Stradivarius Violin

Lore & Background

In "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" Holmes invites the Count and his helper to discuss a deal while he plays the violin in the next room. When William Gillette played Holmes on stage he made use of a magnifying glass, a violin and a syringe, all taken from Conan Doyle's stories, and they became established props of the character. A Stradivarius appears in a deleted scene of the film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, in which Rogozhin arrives at 221B Baker Street to give Holmes the instrument promised to him by Madame Petrova; in the same film Holmes hides vials in his violin case.

Reader's Guide

Adaptations keep the instrument. In the BBC series Sherlock he plays the violin and even composes music from time to time, plays for John and Mary's first dance, and plays a duet with his sister Eurus. In the animated Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century he has taken to a hand-sized keytar in place of his classic violin.

Did You Know?

• William Gillette's stage Holmes carried a violin, a magnifying glass and a syringe.
• The 1995 comic novel O Xangô de Baker Street sends Holmes to Brazil to solve the disappearance of a Stradivarius violin.