Who illustrated the original Sherlock Holmes stories in The Strand Magazine?

Sidney Paget illustrated the original Sherlock Holmes stories published in The Strand Magazine.

Paget was an English artist who became closely associated with Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective. He was hired to illustrate The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which ran in The Strand from 1891 to 1892, and later illustrated several other Holmes collections and stories. In total, he produced illustrations for one Holmes novel and 37 short stories.

Paget’s work did more than decorate the stories: it helped define how generations of readers imagined Holmes. His drawings introduced the detective’s familiar deerstalker cap and Inverness cape, even though Doyle’s original text did not establish those items as standard clothing. The curved pipe often associated with Holmes came later through stage portrayals, especially William Gillette. Walter Paget, Sidney’s brother, is sometimes confused with him, but Sidney was the principal Strand illustrator.