<Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> "A Case of Identity" </Td> </Tr> <P> "The Red - Headed League" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . It first appeared in The Strand Magazine in August 1891, with illustrations by Sidney Paget . Conan Doyle ranked "The Red - Headed League" second in his list of his twelve favourite Holmes stories . It is also the second of the twelve stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which was published in 1892 . </P> <P> Jabez Wilson, a London pawnbroker, comes to consult Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson . While studying his client, both Holmes and Watson notice his red hair, which has a distinct flame - like hue . Wilson tells them that some weeks before, his young assistant, Vincent Spaulding, urged him to respond to a newspaper want - ad offering highly - paid work to only red - headed male applicants . The next morning, Wilson had waited in a long line of fellow red - headed men, was interviewed and was the only applicant hired, because none of the other applicants qualified; their red hair was either too dark or too bright, and did not match Wilson's unique flame color . </P> <P> Wilson tells Holmes that his business has been struggling . Since his pawn shop did most of its business in the evenings, he was able to vacate his shop for short periods in the afternoon, receiving £ 4 a week for several weeks (equal to £ 400 / week today); the work was obviously useless clerical work in a bare office, only performed for nominal compliance with a will, whereupon he was made to copy the Encyclopædia Britannica . Wilson learned much about the subjects starting with the "A" version and looked forward to getting into the "B" section . One morning, a sign on the locked office door inexplicably announced that "THE RED - HEADED LEAGUE IS DISSOLVED--Oct. 9, 1890 ." </P>

Summary of the story the red headed league