What make a Holmes a Holmes?
This morning I realised that I've been convinced for no reason at all that Holmes has grey eyes, Watson is (was) blond, and a couple of other things that have no real basis in fact, and now I want to figure out why... (ETA: Turns out Holmes does have grey eyes)
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In DANC, Holmes is described as resembling "a strange, lank bird, with dull gray plumage and a black top-knot" when he sits curled in his chair. This accords with the reference to his eyebrows resembling black lines.
The receding hairline is largely a tip to Paget for me. I suppose it may have emphasised his "dolichocephalic" skull, and "well-marked supra-orbital development" as described by Doctor Mortimer.
As for Watson, even for someone who sticks at the most insignificant details in the stories, there is no real reason to see him as light-haired. If anything, the evidence is slightly more on the side of darker hair tones, as his skin is very tanned in STUD. The frequent perception that Watson is lighter-haired may stem from a few sources, including illustrations: In US publications, Frederick Dorr Steele's Watson often appeared fair-haired, while Paget's Watson varied between light and dark haired in a way that made him appear lighter-haired than Holmes. Then there were those black and white adaptions with older actors that intentionally darkened Holmes's hair, leaving Watson's lighter in appearance (and I don't just mean the Rathbone films; I have no idea if Ian Fleming was light-haired as a younger man, but he looked positively platinum blond opposite Arthur Wontner!) Fan writing also has a tendency to emphasise differences of appearance that are not all that marked (or even present!) in the original text. In Blake's 7, Vila Restal was frequently described as 'little' though he was the same height as Avon.
My own POV: I began drawing Watson with mousy hair following a long-ago Eddie Izzard reference, then afterwards largely through laziness (I actively 'colour' Holmes's hair but not Watson's in monochrome images) and doubtless the influence of the factors above. Having set a precedent for myself, I now use a sort of light-mousey/dark-blond on the few occasions I use colour. In adaptions or imaginings there is no reason that Watson should look any particular way.
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Aha, thank you! That was driving me nuts.
Vila Restal was frequently described as 'little' though he was the same height as Avon
Yeah, I suppose because of the sort of imbalance of power between them. The "taller" Avon having a much more forceful personality than the other, I mean.
In adaptions or imaginings there is no reason that Watson should look any particular way.
Mm, yes. Maybe with the caveat that I'd find a moustache-less Watson pretty hard to take!
Thanks to your comment I just spent a while watching Wontner and Fleming on youtube, by the way (first time I saw them in action) and thinking how wonderfully Holmesian Wontner looks, and what a shame his voice drives me nuts for some reason. And that surely that can't be Fleming's natural hair colour!
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