The Evolution of Forensic Science
25
test for blood stains?” … “Beautiful! Beautiful! The old guaiacum test was
very clumsy and uncertain. So is the microscopic examination for blood
corpuscles.* The latter is valueless if the stains are a few hours old. Now,
this appears to act as well whether the blood is old or new. (Doyle, 1887)
In “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box,” he brings to our attention indi-
vidualizing attributes of the human ear (Figure 2.2). We also see an example
here of literary license in deducing kinship from ear traits.
“As a
medical man, you are aware, Watson, that there is no part of the body
which varies so much as the human ear. Each ear is as a rule quite distinctive
and differs from all other ones. In last year’s
Anthropological Journal
you
will find two short monographs from my pen upon the subject. I had
therefore examined the ears in the box with the eyes of an expert and had
carefully noted the anatomical peculiarities. Imagine my surprise, then,
when on looking at Miss Cushing I perceived that her ear corresponded
exactly with the female ear which I had just inspected.” … “Of course I at
once saw the enourmous importance of the observation. It was evident that
the victim was a blood relation and probably a very close one.” (Doyle, 1893)
It is
not unusual, even today, for a young person to choose a career in
forensic science because of an early fascination with the Sherlock Holmes
stories. In fact, the smoking pipe and deerstalker’s cap have become imme-
diately recognizable symbols of crime detection to an entire generation of
aspiring criminalists. Unfortunately, the somewhat pompous and omniscient
attitude that draws us to Sherlock Holmes as a literary character becomes a
liability when transferred to reality. Humbleness and modesty are generally
better companions to a seeker of the truth.
Although less commonly recognized
in the forensic community, Edgar
Allen Poe is credited in literary circles as creator of the detective genre. In an
odd twist, Doyle acknowledges Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin as the inspiration for
the Sherlock Holmes character (“Study in Scarlet”), and, in typical Holmesian
fashion, immediately derides him as an inferior template.
“It is simple enough as you explain it,” I said, smiling. “You remind me of
Edgar Allan Poe’s Dupin. I had no idea that such individuals did exist
outside of stories.” … Sherlock Holmes rose and lit his pipe. “No doubt you
think that you are complimenting me in comparing me to Dupin,” he
observed. “Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. That trick
of his of breaking in on his friends’ thoughts
with an apropos remark after
a quarter of an hour’s silence is really very showy and superficial. He had
* No doubt a reference to Orfila’s work in the early 1800s.
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26
Principles and Practice of Criminalistics
some analytical genius no doubt; but he was by no means such a phenom-
enon as Poe appeared to imagine.”
Doyle, through the Holmes character, continues his derision of Holmes’
literary predecessors.
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