Doyle Arthur Conan Craigie Aitchison (1 results)

Exceptional vintage photograph of the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Black and white matte-finish vintage full-length photograph of Arthur Conan Doyle standing beside top criminal lawyer Craigie Aitchison outside of the Edinburgh High Court in 1928. Inscribed by Doyle below the photograph on the original presentation mount in black ink, "Arthur Conan Doyle The final round of a long fight. Justice versus the Powers of Darkness July 1928." Additionally signed in pencil by the photographer. Oscar Slater (1872ā"1948), a German-Jewish immigrant, was at the center of one of early 20th-century Britain's most infamous wrongful convictions. In 1908, he was accused of murdering and robbing a woman with whom he had only incidental association. Despite considerable evidence pointing to his innocence, Slater was found guilty and initially sentenced to deathā"a sentence later commuted following a public petition signed by nearly 20,000 people. He remained imprisoned for nearly twenty years until his conviction was overturned in July 1928, in a court session attended by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Deeply engaged in the case, Conan Doyle had long advocated for Slaterās release, drawing parallels between his plight and the Dreyfus affair. The accompanying photograph is believed to date from the day of Slaterās formal exoneration. Mounted and framed. In very good condition. The entire piece measures 8.75 inches by 11.75 inches. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer, best known for creating the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes. Born in 1859, Doyle initially studied medicine and wrote several historical novels before achieving fame with his detective stories, beginning with A Study in Scarlet in 1887. His portrayal of Holmes, along with the characterās companion Dr. Watson, revolutionized the detective genre and has had a lasting influence on both literature and popular culture. In addition to his detective fiction, Doyle wrote historical novels, science fiction, and plays, and he was a passionate advocate for spiritualism.