The painting in the inside of the dust cover looks like "The Astronomer" by Vermeer. The original is not, as Holmes states, lost, but hangs in the Louvre museum in Paris.
Holmes and Watson's first meeting with Vikner was filmed at the Hall of Fame Terrace at Bronx Community College (formally a branch of New York University).
Holmes tells Tony Curran's character, "Look at your hand. It's not invisible anymore". Tony Curran previously played the Invisible Man in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).
Vikner says that his "predecessor was a painter". One of Tony Curran's previous roles was as Vincent Van Gogh in the TV series Doctor Who (2005).