"Stern and Silent" [EMPT]

Sad news from the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and book dealers: antiquarian/rare book legend Madeleine B. Stern has passed away in New York City at the age of 95. In her obituary, she was called "a prominent rare-book dealer, biographer and literary sleuth," which gets at the heart of one of the subjects she tackled in 1953.

Sherlock Holmes: Rare-Book Collector is her cornerstone publication on Sherlock Holmes' book collecting habits. Published in 1953 by the Bibliographic Society of America, she took her literary sleuthing to heart as she applied her knowledge and love of books to the sleuth of Baker Street. Although she claimed "Sherlock Holmes was as canny and secretive in his book collecting practices as in his methods of detection," she concludes

A loving eye can restore them all: the booksellers of old, the keen-eyed detector who wanders from shop to shop in search of a quarry in calf, even the books themselves, as we brush off the dust of the past, assemble them once again, and restore them to their rightful shelves in the treasure room of Baker Street.

Madeleine Stern was as shrewd in her business acumen as she was in her bookish deductions: she partnered with her life-long friend Leona Rostenberg to run Rostenberg-Stern Rare Books. I remember the excitement I had in the fall of 2000, when I received my BSI Weekend information pack, to find that Ms. Stern would be giving the Baker Street Irregulars Distinguished Lecture for 2001. She brought Ms. Rostenberg with her and spoke to us about reconstructing Holmes' library - the process of writing the above mentioned book (the article is available in the Summer issue of the Baker Street Journal, Vol. 51, No. 2).

She said that she received many letters from major Sherlockians, including Anthony Boucher (one of writers behind the Rathbone/Bruce radio series), Vincent Starrett, and Christopher Morley, which was her favorite. She was very gracious and took the time to answer questions and sign some books. You'll see mine proudly displayed here.

The January 2001 BSI Weekend is a blur for me because that is the year I received my investiture into the group, so I hope you'll forgive my lack of additional detail. If you'd like more information on the life and career of Ms. Stern, you may see her full obituary, courtesy of the New York Times.

"He Was Known in the Trade as Black Peter" [BLAC]

If you've been following the episodes over at I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, you'll know that Peter Blau was recently a guest. Burt and I found that our conversation with Peter was so lively and so riveting that we spent over an hour on the phone with him. Not an unlikely of thing, if you've ever had the pleasure of speaking with Peter.

I've just published Part 2 of this delightful interview with Peter, where he talks about meeting Rex Stout at a BSI dinner, his own collecting habits, a bit of Sherlock Holmes on old time radio, his professional Sherlockian society and a very unique Sherlockian tradition that he instituted.

The first part of the interview gathered the most positive comments we've gotten for the show so far; I can tell you that we had even more fun and great conversation in this next installment. Head over to the site and listen for yourself. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

"I Can't Do Without You" [MAZA]

We all have someone without whom our lives would be incredibly different - someone we couldn't do without. For some it's a spouse, a lover, a close relative or a best friend who was there in our hour of need.

The latest entry in the Sherlock Holmes Music Video series is one of an emotional nature, featuring none other than the woman, and called "Here Without You."

If you are reading this in a feedreader, click here to see the video.

"I Spent An Uneasy Night" [BLAN]

I've mentioned the podcast the Radio Detective Story Hour here a couple of times before. It's one of my favorite non work-related audio programs and it's well worth checking out, if you haven't had the opportunity already.

This week, host Jim Widner continues his series of deductive reasoners, and settles on none other than...you guessed it - the master of deductions, Sherlock Holmes. The episode in question is The Singular Affair of the Uneasy Easy Chair.

In the process of setting up the show, Jim mentions a number of writers who contributed to the medium over the years in radio and print who were members of the Baker Street Irregulars. This group includes:

• Anthony Boucher ("The Valley of Fear")
• Frederic Dannay ("The Dying Detective")
• Edith Meiser ("A Fascinating and Beautiful Woman")
• Rex Stout ("The Boscombe Valley Mystery")

I'll do a future post on Edith Meiser, because she's worth noting. Dannay and Stout were very active early members of the BSI, the former being half of the team behind Ellery Queen and the latter being the creator of Nero Wolfe. And Anthony Boucher was half of the team that wrote a number of the Rathbone/Bruce radio shows in the 1940s; the 2005 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual, Once a Week in Baker Street, concerned their work. Sadly, the Annual is now out of print.

"Knowledge Which Would Astonish His Professors" [STUD]

It seems that every time I turn around, I'm hearing of Sherlock everywhere lately. In addition to popular culture references which continue to abound, there are a number of Sherlockians who are doing their part to keep the Master's memory green and are getting some well-deserved press in return.

In particular, two of my good friends and fellow Baker Street Irregulars have recently appeared in print for their respective activities.

The first, Al Silverstein ("Professor Presbury") is a longtime member of the Cornish Horrors of Rhode Island and a recently retired professor of psychology. He is using his free time to give lectures about Sherlock Holmes. He recently spoke at Yale and at the Cranston Historical Society, which was highlighted in A truly Sherlockian evening by the Providence Journal. I've had the pleasure of hearing Al speak many times - it is an experience well worth having - and of enjoying humorous and intellectual conversations with him during many society events. It's part of what makes the game so fun for me.

Similarly, Andy Solberg ("Professor Coram"), who is the current Gasogene of Watson's Tin Box of Ellicott City, was interviewed for The Baker Street Irregulars at home in county, which also included quotes from Paul Churchill ("Corot") and Cliffe Hichar. The society was noted for it laid back and comfortable attitude as well as its scholarship. Under Andy's guidance, WTB has sponsored an essay contest to encourage middle school children to read the Sherlock Holmes stories. Although Andy is a relatively recent friend acquired from my BSI Weekend attendance over the last decade or so, he's one of my closest Sherlockian friends and advisors. His work with his local school system is simply great stuff and he's quite the scholar, as his Baker Street Journal articles prove.

It's entirely coincidental, but worthy of note nonetheless: these two articles appeared on the Web on the same day, and both of these BSIs are named after professors in the Canon. And what's more: each of them has been a co-author of an article in the Baker Street Journal that has won a Morley Montgomery Award for the best piece of Sherlockian scholarship in the BSJ for that year.

I'm sure there are lots of these types of activities going on around the world. Do you know of anyone doing something? Leave a comment below and tell us all about it!

"There Are No Better Instruments" [WIST]

In a sharp contrast from our previous videos, in which popular songs were put to moving images of Sherlock Holmes, this installment is purely instrumental.

In a nod to Holmes's recollection of Chopin in A Study in Scarlet ("What's that little thing of Chopin's she plays?"), here's a Chopin nocturne for piano and violin.

If you are using a feedreader and can't see the video, please click here.

"Moriarty Had Reached the Bottom of the Reichenbach Fall" [EMPT]

Moriarty himself has passed beyond the Reichenbach.

Author John Gardner, BSI ("Moriarty") has passed away at the age of 80. He died following a collapse at his home in England and his obituary is available in The Independent. Gardner was invested into the Baker Street Irregulars in 1988.

Best known for reviving the James Bond franchise in 1981 with License Renewed, he continued that success with 13 other Bond books and penned some 35 other thrillers.

His Sherlockian work, while less known than his James Bond collection, contain some intriguing contributions to the pastiche world and center on the Napoleon of Crime, Professor Moriarty. First up was The Return Of Moriarty, which looks at the organization that Professor Moriarty had built up - much like a Victorian-era godfather - but with a twist. The second was The Revenge Of Moriarty, which picked up with the Return left off.

Gardner finished the third and final volume in the series, The Redemption of Moriarty, shortly before his death. Since there has been a dispute about the publication, it's uncertain if fans of the series will ever get to see it.

You can read more about the man on his web site.