Sherlock Holmes

Music Engraver & Publisher

As performed with great success before the discerning printing houses of the Imperial capital

VIENNA

I have engraved music plates for 19 years and run my own publishing house for 9 of them. My workshop of 6 craftsmen produces about 240 finished plates a year, from parlour songs to full orchestral scores. I still proof every plate myself, which my apprentices consider excessive and my customers consider the point.

Programme of Engagements

Proprietor & Master Engraver 1888–present

Holmes & Sohn Musikverlag · Vienna

Built a catalogue of 1,150 published titles; the house waltz series alone sold 18,000 copies across the Empire.
Direct a workshop of 6 engravers and 2 apprentices; plate rejection rate held under 2 percent for 5 consecutive years.
Negotiated standing contracts with 14 concert societies and 3 conservatory bookshops for first-run editions.

Senior Plate Engraver 1882–1888

Hartwig & Cie. Notendruckerei · Vienna

Cut roughly 130 pewter plates a year, chiefly piano and violin repertoire in octavo format.
Introduced a punch inventory system that cut tool losses by half and saved the firm about 400 kronen annually.

Journeyman Engraver 1877–1882

Brandmayer Stich & Druck · Graz

Completed a 5-year journeyman term covering punching, scoring, and correction on more than 500 plates.
Awarded the guild's second prize for a 12-page engraving of a string quartet, judged on spacing and beam work.

Repertoire of Skills

Plate engraving, pewterMaster

Music typography & spacingMaster

Lithographic transferAdvanced

Proofreading full scoresMaster

Ornamental title letteringAdvanced

Contract & rights negotiationAdvanced

Workshop bookkeepingProficient

French & Italian, working useProficient

Formation

Apprenticeship in Music Engraving 1873–1877

Guild of Printers and Engravers · Graz. Certificate with distinction, ranked 2nd of 21.

Evening Courses in Harmony & Notation 1875–1878

Städtische Musikschule Graz · 3 winters of study, final examination passed with merit.

FINE