Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Portable Writing Desk

Goyard made seven of these in 1925

Jan 11, 2025

With the ubiquity of laptops and various thin and portable black mirrors, there’s no longer a need to have a single place from which to write.

But when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was writing Sherlock Holmes stories, he needed a place to place his paper as he ran the pen over it.

There are many photographs of him at home in his study, where he authored so many of his works, from The White Company to “Lot 249," from “A Night Among the Nihilists" to The Land of Mist, and about recurring characters like Sherlock Holmes, Brigadier Gerard, and Professor Challenger.

There are tales of Conan Doyle writing on the train, at sporting events, and in other unlikely places, as the muse struck him. And as his fame and fortune grew, he was able to afford a luxury from a specialty retailer that could support his need to write during his travels.

It wasn’t until 1925 that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle commissioned a travel writing desk from the legendary trunk maker Goyard. The luxury brand has a fascinating history, including their willingness to accept special orders.

As the Industrial Age continued into the 20th century, international travel became more popular—particularly as immigration laws changed and the travel industry realized that tourism could be very profitable. And the luggage industry changed to support it.

Until then, trunks were the mainstay of transporting belongings — some of them capable of containing seemingly an entire wardrobe. But with the expansion of cruise and then airline travel, trunks gave way to a variety of baggage that could be crafted to coordinate. For many more details and illustrations, see History Tools’ Antique Trunk Guide.

By 1925, Conan Doyle had made several transcontinental trips. To supplement his already significant writing income, he went on the lecture circuit, speaking about his friend Mr. Sherlock Holmes and of his growing fascination with spiritualism. And such long journeys would afford him the time and the ability to relax, read, and write.

But in order to be comfortable and efficient, and to avoid any interruption of his schedule when alighting in places that had no writing desk, Conan Doyle assured that he would always have a place to write through his commissioning of a writing desk trunk. According to Architectural Digest,

“He requested a custom-made trunk that would enable him to comfortably pursue his writing on his continuous worldwide forays. The solution that emerged from Goyard’s workshops was an amazing writing trunk, which was roughly the same size and weight as an ordinary travel trunk but was capable of transforming at will into an actual writing desk.“

Only 7 “Conan Doyle” Goyard travel trunks were ever made; two are owned by Goyard; one is on display in a private museum in France; three are in private collections; and the last one has long been lost.

One of those that is now in the hands of a private collector was sold two years ago by a Hong Kong dealer, whose photos show the features of the trunk.

Those features include:

On the inner side of the lid, one compartment for files, two photo frames and a compartment for a clock, with three small compartments on the back.
On the top of the lower section, there is a wooden folding desk, underneath which is a square compartment to store a typewriter and a folder compartment to organize files alphabetically.
At the bottom (only accessible when the front doors are open) 5 drawers of different shapes