He curled himself up in his chair

He curled himself up in his chair

Sidney Paget

1891

Photographic reproduction of watercolor

Illustration for Arthur Conan Doyle's “The Red-Headed League,” p. 33.

Passage illustrated: “It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes.” He curled himself up in his chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his hawk-like nose, and there he sat with his eyes closed and his black clay pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird. I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep, and indeed was nodding myself, when he suddenly sprang out of his chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his mind and put his pipe down upon the mantelpiece.”

Formatting and text by George P. Landow

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