs a passage at the top of the stairs the landlady passes their door to go to bed The Sign of Four a cocaine bottle on corner of mantlepiece a velvet lined arm chair Watson's room upstairs of the sitting room A Scandal in Bohemia a window blind which shows Holmes' silhouette as he passes in front of it a case of cigars small enough to be thrown a gasogene and spirit case in the corner seventeen steps leading up from the hall stairs and a passage outside the door from which they could hear the steps of a visitor The Five Orange Pips chairs on either side of the fireplace a passage outside the door from which they could hear the step of a visitor a lamp by Holmes' chair which he turned away from himself and towards a vacant chair a single vacant chair on which a new-comer must sit a coat hook a sideboard a bottle of water on the sideboard a shelf next to Watson's chair containing the American Encyclopedia a cupboard containing oranges Watson's room upstairs of the sitting room [1] The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle a pipe rack within reach on the right of the sofa a wooden chair a basket chair The Adventure of the Speckled Band Watson's room upstairs of the sitting room a mantlepiece with a clock in Watson's room The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor two easy chairs a line of reference books beside the mantlepiece. The Adventure of the Beryl Cornet a bow window [2] the window is big enough for Watson to stand in the window is big enough for Holmes to look over Watson's shoulder and see the street below Holmes' chamber upstairs of the sitting room a mirror (called a "glass") above the fireplace a sideboard a joint of beef and rounds of bread upon the sideboard plus a knife to slice the beef a hall door upstairs of the sitting room (apparently to Holmes' chamber) Watson's room upstairs of the sitting room The Musgrave Ritual a coal scuttle with cigars a Persian slipper with tobacco in the toe end unanswered correspondence transfixed by a jack-knife to the center of the wooden mantlepiece "V.R." in bullet-pocks on the wall opposite Holmes' arm chair [3] chemicals and of criminal relics in "unlikely positions" bundles of manuscript in every corner a large tin box in Holmes' bedroom. The Resident Patient (also in The Adventure of the Cardboard Box) a framed picture of General Gordon with a corresponding bare space an unframed picture of Henry Ward Beecher which stands on top of Watson's books Watson could see these from his chair Holmes could see Watson's face from his position curled upon the sofa The Adventure of the Naval Treay a side table for working on a chemical investigation The Adventure of the Priory School a bearskin hearthrug near the table a table between the door and the hearthrug The Adventure of Black Peter a room just off the sitting room The Adventure of the Six Napoleons a lumber room upstairs of the sitting room which was packed with daily papers a safe The Hound of the Baskervilles Holmes' chair at the breakfast table faces away from the hearthrug the sofa is a settee Watson has a small medical shelf of books placed high The Adventure of the Dying Detective pictures of celebrated criminals adorning every wall in Holmes' room a black and white ivory box on mantlepiece a space behind the head of the bed large enough to allow Watson to hide The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone scientific charts on the wall an acid-charred bench of chemicals a violin case leaning in corner a coal scuttle containing pipes and tobacco a gasogene and cigar case together in their old place (the corner, according to A Scandal in Bohemia) a waiting room downstairs a bow window a blind on the bow window a bow window alcove large enough to hold a chair a curtain in front of this alcove Holmes' bedroom just off the sitting room [4] a second exit in Holmes' bedroom a gramophone in Holmes' bedroom a second door in Holmes' bedroom leading to the bow window behind the curtain The Adventure of the Three Gables a low arm chair on one side of the fire another chair opposite it a table between the door and Holmes' chair a poker near Watson's arm chair The Problem of Thor Bridge the back yard is visible from Watson's room Watson's room is upstairs of the sitting room The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger a pile of commonplace books in the corner Footnotes [1] Regarding the rooms upstairs which include Watson's bedroom and Holmes' chamber as well as a lumber room, I would love to make a second illustration depicting those rooms, but there is not enough data; I would be supplying most of the details from my own imagination and speculation. (back) [2] Regarding the bow window, we read in A Study in Scarlet that there were two broad windows, but in the same story, Mr. Jefferson Hope after he had been handcuffed, "hurled himself through the window" and that "wood and glass gave way before him." This seems to imply that there was but one large window and that it was large enough for a man to be tempted to jump through. In The Sign of Four Watson is standing "at the window" watching Mary Morstan walking down the street, and later he "sat in the window" with a book in his hand. In The Adventure of the Beryl Cornet Watson wrote, "...I stood one morning in our bow window looking down the street" and that Holmes stood behind him, looking over his shoulder out the same window, rather than simply look out a window next to it. These accounts seem to indicate that they had only one bow window facing the street, and that it was large enough for an adult to stand and sit in it and even jump through it. It is always referred to as "the window" rather than "one of the windows" so I have placed the second window on the other side of the room and made it a regular window and not a bow window to reconcile the various accounts. (back) [3] Regarding the V.R. in bullet-pocks on the wall, Holmes used "a hundred Boxer cartridges" to create these initials which means he apparently fired his pistol at the wall one hundred times. Even one hundred bullets fired into busy, dark Victorian wallpaper might not greatly affect the atmosphere nor the appearance of the room, as Watson reported. However, if it were a plain plaster wall there would be much greater damage, and large portions of plaster could be blown off had Holmes not been not an expert marksman. When I created this illustration I abandoned my plans to depict wallpaper so that the V.R. would be visible. In this third edition I made sure that there were exactly one hundred bullet-pocks. Thanks to the following websites for the head-up: Home Improvement with Sherlock Holmes and Discovering Arthur Conan Doyle: the Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual. (back) [4] Regarding the location of Holmes' own bedroom, The Adventure of the Beryl Cornet implies that Holmes' room (called his "chamber") is on the floor above the sitting room while The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone puts Holmes' bedroom just off the sitting room where it communicates with the alcove of the bow window. Apparently Holmes had two rooms: his bedroom next to the sitting room and his "chamber" upstairs which contained all of his costumes and props. This could also serve as a lumber room which was dedicated to stacks of newspapers and bundles of manuscript ... which were on no account to be burned, and which could not be put away save by their owner as mentioned in the The Musgrave Ritual. A lumber room upstairs packed with daily papers is indeed mentioned in The Adventure of the Six Napoleons. Holmes' bedroom could be the same room just off the sitting room which had been used as a temporary waiting room in The Adventure of Black Peter. (back)

The face of Sherlock Holmes

Was 221B Baker Street a terraced house?

Terraced houses, also known as townhouses or row houses, are rows of dwellings of uniform height and similar appearance which share common walls between them. They can be found in cities throughout the world and were a typical dwelling for the working class in London including Baker Street. Therefore some people believe that 221B Baker Street would have been a terraced house. There are several illustrations on the web which depict 221B Baker Street as a terraced house, but I have singled out one web article in particular as it is sort of a flag bearer for the others since it adamantly argues this point and criticizes my illustration for not being a terraced house. It also points out that my bay window should have been a more complex bow window, and then displays a terraced house floor plan to which a bow window has been crudely added. As pointed out above, terraced houses were low-cost structures intended for the working class where even the walls were shared between units to keep costs down. So the idea of a terraced house having a decorative bow window is ludicrous. My depiction is not a terraced house so I am free to add a bow window, which I have done in the current version (thank you). But the window problem is not the only reason for rejecting the terraced house idea. I have included the problematic floor plan below so you can see the problems which arise when one tries to force 221B Baker Street into the shape of a standard terraced house. The floor plan supposedly conforms with all of the stories in the Canon including in The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone -- except that when Holmes and Watson try to leave the premises undetected, they will run face to face into the villain who is coming up the stairs because their secret exit was taken away. Looking at the floor plan in light of this, I get the impression that somehow it's okay to include a light shaft which is not mentioned in the stories but was common in a terraced house, but not okay to include a secret exit which is mentioned in the stories but will not be found in a terraced house. And the problems don't end there. I should point out that in the floor plan, the term "first floor" is a British term and would be the second floor in American English. We know that the sitting room is in the front of the building and has a view of Baker Street street. Several stories tell us that Watson's room is upstairs, and The Problem of Thor Bridge tells us that Watson's room has a view of the back yard. In this floor plan Watson's room has to be placed in the back of the building at the far end of a hallway so that he could see out of his window into the back yard. First Floor Second Floor Taken from The Enos Law Firm website In A Study in Scarlet we read that Holmes was looking for... someone to go halves with him in some nice rooms which he had found, and which were too much for his purse. We know from The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone that Holmes' bedroom is connected to the sitting room by two doors, so the two rooms must be considered as one unit. Watson's room is described as being upstairs, but all three rooms (plus Holmes' extra chamber upstairs) must be connected in such a way that they could not be rented out separately because they comprised a single unit which Sherlock Holmes could not afford. Could anyone imagine that Mrs. Hudson included in that price a room that was isolated at the far end of the building on a different floor? I have outlined the three rooms in red to show how absurd such an idea really is. It is simply out of the question. Because there is so much space to be filled in a deep terraced house, the rooms of Holmes and Watson in this floor plan are scattered among four additional rooms which are rented to other tenants. When Watson leaves the sitting room he has go out into the common hallway and up the stairs (which has only seven huge steps) and down another hallway to find his own room. He has to walk past all these other rooms before he finally reaches his own room! Of course, these "other tenants" are not mentioned once in the sixty stories. Can you imagine the trouble, the danger and the complaints that would arise with sharing these premises with strangers? Holmes would think nothing of taking his pistol and firing one hundred shots into a wall. What neighbor would tolerate that? Can you imagine the security issues? Holmes often had distinguished visitors including the Prime Minister who came by for help at least twice. He also had visitors who were intent on killing him such as professor Moriarty the "Napoleon of crime" who dropped in one morning. Those extra rooms could be rented out to be agents of Moriarty who would then have round-the-clock access to the famous detective -- and share the same hallways, bath room and toilet. It is not wise to take liberties and add major elements not found in the stories in order to conform to speculation that is not supported by the stories. In A Scandal in Bohemia Holmes pointed out the problem of reaching conclusions without data: insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. If one follows the actual facts in the stories, then one must abandon the theory of a terraced house. The facts don't fit. Of course, the term "facts" must be taken with the understanding that the Sherlock Holmes stories are works of fiction. And that distinction is also a key to understanding this issue. Most of the characters were fictional, but many of the locations were real -- with one huge exception. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle deliberately created a fictional address for the dwelling of Sherlock Holmes. Readers couldn't even locate the vicinity around 221B because the numbers on Baker Street did not reach 200. Baker Street was later extended, but 221B still did not exist because there was a large building at that location called Abbey House which took up the space of several numbers including 221 (and was definitely NOT a terraced house). The Sherlock Holmes Museum which opened in 1990 has been given special permission to use 221B, but its actual address is 239 Baker Street. All this to say that neither the address nor the building has ever existed. Buildings that do not exist need not conform to buildings that do. Had it existed, could it have been a terraced house? The stories rule out that notion as impossible -- which is a hard pill to swallow for those who find it improbable that this building might be different from the other buildings in the area. And, yes, you saw it coming. The quote which must appear in every article related to Sherlock Holmes: When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. 221B Baker Street is absolutely fascinating and unique. That uniqueness is what compelled me to draw the illustration in the first place. Why anyone would want to attempt to strip it of its uniqueness and squeeze it into the shape of a common terraced house is beyond me.

The pen behind the stories

The Dancing Men in Japanese?

I thought it would be fun to create a code in Japanese based on characters from the Dancing Men story. I did it mainly for my kids, to give them something challenging to do. The Japanese hiragana system can be arranged on a grid, and is perfectly suited for codes like this because you can quickly zero in on characters by finding key elements along the top and left of the grid. My kids loved it, and I'm sure any Japanese Sherlockians out there will also find it amusing.

Here are some links of interest related to Sherlock Holmes:

• Sherlock Holmes Society of London
  Originally founded as The Sherlock Holmes Society in 1934, this Web site has an amazing collection of information and links.
• Audio Books For Free
  
• The Sherlock Holmes Library at the Diogenes Club
  A great resource of Writings related to Sherlock Holmes.
• Calabash Press
  Sherlockian pastiche, parody, and plays.

Some Kindle editions of Sherlock Holmes books and related works:

Sherlock Holmes Movies: