Glen Fleck Drawing for “Sherlock Holmes and the Singular Case of the Plural Green Mustache”

Ray and Charles Eames often turned to valued Eames Office employee Glen Fleck to help communicate ideas through drawings and concept sketches. Fleck’s illustrations also appeared in the Eames exhibition Mathematica: The World of Numbers…and Beyond.

Created during the development of the IBM Pavilion for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, this drawing shows early concepts for both the Sherlock Holmes puppet and the stage set for the Eames Office produced puppet show Sherlock Holmes and the Singular Case of the Plural Green Mustache created to introduce the public to the emerging world of computer technology. What makes the drawing especially remarkable is how closely the finished puppet and stage ultimately followed Fleck’s original concept, offering a glimpse into the Eames Office design process from initial sketch to realized object.

Gift of John Berkenfield. Part of a group gift including Artifacts# G.2024.61.1, G.2024.61.2, and G.2024.61.4