The first nineteen volumes of The Strand Magazine. Two volumes. Octavo. Bound in contemporary half calf over marbled paper covered boards. A bright, near fine set.
 
The Strand Magazine is most notably known for the historic debut of Sherlock Holmes in July 1891 [part ii] & "Golden Era" of Sherlock Holmes stories in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in vol ii - iv and The Memoirs of Sherlcock Holmes in v -vi. There is an explicit cameo by Holmes in vol xv and xvi with The Lost Special and The Man with the Watches. The seventeen volumes aside from Holmes make up a "Who's Who" of Victorian literature and science. Before Holmes completely dominated the magazine it was a pioneer for "speculative fiction2 with important contributions by H. G. Wells, Jules Verne and Grant Allen's "Miss Cayley's Adventures" - one of the first independent woman detectives in fiction. Conan Doyle's contribution went far beyond Holmes with Brigadier Gerard [viii-x, xiv], Rodney Stone [xi-xii] & Arthur Morrison [viii]. Other notable firsts include some of the earliest mentions of the X-Ray [xi] and early pieces by E. Nesbit [xvii] who would go on to be the magazine's primary children's author.