"A Wagner Night" [REDC]

Crime historian and storyteller E.J. Wagner writes on the CLP Forum - that's the blog for the Crime Lab Project and forensic science - that she'll be speaking at the Museum of Science in Boston.

From September 30, 2007 to January 1, 2008, the traveling exhibit CSI: The Experience will be making its debut at the MOS. According to the press release:

Visitors are led by cast members who portray investigators on the television show, along with their real-life counterparts, through three separate crime scenes: a city alley, a suburban home, and a woodland. In each setting, visitors are challenged to identify and gather evidence, analyze materials with the help of the latest scientific and technological advances; formulate hypotheses about the crime; and confirm and communicate their findings.

And E.J. Wagner - known to Sherlockians for her Edgar Award-winning book The Science of Sherlock Holmes: From Baskerville Hall to the Valley of Fear, the Real Forensics Behind the Great Detective's Greatest Cases - will be speaking at the exhibit in the Crimes, History and Mystery lecture series on October 17. Her topic will be "Superstition, Science and Sherlock Holmes."

This sounds like a marvelous event - one I know that I plan to attend. With any luck, as the exhibit travels around the country, Ms. Wagner will be available to deliver similar talks.

"It Is a Wonderful Place" [HOUN]

I'm thankful that I found Sherlock Holmes when I was 14 years old. The stories, the characters, and especially the people with whom I interact have made this world a truly wonderful place to be.

With that, I give you the latest Sherlock Holmes Music Video.

If you're using a feed reader, click here for the video.

"I Never Can Resist a Touch of the Dramatic" [NAVA]

Oh, those guys over at Wessex Press! Not satisfied with producing one YouTube video, they made a sequel. Well, it only stands to reason, as From Gillette to Brett II is a sequel of sorts.

This time, they've upped the high drama and created a trailer reminiscent of the old Rathbone-Bruce trailers. See for yourself:

If you're having trouble seeing the video, click here to go directly to YouTube.

"An Appointment with the Foreign Agent" [BRUC]

One of the passions of a few select Sherlockians is collecting foreign editions of the stories. In fact, there's one Sherlockian out there - Don Hobbs by name - who refers to himself as "The Maniac Collector." You can actually read Don's weekly column, The Maniac Collector's Inbox on Brad Keefauver's excellent SherlockPeoria site.

Before we were a global economy, some of the grand Sherlockians took great pride in their foreign editions. The late John Bennett Shaw, BSI was one of them. It was he who spurred the interest in foreign editions by Dorothy (wife of Tom, the fourth head of the BSI (from 1987-1997)) Stix. FYI, it was Tom who first extended an invitation to the BSI dinner to me.

So, as an enthusiastic (albeit slightly nervous) 25 year-old arrived in New York for his first BSI dinner, I was immediately put at ease by Dorothy. While Tom could be an imposing figure for the uninitiated, Dorothy was the Welcome Wagon, the fairy godmother and the diplomat of the pair. I'm happy to say that from her retirement home in Florida, Dorothy is occasionally in touch with me via email and is a regular reader of this blog. So when she wrote to me and informed me that she's selling off her collection of foreign editions, I immediately offered to help.

By clicking on the icon at the right you can download a copy of Dorothy's master list of the foreign editions up for sale. Warning: it's a 37-page file (233 KB) with nearly 500 titles. From Arabic to Ukranian, there's a little something for everyone. "Black Peter" in Pig Latin? Eckchay! John Bennett Shaw's 1956 edition of Petite Histoire Du Roman Policier? Oui. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Hebrew? It's there, thank G-d.

Take a browse through this remarkable catalog and see just how globally relevant Sherlock Holmes is. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

"My Collection of M's is a Fine One" [EMPT]

As you may know, the Norwegian Explorers hosted a wonderful event two weekends ago in Minneapolis, called Victorian Secrets and Edwardian Enigmas. The buzz from the event is still palpable and many Sherlockians attended from around the globe.

The event was hosted at the Elmer L. Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota, which is noted for its remarkable Sherlock Holmes Collections, one that is unrivaled anywhere else in the world. The Collections were established in the 1970s with the purchase of James Iraldi's remarkable collection of first editions, then solidified with the bequest of the collection of Dr. Phillip Hench, who owned four copies of the Beeton's Christmas Annual, which contained the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes. It was solidified with the addition of the Frederic Dorr Steele collection of artwork, the Edith Meiser collection of original radio scripts, and John Bennett Shaw's comprehensive collection of - well, everything.

Victorian Secrets and Edwardian Enigmas: the Riddles of the Rooms of 221B Baker Street was more than a conference, though. It is also a major exhibit at the Andersen that is on display until August 20, 2007, and features miniature and life-sized recreations of 221B Baker Street. You can download a full exhibit catalog in PDF form, containing a warm tribute to the late S. Allen Mackler, BSI.

I had known Allen for many years by his frequenting the BSI table, which I man in the Vendors' Room during the BSI Weekend. Diminutive and unassuming, he was friendly and humble and would always purchase whatever books the BSI had to offer. So imagine my surprise when I read in the catalog that Allen's estate is the largest bequest ever received by the Collections: some five to six thousand volumes of books, as well as numerous videos & DVDs, and original art. One of the prizes is this original drawing of Sherlock Holmes by Sidney Paget, created for "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League."

"All the afternoon he sat in the stalls...enwrapped in the music at St. James’s Hall..." [REDH]

This was entirely appropriate, as Allen's investiture was "Sarasate" and he was first a record librarian for WETA of National Public Radio, later becoming an on-air host for several classical music programs.

While I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting the Sherlock Holmes Collections, I have been lucky enough to meet Tim Johnson, the curator. Tim is erudite and extremely knowledgeable, and the collection is in excellent hands with Tim at the helm. If you'd like to get to know Tim and the collection, I a unique opportunity for you.

WCCO in Minneapolis did both a television and a radio interview with Tim, which also featured Chris Kehoe, who portrays Holmes in the play Sherlock's Last Case from June 15 - August 25, 2007. On WCC0 830 AM, Don Shelby - a radio host and TV anchor who really knows his Sherlock Holmes - interviewed Chris and Tim for his show on June 29. You'll hear him dig deep for the interview and acknowledge that he's been involved in this scene for some time. In fact, he was instrumental in convincing Edith Meiser to send her papers to the Collections.


And if you'd like to see the exhibit for yourself, hurry out to Minneapolis before it concludes on August 20th. I'm sure Tim Johnson would love to hear from you - make sure you stop by their web site and see everything they have to offer.

"From Amid the Mad Elements" [FIVE]

While we may hear of Sherlock everywhere, it's equally as encouraging to hear of Sherlockians everywhere. Ever since the first time I attended a Sherlockian event (a Men on the Tor dinner in October, 1985 at Gillette Castle, if you must know), I've been astounded at the variety of individuals I've met who share this hobby.

The cast of characters is as robust and diverse as those we find in the Canon itself: doctors, lawyers, engineers, tradesmen, housewives, politicians, businesspeople, performers - the list goes on and on. Just last Thursday, I had occasion to be New York City for business and I had an impromptu dinner with some of my favorite fellow Sherlockians. The list included a copywriter, a toxicologist, a lawyer and an accountant.

So imagine my elation (note I didn't say "surprise") when I came across a blog written by Tom Richmond, an artist for MAD, Magazine. Tom is a self-professed "humorous illustrator" and he follows in the footsteps, figuratively and stylistically, of some great MAD artists.

In addition to his artistic abilities, Tom has a turn for Sherlock Holmes. He had written previously about listening to some audio recordings by David Ian Davies while he worked in the studio. Evidently, Tom was a bit frustrated that, because of the way Davies' various recordings were published, there wasn't a comprehensive, organized Canon even though Davies recorded every story.

So like any dedicated and enterprising Sherlockian, he took up his pen and wrote to the narrator himself, registering his concern. He requested a collection that would take the listener from start to finish, encompassing all 56 short stories and four novels. Davies responded in kind and as a result, Tom was commissioned to do the cover art for the collection. Talk about an homage!

Audible.com now features this set under the title One Voice Chronological: The Consummate Holmes Collections. While I haven't listened to any of Davies' work, it is well-known and well-regarded in Sherlockian circles. David's site contains high praise from the likes of Charles Prepolec of bakerstreetdozen.com and Roger Johnson of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.

One final note: it's nice to see that Tom is keeping up with the MAD tradition of honoring Holmes. Don Martin, "MAD's Maddest Artist," produced this memorable piece:

"The Identity of the Writer" [LION]

One of the recurring features on this blog is announcing the appearance of the latest issue of the Baker Street Journal. It is an exercise that I take great pride in, as I get the chance to write about some of the great content that keeps streaming through our Sherlockian quarterly, without fail. Watch for the Summer issue announcement shortly.

The Baker Street Journal online always features a representative article from an issue, in an effort to let readers and non-readers alike know what Sherlock Holmes scholarship is all about. In the latest episode of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, Burt Wolder and I interview Mike Berdan, BSI, the author of the featured article from the Spring 2007 issue.

In this episode, you get to hear what goes into writing a scholarly paper for a publication, some advice from Mike to budding authors, and a little bit about his history. We hope to make this an ongoing feature in our podcast.

If you've never listed to a podcast before, it's as simple as pressing the button below and listening on your computer. Or, you can head over to the site and subscribe. Either way, we'd love to hear what you think of this ongoing experiment.

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"I Have Not Lived Wholly in Vain" [FINA]

With a statement like that it's clear that someone had a fairly high opinion of himself! Well, to be fair, Sherlock Holmes once said:

"I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one's self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers." - The Greek Interpreter

Today's Sherlock Holmes Music Video addresses his sometimes larger-than-life ego.



If you're using a feed reader, click here for the video.

"He Was Ignorant of the Copernican Theory" [STUD]

Watson himself tells us about his surprise and amazement when testing the knowledge and limits of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet:

His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar System. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to me to be such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it.

“You appear to be astonished,” he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. “Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it.”

I'm not so sure we would be as surprised today, as we seem to be moving farther away from Classical education and focusing more on seemingly less important topics. But one might also assume that the earth revolving around the sun is a fundamental fact that everyone would seem to be aware of.

Which is why my forehead is nicely imprinted with marks of my palm after I read that 1 in 5 Americans believe Sun revolves around the Earth. Either their brain-attics have been cleared of any unnecessary information or they haven't yet found the doorway to it, thanks to role models like Paris Hilton.

Sadly, I don't think the 20% are anything like Sherlock Holmes.

"Date, July 7. Hum!" [SIGN]

It's now the close of the day - the first chance I've had to sit down and type out a post in quite a few days. I thought it was important that I get one in before the day ran out, as it's an auspicious occasion. Today is Triple Seven day - 07/07/07. Some may take that as a sign of luck, others may take it as an ominous portent. But Sherlockians take it for something entirely different.

For you see, it was on July 7, 1930 that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died. Which means that today is exactly 77 years since his death.

Think that's creepy? When you consider that Doyle was an ardent spiritualist and attracted to the occult, it's not unlikely that he believed in superstitions related to numbers. We know he touched on the occult/superstitious/other-worldly in The Hound of the Baskervilles, "The Devil's Foot" and "The Sussex Vampire," in which Sherlock Holmes stated, respectively:

"I have hitherto confined my investigations to this world."
"I fear that if the matter is beyond humanity it is certainly beyond me."
"The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply."

While Holmes himself was grounded in that which could be explained scientifically, it is well-known that Doyle himself fervently believed in contact with those from beyond the grave. Could it be that he'll somehow make himself known to us? Would that we were so lucky!

In the meantime, please pause a moment to consider his epitaph on his gravestone at Mindstead Lyndhurst Hants:

STEEL TRUE
BLADE STRAIGHT
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
KNIGHT
PATRIOT, PHYSICIAN & MAN OF LETTERS

We have much to thank him for today and always.