[Murray]

I've seen so many different versions of watson's hair and eye color. From blond to red and from blue to brown. I'm just wondering if anyone knows what his eye and hair colors were in the original stories. I don't think it's ever actually mentioned but I could be wrong.s

[Limited-Fantasy]

As far as I know, the colour of his eyes and hair are not mentioned. All we really know about him from the canon is that he has a mustache, and was a middle-sized, strongly built man with a square jaw and a thick neck, according to "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton".

We are to assume he clearly wasn't ill-favoured, seeing as he was popular with women.

In the beginning, he is really thin and brown as a nut.

In the "Last Bow" story, he has grey hair and is thickset.

But yeah...that's all I got from skimming back and using wikipedia.

I've always assumed he had light brown hair with blue eyes.

The closest to the Watson I imagine is David Burke.

[John Clayton]

I've seen so many different versions of watson's hair and eye color. From blond to red and from blue to brown. I'm just wondering if anyone knows what his eye and hair colors were in the original stories. I don't think it's ever actually mentioned but I could be wrong.s

The only description in the entire Canon is at the end of CHARLES AUGUSTUS MILVERTON. Read it for yourself. There are hardly any other specifics mentioned anywhere else in the Canon.

As for the rest, this subject reminds me of the the old question regarding Arthur Miller's THE DEATH OF A SALEMAN: What does Willy Loman sell? The answer is that Arthur Miller never specified it. That contributes to making Willy Loman an everyman. Of course, John H. Watson is a different kind of everyman.

Not that it matters, but I always liked the look of Donald Houston in A STUDY IN TERROR and David Burke in the Granada series.

[Shangas]

I reckon Dr. Watson was a stocky person, about 5'9", about 180-200 pounds, with medium brown hair, a neat, trimmed moustache, thick neck and large hands. Reasonably fit, intelligent and if some writings are to be believed, attractive to the ladies.

Holmes was tall, thin, six feet or thereabouts, black hair, hawk-like nose, sharp chin and jaw, very quick, fit and agile, although with rhumetism coming in during his later years.

[Captain Basil]

I suppose Watson, as the author of the stories, had little need or inclination to describe himself.

[A. Polasek]

An interesting question. Apart from the scarcity of description part of the trouble is that Watson never got much care at the hands of illustrators. If you flick through a copy of the Canon and compare different illustrations by Paget, say, you'll find that though after the first few Holmes' depiction is uniform, Watson's isn't. His size relative to Holmes changes, his hair, his mustache changes, so he never became an iconic image like Holmes did. Personally, when I draw and paint him, my image is of a man about 5'10", neatly trimmed military-style mustache, light colouring, light hair, sort of blond with a reddish tint, and blue eyes. A square build - strong shoulders, and set features in his face. And good posture, obviously! But that's just "my Watson"!

A.

[BakerStreetBabe]

An interesting question. Apart from the scarcity of description part of the trouble is that Watson never got much care at the hands of illustrators. If you flick through a copy of the Canon and compare different illustrations by Paget, say, you'll find that though after the first few Holmes' depiction is uniform, Watson's isn't. His size relative to Holmes changes, his hair, his mustache changes, so he never became an iconic image like Holmes did. Personally, when I draw and paint him, my image is of a man about 5'10", neatly trimmed military-style mustache, light colouring, light hair, sort of blond with a reddish tint, and blue eyes. A square build - strong shoulders, and set features in his face. And good posture, obviously! But that's just "my Watson"!

A.

That's 'my Watson' to a 't'!

[lymelight]

An interesting question. Apart from the scarcity of description part of the trouble is that Watson never got much care at the hands of illustrators. If you flick through a copy of the Canon and compare different illustrations by Paget, say, you'll find that though after the first few Holmes' depiction is uniform, Watson's isn't. His size relative to Holmes changes, his hair, his mustache changes, so he never became an iconic image like Holmes did. Personally, when I draw and paint him, my image is of a man about 5'10", neatly trimmed military-style mustache, light colouring, light hair, sort of blond with a reddish tint, and blue eyes. A square build - strong shoulders, and set features in his face. And good posture, obviously! But that's just "my Watson"!

A.

Sounds like me in my moustachioed days !

[Sherlockian]

Sounds like me in my moustachioed days !

Maybe you are Watson's long lost twin brother.

[lymelight]

Maybe you are Watson's long lost twin brother.

That would account for....er....several things !

[Sherlockian]

That would account for....er....several things !

All of us know that.

[A. Polasek]

Sounds like me in my moustachioed days !

Watson's brother? Ahem, not the one who did himself to death with drink, one hopes...

A.

[lymelight]

Watson's brother? Ahem, not the one who did himself to death with drink, one hopes...

A.

...actually I have many Watson like qualities.

[A. Polasek]

That's true enough, I suppose.

... just as long as you don't grow back the moustache...

A.

[lymelight]

That's true enough, I suppose.

... just as long as you don't grow back the moustache...

A.

No chance of that.....rather like being hairless.

[A. Polasek]

All for the best, really!

A.

[lymelight]

All for the best, really!

A.

I think so.

[Sherlockian]

No chance of that.....rather like being hairless.

So you want to be bald when you grow up?

[the painter]

I always believed that Watson looked very much like Doyle himself. Check out this very young Doyle.

[lymelight]

I always believed that Watson looked very much like Doyle himself. Check out this very young Doyle.

Yes, think you are onto something there.