A very rare addition into the Howard Ostrom Autograph Collection today with Harry Arthur Saintsbury (H.A Saintsbury) whom played Holmes in a 1903 production of William Gillette's play which included a very young Charlie Chaplin playing the role of Billy The Pageboy.
Saintsbury would then go on to reprise the role for 5 months in a 1910 production of "The Speckled Band" penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself .
The role was taken over by Charles Millward when the play went to New York but Saintsbury would take it up once more when the play returned for a revival on Broadway in 1921.
By the time this came to a close he had performed more than a staggering 1400 productions as Holmes on stage .
Aside from his stage works Saintsburys also ventured into film as Holmes, playing him in a 1916 adaption of The Valley of Fear alongside Booth Conway as Moriarty but this film sadly is believed to have been lost to the sands of time.
Saintsbury was very highly regarded in his performance particularly by Charlie Chaplin who once said of him "Mr. H. A. Saintsbury, who played Holmes on tour, was a living replica of the illustrations in The Strand Magazine. He had a long sensitive face and an inspired forehead. Of all those who played Holmes, he was considered the best, even better than William Gillette, the original Holmes and author of the play".
Saintsbury would then go on to reprise the role for 5 months in a 1910 production of "The Speckled Band" penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself .
The role was taken over by Charles Millward when the play went to New York but Saintsbury would take it up once more when the play returned for a revival on Broadway in 1921.
By the time this came to a close he had performed more than a staggering 1400 productions as Holmes on stage .
Aside from his stage works Saintsburys also ventured into film as Holmes, playing him in a 1916 adaption of The Valley of Fear alongside Booth Conway as Moriarty but this film sadly is believed to have been lost to the sands of time.
Saintsbury was very highly regarded in his performance particularly by Charlie Chaplin who once said of him "Mr. H. A. Saintsbury, who played Holmes on tour, was a living replica of the illustrations in The Strand Magazine. He had a long sensitive face and an inspired forehead. Of all those who played Holmes, he was considered the best, even better than William Gillette, the original Holmes and author of the play".
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