Sherlock Holmes, Life Magazine and a Token

“‘What ineffable twaddle!’ I cried, slapping the magazine down on the table; ‘I never read such rubbish in my life.'”

– A Study In Scarlet (STUD)

Periodically, Time, Inc. publishes special editions of Life magazine, and this January published a Sherlock Holmes volume for the title. The title will be on display and available for purchase until April 21st. The list price is $13.99. The 42nd Garrideb, Denny Dobry, was the first to bring this to our attention – his granddaughter gave him his copy. The magazine is quite well done and is a good read.

In 1936, Time’s publisher, Henry Luce, purchased Life for $92,000 and relaunched the magazine as a magazine where the pictures told the story, rather than assisting to illustrate text. Within four weeks of the relaunch on November 26, over a million copies were being sold weekly at ten cents each.

The 33mm brass token, pictured above, was issued to promote sales of the magazine while the United States was still struggling to recover from the Great Depression. The same design was used on both sides of the token.