Jan 97 #1 Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press The birthday festivities in New York were pleasantly free from rain, sleet, hail, ice, and snow, and they started as usual on Thursday with informal events, but without an Aunt Clara Sing at O'Lunney,s (because by the time that Hugh O'Lunney's new premises were located it was too late to publicize a Thursday gathering, but it's likely that there will be one next year). Friday's celebrations began with the Mrs. Hudson Breakfast in the Oak Room at the Hotel Algonquin, and continued at the William Gillette Luncheon at Moran's Restaurant, where Andrew Joffe, Sarah Montague Joffe, and Paul Sin- gleton presented a new play by Andrew about what really happened when Edith Meiser persuaded William Gillette to play Sherlock Holmes on the radio in 1930. And Otto Penzler's open house at the Mysterious Bookshop was a nice opportunity for collectors to browse and buy. The Baker Street Irregulars gathered at 24 Fifth Avenue, where Ray Betzner toasted Bev Wolov as *The* Woman during the pre-dinner cocktail party (Bev then went on to dine at the Algonquin with other ladies who have received that honor), and the evenings' entertainment included the usual traditions (Bob Katz's toast to the Second Mrs. Watson may or may not have proved that there weren't any Mrs. Watsons), and a carefully orchestrated roast of Tom Stix by family, friends, and former friends (roastees are not allowed to disown family). Tom then awarded Irregular Shillings and Investitures to William J. Hyder ("A Most Valuable Institution"), Richard J. Kitts ("The Battered Tin Dis- patch-Box"), Kenneth C. Lanza ("His Last Bow"), Theodora Niver ("Carina"), Roy E. Pilot ("Chemical Laboratory of St. Barts"), Paul G. Singleton ("Cov- ent Garden"), Margaret Smedegaard ("Criterion Bar"), and Dorothy K. Stix ("Martha"). And then Tom announced that after serving as head of the BSI for eleven years, one more than he had planned, he was resigning the post and handing over the gavel to Mike Whelan. The Baskerville Bash also took place on Friday evening, at Bill's Gay 90's, in a sold-out private room and with an agenda that included papers by Linda Anderson re-telling of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" from the perspective of the curly-haired spaniel and by Peter McIntyre on substance abuse in the Canon, busking by assorted pearlie kings and queens, and an all-in perform- ance of a new dance called the Barcarena (led by Francine Kitts to the tune of "Bad Dog, No Biscuit") On Saturday morning the huckster room at the Algonquin was as usual packed with dealers who happily offered a wide variety of Sherlockian wares to a large crown of collectors who just as happily added to their collections. And Saturday afternoon's cocktail party at the National Arts Club offered attractive surroundings, fine food and drink and conversation, and brief entertainment that included David Stuart Davies' one-man reenactment of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (in only seven minutes) and a hard-fought auction that raised $2,250 for the John H. Watson Fund. And Mike Whelan presented the Morley-Montgomery Award for the best article in last year's Baker Street Journal to Philip K. Shreffler (who received an attractive certificate and a check for $500). Jan 97 #2 The festivities continued into the evening, of course, but on a more informal basis, and the Aunt Clara Sing at O'Lunney's, was devoted to raucous singing. drinks and cigars, and the usual honors to the late Bill Rabe and others uncounted (or at least unreported). And the Can- onical Capricorns toasted Sherlock Holmes and others born under that sign. And some still were partying on Sunday, here and there. And why not? Mike Whelan will use the title "Wiggins" as head of The Baker Street Irreg- ulars (as did Tom Stix); he received his Investiture ("Vincent Spaulding") in 1974, and the BSI's Two-Shilling Award in 1992, and has lived in Chicago and San Francisco and Cleveland and Indianapolis, and been active in Sher- lockian societies in all those cities, and he's been an able business man- ager of The Baker Street Journal. Mike has asked that mail concerning the BSI be sent to him at his post-office box address: Michael F. Whelan, Box 2189, Easton, MD 21601. Plan ahead: the next "Autumn in Baker Street" will be held at the Tarrytown Hllton in Tarrytown, N.Y., on Nov. 1-2. Additional details are available from Robert E. Thomalen, Highview Drive, Carmel, NY 10512 . And If you want to plan even farther ahead, "Autumn in Baker Street" will be held on Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 1998 (Bob reports with justified pride that the 1998 program lacks only two speakers to be complete). Cornelis Helling ("The Reigning Family of Holland") died on Mar. 10, 1995. He liked to explain that he had first found Sherlock Holmes in the back room of the shop of a pork-butcher, where at the age of ten or eleven he and a friend read the Canon in Dutch (and surely there could be no better place to first read "The Adventure of Black Peter"). He was an advocate, a fervent admirer of Jules Verne, and an energetic Sherlockian; he founded The Crew of the S.S. Friesland in 1952, and was a member of many other so- cieties (he received his Investiture from The Baker Street Irregulars in 1961), and he contributed to our literature from the 1940s to the 1970s on both sides of the Atlantic. Some European countries will be issuing stamps this year tied to the theme "tales of horror" (since 1997 is the bicentenary of the birth of Mary God- win, wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley and the author of FRANKENSTEIN, and the centenary of the publication of Bram Stoker's DRACULA), and Great Britain will issue a set of four stamps in May honoring (by nice coincidence) the four books featured in last year's television mini-series "Nightmare: The Birth of Victorian Horror" (the other two books being DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES). Nicola Davies kindly forwarded the report by James Mackay in The Times (Jan. 7). PRIVATE EYE: DETEKTIV-ROLLENSPIEL IM VIKTORIANISHCHEN ENGLAND is a German role-playing game created by Thilo Bayer and published by B&B Productions (Postfach 12, 74386 Talheim, Germany); the 96-page rule-book (DM 22.00) is illustrated with Sherlockian artwork, with two pages about Sherlock Holmes, and there are five adventures (#5 is "Auge um Auge" and costs DM 12.00). Okay: "Auge um Auge" is "An Eye for an Eye" and you (and your friends) will need to know German to play the games. Christian Swoboda will be happy to supply the rule-book and adventure #5 for $27.00 postpaid (currency only, please); his address is Birkengasse 68/6/19, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria. Jan 97 #3 Reported by Lisa Oldham: Laurence Jarvik's PBS (Rocklin: Forum/ Prima, 1997; 376 pp., $25.00) offers a history of the Public Broadcasting System, with a chapter on "Mobil's Masterpiece" that covers both "Masterpiece Theatre" and "Mystery!" and includes lots of behind-the- scenes gossip, some of it about Joan Wilson (who produced both series, and was Jeremy Brett's second wife, and apparently got "Mystery!" started by pirating mystery programming away from Alistair Cooke). A Sherlockian silhouette has long been used by Crime Solvers on its posters and fliers, and now it can be seen on the World Wide Web, where there's a "most wanted" site with pictures of perps and felons and such. The site URL is , and the S'ian silhouette will be found at . The trivia question was: name two actors who have played Sherlock Holmes who also have played actors who have played Sherlock Holmes (Apr 96 #2). And the answer was: Patrick Horgan (who has played Holmes and William Gill- ette) and Nicol Williamson (who has played Holmes and John Barrymore). And there is a third: Christopher Plummer, who has played Holmes and is now on tour in the one-man show "Barrymore" (written by William Luce). The play premiered at Stratford, Ontario last fall, and will be at the Mechanic The- atre in Baltimore Feb. 10 through Mar. 2, and is due on Broadway in March. "The man must have gone down like a pole-axed ox before that terrible blow." That's from "Black Peter" (other mentions of oxen, or more accurately, parts of oxen, can be found in "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Lion's Mane"). And here's our newest Lunar New Year stamp, honoring the Year of the Ox. President Clinton welcomed this year's recipients of National Medal of Arts (the government's highest honor for individual artists, writers, and schol- ars) at a White House dinner on Jan. 9, and one of the honorees was Stephen Sondheim, creator of many of the most memorable of modern musicals, and the author of the song "I Never Do Anything Twice" featured in the movie "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" (1976). Further to the mention of the upcoming exhibit "A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum" at the Baltimore Museum of Art in October (Dec 96 #2), there will be a different exhibit on "The Victorians: British Painting in the Reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)" at the National Gall- ery of Art in Washington from Feb. 16 through May 11. The latter exhibit will be the first survey of Victorian art ever mounted in the U.S., and it will be on display only in Washington. Jim Suszynski reports some things to look for: a work shirt with Scooby Doo and Shaggy in Sherlockian costume on the pocket ($38.00 at Warner Brothers stores); a British short-hair calico cat sculpted by Priscilla Hillman in Sherlockian costume made by ENESCO ($17.50); a "101 Dalmatians" Timex watch showing a dalmatian with deerstalker and magnifying glass ($39.95); and a coaster for Sherlock Holmes Best Bitter in a set of 25 British Pub Coasters from Pub World Collectibles ($7.95) (there's a Pub World Collectibles Club, The Old Coach House, 92 Lodge Road, Feltwell, Norfolk PI26 4DN, England). Jan 97 #4 FAREWELL, MY DUMMY, by Phillip and Robert King (London: B. T. Batsford, 1996; 128 pp.) is a new collection of bridge-problem pastiches similar to their earlier THE KINGS' TALES (Aug 96 #4); Holmes and Watson appear in "The London Bridge Mystery" (Jeffrey Archer, Jane Austen, and Raymond Chandler are among the authors whose styles are used in other stories). Available from Trafalgar Square, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053 (800-423-4525); $20.95 postpaid. J. D. Salinger's HAPWORTH 16, 1924 will be published next month by Orchises Press (a small press owned by an English professor at George Mason Univer- sity), and it will be Salinger's fifth book, and first new one since 1962. Actually, the story has been published once before in The New Yorker (June 19, 1965), but the reclusive author refused to allow a reprint until now. The 20,000-word story is a letter from seven-year-old Seymour Glass to his family; he's at summer camp, and young Glass writes that "my love for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ... is an absolute certainty!" For those who can cruise the web with a graphics browser: Andy Solberg has reported a web page touting the current exhibition on sea nettles at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, with a picture of the Lion's Mane; the URL is . And Willis Frick notes a home page displaying pictures of various recreations of the sitting room at 221B Baker Street, at . Karl Showler reports that he has been able to clear the waiting list for THE CASE OF THE HOLMES BEE BOOK (Sep 96 #2); this is a boxed set of Kenneth K. Clark's BEEKEEPING (1951) and a 28-page pamphlet explaining how Remsen Ten Eyck Schenck used Clark's book to create one of the most delightful of the Sherlockian bibliohoaxes. The set is available from B & K Books, Riv- erside, Newport Street, Hay-on-Wye, via Hereford HR3 5BG, England; $60.00 postpaid (checks payable to Karl Showler, please). The Emperor Napoleon III ordered the construction of the Hotel du Louvre in 1855 to accommodate visitors to the World Fair, and it was the first Grand Hotel in France; it was mentioned in "The Bruce-Partington Plans" and it is the official rendezvous for Holmesians in Paris, and it will be the focus of "L'affaire de l'Hotel du Louvre" planned by The Societe Sherlock Holmes de France for May 8-11. Details of the celebration (and it will be a grand affair indeed) are available from the society (26 avenue de la Republique, 75011 Paris. France). Slylock Fox appears in Sherlockian costume on all 90 cards (presumably re- printed from Bob Weber Jr.'s comic strip) in the box of SLYLOCK FOX BRAIN BOGGLERS (Great American Puzzle Factory #784), issued in 1996 and available in toy stores now. John McGowan notes that the Nando Times has reported that PBS has ordered eight new episodes of "Wishbone" (which may get a try-out in prime time), but there's no word on whether one of the new shows will be Sherlockian. In the meantime, fans of "The Original Cracker Jack" can check supermarket shelves for packages proclaiming that there is a "Wishbone" prize inside: there are 24 different prizes, but I don't know if one of them is S'ian). Jan 97 #5 H. R. F. Keating's CRIME & MYSTERY: THE 100 BEST BOOKS, first published in 1987 (Feb 88 #1) has been reissued in paperback (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1996; 219 pp., $9.95); Keating comments on his selections, from Edgar Allan Poe to P. D. James, and Conan Doyle is noted for THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. Brenda White and her husband Jesse Rhodes started creating Disney collectibles in 1989, and have done (very) limited editions of charger plates, pull-toys, tile table-tops, and one-of-a-kind vases. And her full-color 16" charger plate showing Ratigan (from "The Great Mouse Detective") is #7 of an edition of 10, and is available for $2,000 at The Walt Disney Gallery (attn: Antonio), 711 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022 (212-702-0702). THE BOOK OF FICTIONAL DAYS: 1997 ENGAGEMENT CALENDAR is a new project, and an intriguing one, restricted to honoring fictional events and characters rather than authors (Sherlockians may be familiar with that, of course). The calendar notes, for example, that Dec. 27 is when Commissionaire Peter- son's goose coughed up the Blue Carbuncle. $12.45 postpaid from Bob Gordon (6224 Bury Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55436); Bob will also be happy to hear from anyone who wants to nominate other fictional events, at that address or at . Bernard J. O'Heir died on Jan. 25. It was just over twenty years ago, when Bernie was a sergeant in the Air Force, that he began to focus his interest in old movies into an enthusiastic admiration of Basil Rathbone, and when he was stationed in California he interviewed many people who had known and acted with Rathbone. Bernie collected, naturally, and he pursued anything and everything related to Rathbone's stage, screen, radio, and television career. He was able to find and preserve many unique items, and he gladly shared both his discoveries and his enthusiasm with his friends and fellow- admirers of an actor who was far more than just Sherlock Holmes. Tom Rieschick's attractive Sherlockian artwork is now available on greeting cards as well as prints, and you can request his illustrated flier; his new address is 4549 Windsor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814 . "Sherlock's Secret Life" is a new play, written by Ed. Lange and scheduled at the New York State Theatre Institute in Troy, N.Y. There will be pre- view performances on Mar. 14 and 15, and the play will open on Mar. 16 and close on Mar. 26; the address of the box-office is 155 River Street, Troy, NY 12180 (518-274-3256). And there are plans for a limited run in Queens, N.Y. in April, and for a longer run at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pa., in the 1997-1998 season. Altamont's Agents have made arrangements for a theater party on Mar. 15; more information is available from Cheryl Hurd, Box 2048, Scotia, NY 12302 . David A. Bankes and Anthony R. Santoro of Christopher Newport University are guiding another tour through "Gardens, Country Houses, and Museums in England" on May 19-30, with "adventures custom-tailored for Sherlock Holmes buff" as an option; details are available from TravelMates (attn: Ginger Shriver), 12482 Warwick Boulevard, Newport News, VA 23606 Jan 97 #6 "20-100" is the cryptic title chosen for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of The Blustering Gales from the South-West and the 100th anniversary of their favorite story (which of course is "The Devil's Foot"); the celebration will be held on Mar. 22 in Burbank, and additional details are available from Paula Salo, 4421 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, CA 90505. Guernsey has issued a set of stamps that honors "100 Years of Cinema" and portrays five famous detectives: Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple, Warner Oland as Charlie Chan, Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlow, and Peter Sellers as Inspec- tor Clouseau. The mint set is offered here by Israel I. Bick (Box 854, Van Nuys, CA 91408) for $9.95; there also is a first day cover ($14.95), presentation pack ($12.95), and prestige booklet containing a competition pastiche ($29.95); plus $3.00 for shipping (credit card orders welcome). Maurice Tanner (180 Whitehorse Road, West Croydon, Surrey CR0 2LA, England) offers his own col- or-cachet first day cover of the Rathbone stamp (L9.99 postpaid in U.K. or L10.99 overseas) and a set of two different maximum cards (L6.99 or L7.99); sterling checks or money orders only, or credit cards with a 30p surcharge (an illustrated flier is available in return two IRC or a $1.00 bill). Doug Elliott reports that the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library will celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Bootmakers of Toronto with a special exhibit of original Sherlockian art by Sidney Paget, Frederic Dorr Steele, Gahan Wilson, and others, from the collections of Dr. Peter Lemiski and the Library; the exhibit will be open from June 26 to Aug. 2. THE BAKER STREET COMPANION, by Paul Lipari (Kansas City: Ariel Books, 1996; 128 pp., $3.95), is an interesting mini-book (1.9 x 2.3 inches), with brief chapters on the Canon, and Sherlockians, and Basil Rathbone; distributed by Andrew and McMeel, 4900 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64112. Best wishes to all on George Washington's Birthday (which of course we now celebrate on President's Day). A repeat question from six years back: on what date and in what year was George Washington actually born? And a few commercials: the revised 16-page list of Investitured Irregulars, Two-Shilling Awards, *The* Women, and the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes costs $1.15 postpaid. The 76-page list of 704 Sherlockian societies, with names and addresses for contacts for the 413 active societies, costs $3.80 postpaid. A run of address labels for 345 individual contacts (recommended if you wish to avoid making duplicate mailings to people who are contacts for more than one society) costs $10.35 postpaid. Checks payable to Peter E. Blau, please. For the electronically enabled, the 16-page list of Irregulars and others is available from me as e-mail (no charge), and both lists are available at Willis Frick's web site at . The Spermaceti Press: Peter E. Blau, 3900 Tunlaw Road NW #119, Washington, DC 20007-4830 (telephone: 202-338-1808) (Internet: pblau@capaccess.org) Feb 97 #1 Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press The question was: on what date and in what year was George Washington born? And the answer is: Feb. 11, 1731. Well, yes, his official birthday now is Feb. 22, but that's because Britain in 1752, adopted the Gregorian calendar in all of their possessions, including the American colonies, and there was a loss of eleven days, and Feb. 11 became Feb. 22. And yes, we celebrated the bicentennial of his birth in 1932, and you might think that means that he was born in 1732, but the change to the Gregorian calendar also involved shifting the start of the new year from Mar. 25 back to Jan. 1. And why is this of significance to Sherlockians? "What was the month? The sixth from the first." So the first month when the Musgrave ritual was created wasn't January, and the sixth from the first wasn't July. Mollie Panter-Downes died on Jan. 22. She wrote a "Letter from London" for The New Yorker for 45 years, discussing British society and politics and culture, and her report on the Sherlock Holmes Exhibition at Abbey House (in the July 7, 1951, issue) offered both splendid reporting and delightful reading. For those who enjoyed Derek Jacobi as Alan Turing in "Breaking the Code" on "Mobil Masterpiece Theatre" on PBS-TV on Feb. 2 (and for those who may want to watch it when it repeats): Richard Johnson played Dillwyn Knox, the sec- ond of the four Knox brothers (Ronald, the founder of our grand Sherlockian game, was the youngest). Dilly Knox was recruited by Naval Intelligence as a cryptographer in 1915, and continued that work in the Foreign Office, and was Turing's superior at Bletchley Park when the British broke the Enigma cipher. Penelope Fitzgerald's THE KNOX BROTHERS (London: Macmillan, 1977) is a fine biography of all four brothers. I had a bit of fun during the birthday festivities in January presenting people with a cultural-literacy test, showing them a ring that video shops are giving to customers who buy a new film. And about half (but only half) of those tested recog- nized the Phantom's death's-head ring, and the symbol feared by evildoers everywhere, all those years in the comic strip, and now in the movie. But that wasn't the cultural-literacy test; try your hand at the real question: what was the symbol on the Phantom's other ring? Leonard Nimoy played Sherlock Holmes on educational television in "The In- terior Motive" in 1975, long before VCRs were as widely owned and used as they are now; I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has a recording of this show. WHICH WAY DID THE BICYCLE GO? is an imaginative collection of mathematical mysteries by Joseph D. E. Konhauser, Dan Velleman, and Stan Wagon (Washing- ton: Mathematical Association of America, 1996; 235 pp., $24.95). And the first problem in the book is a discussion of a real Canonical mystery (from "The Priory School"): how do you tell from a set of bicycle tracks which way the bicycle was going? It turns out that there is a mathematical ans- wer to the question, and it's explained neatly in the book (which also has some nice Sherlockian cover art by Max Carl Winkler). $29.50 postpaid from the MAA, Box 91112, Washington DC 20090 (800-331-1162). Feb 97 #2 Herb Caen died on Feb. 1. He was in many ways the ultimate San Franciscan (although he was born in Sacramento), and began his journalism career as a columnist on his high-school newspaper; he started his six-days-a-week column in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1938, and when he retired last year, 75,000 people attended a farewell party arranged by the city. He loved to write about his city and its people, and once in a while about the local Sherlockians: on Jan. 4, 1996, he tipped his hat to Ray de Groat ("exiled to Seattle") and praised his Christmas toast, "Geese on earth, goosewill to all." And the answer is: the symbol on the Phantom's other ring was the symbol of his protection, which was a nice thing to have, whether in the jungle or elsewhere. Chrys Kegley knew, and knew as well that Maggie Schpak, of the Curious Collectors of Baker Street, designed both rings worn by the Phantom in the film. Henry Irving claimed credit for suggesting that William Gillette bring his play "Sherlock Holmes" to London in 1901, and earlier achieved considerable success playing Corporal Brewster in "Waterloo" (dramatized by Conan Doyle from his short story "A Straggler of '15"); the Lyceum (well known to those who have read "The Sign of the Four" was his theater, and the restaurant in the newly renovated theater is named in his honor. And British enthusiasts have founded The Irving Society, there are four meetings planned for 1997, and a twice-a-year newsletter; membership costs L15.00 a year (in sterling only, please) to the society, c/o Brien Chitty, 69 Harcourt Street, Newark- on-Trent, Notts. NG24 1RG, England. The current issue of Anglofile reports that Britain's year-end honors list included a baronetcy for composer Andrew Lloyd Webber; his musical "Cats" (1981), was adapted from T. S. Eliot's OLD POSSUM'S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS and features the song "Macavity". Anglofile is a monthly newsletter with detailed coverage of British entertainment; Box 33515, Decatur, GA 30033 ($12.00 a year). "Time Exposures" is an interesting Canadian television series (with 26 30- minutes episodes) about a modern family who wind up time-traveling through history; it first aired in 1989 on CTV, and it's now running on WAM! cable (a children's network owned by Encore), and in three episodes they have an encounter with Sherlock Holmes (played by Philip Linfield); watch for the three S'ian episodes on Mar. 15, 22, and 29. If any of you get WAM! cable, please record the shows off-the-air. Plan ahead: the seventh annual Mid-Atlantic Mystery Book Fair and Conven- tion will be held at the Holiday Inn (Independence Mall) in Philadelphia on Oct. 3-5. Membership is limited to 400 and full registration costs $50.00, and you can write to Deen Kogan, Detecto-Mysterioso Books, 507 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147. You can also plan well ahead: Bouchercon 29 will be held in Philadelphia on Oct. 1-4, 1998, with Deen in charge of arrangements (she has done it before and done it well); Bouchercon is the world mystery convention and it's a grand affair indeed, and it will be at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza in Philadelphia, and full registration is $100 (checks payable to Bouchercon 29, same address). Feb 97 #3 "The hospital's head pediatric nurse is also an ex-prostitute whose former madam turns up dead after revealing that she's going to publish a tell-all book" was the TV Guide synopsis for "Diagnosis Murder" on CBS-TV on Jan. 9, and it's well worth watching for when it runs again: Dick Van Dyke takes a cue from a Sherlock Holmes story in solving a mystery, and says, "I only steal from the best." A bibliographic query about the first American edition of THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1892): is there a copy of the first edition (with the date 1892 on the title page) that does not have the misprint "if had" (rather than "if I had") on page 65, line 4? The mistake was corrected in later editions (which have an undated title page), but one sometimes sees the misprint cited as distinguishing the first issue of the first edition. But if the mistake wasn't corrected in the first edition of the book, there would be only one issue. Does anyone have a second issue? The Torists International are celebrating their tenth anniversary this year and they have an imaginative schedule for those in or near Chicago: visits to the Chicago Stock Exchange in March, Sportsman's Park in June, the Adler Planetarium in September, and the Chicago Athletic Association in December. Information about the society and its meetings is available from Claudine Kastner, 810 Burning Bush Lane, Mount Prospect, IL 60056. Sheldon Wesson died on Dec. 12. He was for many years director of press relations for the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington, and the poet laureate of The Silver Blaze (Southern Division), and an enthusiastic printer with a basement full of hand presses and type. His scholarship and wit were a mainstay of The Red Circle, and some fine examples of both will be found in the pages of The Baker Street Journal. NIGHTMARE: THE BIRTH OF HORROR, by Christopher Frayling (London: BBC Books, 1996; 224 pp., L17.99), was published to accompany the BBC mini-series that was broadcast here in Oct. 1996, and it's far more than merely a repeat of the material in the television shows: Frayling explores FRANKENSTEIN, DRAC- ULA, DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, and THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, and offers new information on the genesis of the Dartmoor tale, and some splendid il- lustrations, including (for the first time) the first page of Chapter XI of the manuscript, and B. Fletcher Robinson's inscription in the copy of the first edition of the book he presented to coachman Harry Baskerville "with apologies for using the name!" Forecast: THE FINAL ADVENTURES OF SOLAR PONS, from Arkham House in July, edited and introduced by Peter Ruber, including some of Derleth's own un- published Solar Pons stories; and THE SOLAR PONS ENCYCLOPEDIA, by Robert Brooks, from Arkham House in November. THE SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTED EDITION was first published by John Murray and Jonathan Cape in 1974 in nine volumes, with introductions by authors such as Eric Ambler and Kingsley Amis, and it has been reissued by Leopard in Britain at L2.99 or L3.99 per volume; Geoff Jeffrey has noted that all nine volumes are available here ($7.95 each) from Edward R. Hamilton, Falls Village, CT 06031-5000 (and the Hamilton catalog of discount and bargain books has many other Sherlockian titles). Feb 97 #4 New from the Folio Society: SHERLOCK HOLMES: SELECTED STORIES, selected by Joe Whitlock Blundell and with an introduction by Richard Lancelyn Green, with 11 of the stories and illustrations by Francis Mosley (reprinted from the set of the complete short stories published by the Society in 1993). Available to members of the Society for $34.95; if you'd like to join, the address is: 2323 Randolph Avenue, Avenel, NJ 07001 (800-353-0700). There also is an exhibition honoring "Folio Society Fifty Years 1947-1997" at the King's Library (at the British Library in Great Russell Street), and an attractive poster designed by John Lawrence that shows many of the char- acters in the Society's book, including (of course) Sherlock Holmes. Washington Post columnist Bill Gold died on January 26th. It was on Sept. 13, 1949, that he noted in his column "The District Line" that Karen Kruse was hoping to find some fellow-Sherlockians in Washington ("for the benefit of the younger set," he noted, "it might be well to explain that Holmes was a sort of script writer for Basil Rathbone"); three people responded to her call, and the four of them founded The Red Circle of Washington. Cerebro (Box 327, East Prospect, PA 17317 (800-695-2235) continues to offer a wide variety of attractive cigar box labels; their new catalog includes a pictorial Sherlock Holmes outer label ($30.00) and a Sherlock Holmes inner label top sheet ($8.00). The proprietor of the Pequod Press reports that THE ADVENTURE OF THE WOODEN NEZ PERCE embroils Sherlock Loams in a mystery surrounding an effigy of the legendary Chief Joseph (and that no animals were harmed in its writing or production; hand-set and printed, as always, and available for $40 (cloth) or $20 (paper) from John Ruyle, 521 Vincente Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707. Richard J. Sveum, who is president of The Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University in Minnesota, was in New York for the birth- day festivities and for a discussion of the status of and plans for their John Bennett Shaw and other collections. Many Sherlockians have donated to the Library, but continued support is always welcome; the Friends plan to publish a quarterly newsletter, with reports on the collection and on some of its interesting material, and the first issue is due this spring. If you are not already on their mailing list, you are invited to write to him at: 466 O. M. Wilson Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 . Jack Kerr spotted a second pastiche by Michael Mallory, "The Adventure of the Glass House" (told by Watson's wife Amelia), in the fall 1996 issue of Murderous Intent (Box 5947, Vancouver, WA 98668); $5.00. Another story, by Richard A. Lupoff, is illustrated by Stu Shiffman, who has drawn a Sherlock Holmes PEZ dispenser (and perhaps there will be a real one, some day). Megan Follows has recorded Laurie R. King's A LETTER OF MARY on two audio- cassettes in a set now available from Durkin Hayes ($16.95), and the read- ing is a fine one (THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE and A MONSTROUS REGIMENT OF WOMEN are also available); if you can't find them at your local shop, the address for Durkin Hayes Audio is 1 Colomba Drive, Niagara Falls, NY 14305. Feb 97 #5 This year's program for University Vacations includes "Light upon the Moor" at Brasenose College (Oxford), Devon, and Corn- wall on Aug. 17-27, with a week of lectures and a stay at the Manor House Hotel, with due attention to Arthur Conan Doyle. 10461 N.W. 26th Street, Miami, FL 33172 (800-792-0100) . George B. Koelle died on Feb. 1. He was a distinguished scientist, and an inventor of electron-microscope methods that became a standard in the field of pharmacology, and served as chairman of the department at the University of Pennsylvania from 1957 to 1981; he was elected to the National Academy of Science in 1972. George also was a Master Copper Beechsmith of The Sons of the Copper Beeches, and used his medical expertise in writing his essay on poisons in the Canon for the society's LEAVES FROM THE COPPER BEECHES. The Pleasant Places of Florida will celebrate their 25th anniversary with a "Sunshine State Sherlockian Scion Symposium" at the Dolphin Beach Resort in St. Pete Beach on May 2-4. Write to Carl L. Heifetz, 3693 Siena Lane, Palm Harbor, FL 34685 <72642.3220@compuserve.com> for more information. Spotted by Victoria Robinson: a German hand-painted por- celain Sherlock Holmes stein (with full-relief calabash pipe, pipe pewter thumblift, flat pewter lid under the deerstalker hat), 6.75" high, $130.00 plus $6.00 ship- ping, in the new catalog from The Cottage Shop, 11 Largo Drive South, Stamford, CT 06907 (800-965-7467). If your local pipe shop stocks Dr. Grabow pipes and ac- cessories, you can ask for a copy of the small booklet (with nice Sherlockian artwork) called "The Case of the New Pipe Smoker" (noted recently by eagle-eyed Siobhan McElduff). Richard M. Caplan's "DR. WATSON, MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES" (Shelburne: Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 1996; 171 pp., $24.00) offers a fine demonstration of how much fun a Sherlockian can have mixing the Canon with an area of exper- tise: Caplan's area of expertise is dermatology, and he has over the years discussed that aspect of the Sherlock Holmes stories in articles in medical journals and in The Baker Street Journal, all reprinted here. But there is much more in this book: a series of letters from written by Young Stamford to his wife, from 1882 to 1913, and tells some fine stories about his trav- els and the people he meets (including Holmes and Watson, more than once). The publisher's address is Box 204, Shelburne, ON L0N 1S0, Canada; $27.00 postpaid. Reported: Martin Gardner's essay on "The Irrelevance of Conan Doyle" (first published in 1976 in BEYOND BAKER STREET: A SHERLOCKIAN ANTHOLOGY) has been reprinted in his THE NIGHT IS LARGE: COLLECTED ESSAYS, 1938-1995 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996). Mary Beth Myles spotted a Russ Teddy Town "Sherlock" plastic bear in S'ian costume, 5" high, holding a pipe and a magnifying glass, it's item 13739 from Russ Berrie and Co. (Oakland, N.J.), and it cost $10.50 at her local Hallmark shop (but note that it's not a Hallmark item). Feb 97 #6 TERCER ANUARIO DE LA SOCIEDAD DE MENDIGOS AFICIONADOS is the third casebook of The Amateur Mendicant Society of Madrid, and nicely done, with 296 pages of Sherlockian scholarship and pastiches by members of the society, with an interesting exploration of "El Sultan de Turquia" and a section of studies devoted to "La Finca "Copper Beeches'" and much more. It's all in Spanish; $20.00 postpaid (in currency only, please) from Miguel Gonzales-Pedel, San Vidal 15, 28017 Madrid, Spain. Further to the earlier mention of Ed. Lange's new play "Sherlock's Secret Life" (Jan 97 #5): if you can't get to Troy in March, there will be one performance of the play at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, Queens, N.Y., on Apr. 11; the box-office telephone number is 718- 366-7400 ext 246. Leo Rosten died on Feb. 19. He was teaching English to immigrants when he met the man who inspired a 1935 series of New Yorker stories called "The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N" (which later became a series of books and a Broadway musical). His classic THE JOYS OF YIDDISH (1689) still is a standard reference work, and in HOORAY FOR YIDDISH! (1982) he discussed the used of the word "bread" as a substitute for "money" (also noting the more straightforward English, "as in Conan Doyle, say: A blackmailer tells Sher- lock Holmes, 'Here's how I make my humble bread.'"). And his novels SILKY! (1979) and KING SILKY! (1980) starred private investigators Sidney Pincus and Michael X. Clancy, operating as Watson and Holmes, Inc. CSA Telltapes (101 Camberlayne Road, London NW10 3ND, England) has issued a two-audiocassette set VINTAGE MURDER STORIES (available earlier as CLASSIC TALES OF MURDER) with five stories (including Conan Doyle's "B.24") read by Brian Cox; L9.49 postpaid (credit-card orders welcome). Cynthia Wein (65 Briarwood Lane, Plainview, NY 11803) offers an artistic hand-painted Sherlockian design (in black on a 7.5 in. red circle) on short-sleeved white T-shirts ($26.00), long-sleeved white or gray T-shirts ($29.00), and white or gray sweatshirts ($34.00), in sizes M/L/XL (add $3.00 for XXL); all prices postpaid. If you're considering a summer holiday in England: The Sherlock Holmes of London's East Coast Expedition is scheduled for July 4-6, with a tour of the countryside where the German spy-master Von Bork lived in the years before the outbreak of war in 1914. Additional information is available from Margaret Bird, 193 Richmond Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 5DD, England. The Practical, But Limited, Geologists will meet for dinner in honor of the world's first forensic geologist on Apr. 9, at Tony's Wine Warehouse, 1111 Oak Lawn Avenue, in Dallas, for a five-course ten-wine dinner and the usual toasts, and the price is $50.00 a person; if you would like to join us for the festivities, please contact Don Hobbs at: Box 36329, Dallas, TX 75235 . And if you'd like an excuse for a visit to Oklahoma, I will lead the first-ever geological expedition to the summit of Holmes Peak (near Tulsa) on Apr. 12; Staff Davis (2144 North Elwood Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74106) is the ring-leader of The Afghanistan Perceivers of Tulsa. Feb 97 #7 And are you wondering where Leo Rosten found that quote in the Canon? He didn't; it's his humorous (but plausible) invention. Some invented quotes are more plausible than others: William Safire, in his column "On Language" in the N.Y. Times Magazine (Feb. 16), notes a comment made by Neil Simon on one of the many meanings of "Aha!" as "when you know something but find it unnecessary to share, as for example, Sherlock Holmes picking up an object and exclaiming, 'Aha!' to which Watson asks, 'What is it Holmes?' 'I'll let you know when we get to Blenheim Castle. Quickly, Watson. To Victoria Station.'" And yes, Neil Simon got "Blenheim Castle" wrong, too; it's Blenheim Palace, built by Sherlock Holmes/John Neville/John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (and trivia experts know that the first "Masterpiece Theatre" series was "The First Churchills", not "The Forsyte Saga"). The Mycroft Holmes Society celebrated their 25th anniversary last year, and have now celebrated that celebration with A SILVER JUBILEE: 25 YEARS OF THE MYCROFT HOLMES SOCIETY OF SYRACUSE, edited by Joseph A. Coppola, and offer- ing a collection of announcements, articles, papers, reminiscences, poetry, and puzzles from the society's archives. 195 pages (cloth-bound); $27.24 postpaid to U.S. addresses ($31.00 elsewhere), from Joseph A. Coppola, 103 Kenny Street, Fayetteville, NY 13066. Joe also reports that sets of three commemorative covers with the official USPS postmark are available; $5.00 postpaid. Michael Atkinson's THE SECRET MARRIAGE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (Dec 96 #8) has been nominated for a Mystery Writers of America "Edgar" for Best Critical/ Biographical Work. The Beeman's Christmas Annual for 1996 offers 40 pages of scholarship (and a few advertisements), including William R. Cochran's interesting reminis- cences on society history, and Brad Keefauver's imaginative explanation of why the empty house was so conveniently vacant. $10.00 postpaid from The Occupants of the Empty House (105 Wilcox, Ziegler, IL 62999). MURDER, MRS. HUDSON, by Sydney Hosier (New York: Avon Books, 1997; 210 pp., $5.50) is a sequel to his ELEMENTARY, MRS. HUDSON (Apr 96 #6); this time Emma is hired by journalist-and-would-be-politician Winston Churchill to find, follow, and thwart an international terrorist and assassin. Emma is again assisted by a friend's powers of astral projection, and by Holmes' apparent willingness to do without a housekeeper. Jim Suszynski notes that the May issue of Cracked has a small illustration of Sherlock Holmes by John Severin (in the last panel of the spoof "Goose- dumps"). COMMANDING VIEWS FROM THE EMPTY HOUSE: COLLECTED WRITINGS BY THE OCCUPANTS OF THE EMPTY HOUSE, edited by William R. Cochran and Gordon R. Speck (Indi- anapolis: Gasogene Book, 1996; 192 pp., $18.75), is just what the subtitle states; the best papers from the society's 16 years of monthly meetings are scholarly, unscholarly, and occasionally scandalous, and there's a reprint of the script for Lee Eric Shackleford's two-act play "Holmes and Watson". $21.70 postpaid from the publisher (Box 68308, Indianapolis, IN 46268. Feb 97 #8 Angela Lansbury received a special life achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild on Feb. 22, and a tribute narrated by Glenn Close, who recalled that she was acting on Broadway in "The Crucifer of Blood" when she first met Lansbury, who in 1979 was starring in "Sweeney Todd" (and each night Close was able to get to the other theater in time to watch the end of "Sweeney Todd"). Close had an added incentive, of course: she was dating Lansbury's co-star Len Cariou. Reported by Jack Kerr: SCI-FI PRIVATE EYE, edited by Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg (New York: Roc, 1997; $5.99), with reprints of Poul An- derson's "The Martian Crown Jewels" and Philip Jose Farmer's "A Scarletin Study". Scott Monty finds imaginative venues for meetings of The Bull-Terriers: the Apr. 20 dinner will be held at The Castle at Boston University; details on the meetings are available from Scott (1836 Columbia Road #2, South Boston, MA 02127) . Luci Zahray has found an amusing Sherlockian poster and bookmarks in a new catalog from Upstart, Box 800, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 (800-448-4887); the bookmarks cost $6.25 for a package of 200, but if you want just one, send a #10 SASE to Luci (685 Marylane Drive, Holland, MI 49423. Luci also reports a new catalog from Dale Seymour Publications, Box 5026, White Plains, NY 10602 (800-872-1100), with Sherlockian artwork on the cov- ers of two books by Wade H. Sherard III: LOGIC NUMBER PROBLEMS (for grades 7-12) and LOGIC GEOMETRY PROBLEMS (for grades 9-12); $10.50 each. C. Frederick Kittle's "There's More to Doyle Than Holmes!" in the winter 1997 issue of The Pharos offers a fine overview of ACD's life and career; spotted by Bob Katz. The magazine is published by the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (525 Middlefield Road #130, Menlo Park, CA 94025). Carolyn Hoehn reports that the Public Domain Players are performing William Gillette's "Sherlock Holmes" in Austin, closing on Apr. 5. The box-office address is 807 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701 (512-474-6202). More and more people are hearing about the Irregulars; Tom and Dorothy Stix report that they had a phone call recently from someone who wanted to know if they would like to buy some irregular jeans. Further to the item about the set of stamps issued by Guernsey (Jul 97 #6), Gordon Palmer notes that the stamp that shows Warner Oland as Charlie Chan actually shows Warner Oland as Fu Manchu (in "Daughter of the Dragon"). THE JEWELLED PEACOCK OF PERSIA, by Jake and Luke Thoene (Nashville: Moor- ings/Ballantine, 1996; 155 pp., $5.95), is a nicely-written juvenile, about three of Sherlock Holmes' young street-urchin assistants pursuing a case of their own; it's the third in a "Baker Street Mysteries" series (the others are THE MYSTERY OF THE YELLOW HANDS and THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA). The Spermaceti Press: Peter E. Blau, 3900 Tunlaw Road NW #119, Washington, DC 20007-4830 (telephone: 202-338-1808) (Internet: pblau@capaccess.org) Mar 97 #1 Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press Kathleen A. Shiel notes that there will be Sherlockian programming at the Fantasticon U.K. convention in Harrowgate on May 24-26, 1997. Two Watsons will be participating: Edward Hardwicke (from the Granada television ser- ies) and Michael Williams (from the BBC radio series). Additional details are available from Catherine Richardson (38 Planetree Avenue, Fenham, New- castle upon Tyne NE4 9TH, England); the convention's web-site is at . A moment of silence, please, for Sherlock H. Lincoln, who died aged 77 (of cancer of the stomach and liver) in Pittsfield, Mass., on Feb. 5, 1895. He was a farmer from Plainfield, Mass. It's unlikely that Brad Keefauver wrote all of the material in the 32 pages of the first issue of The Holmes & Watson Report, since one of the putative authors is known to be armed and dangerous, but it isn't at all surprising that he includes a staff guitarist on the masthead. And a voice of sanity, but no one familiar with Brad's work would take that seriously. $14.00 in North America for six issues a year, or $20.00 elsewhere; Brad's address is 1421 West Shenandoah Drive, Peoria, IL 61614. Simon Callow's excellent biography ORSON WELLES: THE ROAD TO XANADU (Apr 96 #1) has been reissued as a paperback (New York: Penguin USA, 1997; 680 pp., $14.95). Reported: HOUDINI!!!: THE CAREER OF EHRICH WEISS, by Kenneth Silverman (New York: HarperCollins, 1996; 465 pp., $35.00); a new biography (and the three exclamation points really do appear in the title), with some discussion of the relationship between Houdini and Conan Doyle. Thanks to all who reported portraits of Holmes and Watson on the cover of the Mar. 1997 issue of the TV Guide Crossword Puzzle Book (devoted to TV detective puzzles, and with some Sherlockian clues in the puzzles). Fans of Christopher Lee's will want to watch him as the sinister Grand Mas- ter of the Templars in a new BBC/A&E six-hour dramatization of Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe" on A&E cable on Apr. 20-22 (with a repeat on Apr. 25-26). Reported by Anglofile (a monthly newsletter with detailed coverage of Brit- ish entertainment); Box 33515, Decatur, GA 30033 ($12.00 a year). Edward Hardwicke is splendid as always reading four CLASSIC DETECTIVE STOR- IES ("The Dying Detective" and tales by Sapper, G. K. Chesterton, and Edgar Wallace) on two audiocassettes in a boxed set issued in 1992, and Patrick Malahyde does an excellent job with four CLASSIC RAILWAY MURDERS (by Baron- ess Orczy, Maurice Leblanc, Victor Whitechurch and E. Conway, and Freeman Wills Crofts) on two audiocassettes, and Brian Cox also performs well on VINTAGE MURDER STORIES [issued earlier as CLASSIC TALES OF MURDER] (Conan Doyle's "B.24" and stories by P. C. Wren, Arnold Bennett, Jack London, Rob- ert Barr, and Sapper). Each set is L9.49 postpaid from CSA Telltapes (101 Camberlayne Road, London NW10 3ND, England); credit-card orders accepted. And Tangled Web Audio offers CLASSIC RAILWAY MURDERS for $20.45 postpaid; 3380 Sheridan Drive #167, Amherst, NY 14226 (800-336-5746). Mar 97 #2 Irene Mikhlin has uncovered a Russian parody SHERLOCK HOLMES I VCE-VCE-VCE, by Jack Kent, illustrated by Nikolai Lebedev (Mos- cow: MiK, 1994); the title is translated (roughly) as "Sherlock Holmes and Practically Everybody" and Holmes and Watson (and Miss Marple, Nero Wolfe, Inspector Maigret, Perry Mason, Father Brown, and others) find themselves in a castle out on the moors, defending themselves against a murderer who is killing them off, one by one. Elizabeth Kastor reported in the Washington Post (Mar. 1) on a new series of "Smelly Old History" books written by Oxford University history profess- or Mary Dobson and due next month in Great Britain from the Oxford Univer- sity Press. They are scratch-and-sniff books intended to make history more interesting to kids. ROMAN AROMAS, TUDOR ODORS, and VICTORIAN VAPORS will each have five scratch-and-sniff panels (head-on-a-stake, presumably one of the Tudor odors, is described by Kastor as part overripe meat, part glue), and two of the Victorian vapors will be: machine oil and urine. David Stuart Davies' BENDING THE WILLOW: JEREMY BRETT AS SHERLOCK HOLMES (Chester: Calabash Press, 1996; 192 pp., L19.99) is a splendid tribute to the actor and to the Granada series and the people who worked on it; there are many grand stories about how the series was conceived and brought to the screen, about problems and resolutions, about successes and occasional failures, all told by an author who is a fine writer and who talked often with those who worked on the series. Available from the publisher (Box 1360, Ashcroft, BC V0K 1A0, Canada) ; US $35.75 postpaid (credit-card orders welcome). Connie Steffan reports a new Sherlock Holmes hand-painted pewter thimble (with a lift-off hat) in a new catalog from Gimbel & Sons Country Store (Box 56, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538); $19.95. Karl and Betty Showler, whose interest in all things related to bees and beekeeping led to their THE CASE OF THE HOLMES BEE BOOK (Jan 97 #4), have also laid in a supply of THE OXFORD SHERLOCK HOLMES vol- ume of HIS LAST BOW (in which Holmes' apiculture is mentioned); if you need only the one volume (in cloth), it costs $15.00 postpaid (checks payable to Karl Showler, please) from B & K Books, Riverside, Newport Street, Hay-on- Wye, via Hereford HR3 5BG, England. Hugh Leonard's play "The Mask of Moriarty" premiered in Dublin in 1985 with Tom Baker as Holmes, and Paxton Whitehead starred in the play in Williams- town, Mass. in 1994. And Al JaCoby reports that Whitehead will do the role again at the Globe Theater in San Diego from Sept. 14 to Oct. 25. The box- office address is Box 2171, San Diego, CA 92112 (619-239-2255). The exhibition of "The Victorians: British Painting in the Reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)" at the National Gallery of Art in Washington is fine indeed; it's the first major survey of Victorian art ever mounted in the U.S. and it will be on display only in Washington (through May 11). It is interesting to see the best artists of the era, from Turner to Whistler, and the way the way they reflected the culture that surrounded them. And there a bit of minor Sherlockiana: a mention of Conan Doyle and "A Study in Scarlet" in the chronology of Victorian Britain in the exhibition brochure. Mar 97 #3 The first issue of "Le registre de l'hotel Dulong" has arrived from Sylvain Policard, with four pages of Sherlockian news from the Lyonnaise branch of La Quincaillerie Franco-Midland (including an arti- cle about the meeting between Lyon notable Dr. Edmond Locard and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle); you need to read French, but free copies are available from Sylvain Policard (2 rue Jean-Noel, Lyon VIe, France). David L. Hammer is a stamp collector as well as a Sherlockian cicerone, and two of his pastiches have been reprinted from MY DEAR WATSON: BEING THE AN- NALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1995) in The American Philatelist, Nov. 1996 and Mar. 1997; Box 8000, State College, PA 16803 ($2.25 each). Sorry about that: there was a typo in my (Feb 97 #3) query about the first issue of the first American edition of THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES). The first issue (dated 1892 on the title page) has a misprint "if had" on page 65, line 4; and later issues (without the date 1892 on the title page) have "if he had" on page 65, line 4. And so far no one has reported a copy with the date 1892 on the title page and "if he had" on page 65, line 4 (so the date on the title page will suffice to identify the first edition). Great Britain has issued a booklet of stamps showing ten flowers drawn by the best of the nation's classic botanical illustrators, including an iris drawn by G. D. Ehret (who was elected a Fellow of the Royal Soci- ety in 1757); it's an English Iris (*Iris latifolia*) not the Duke of Balmoral's Iris, but it will do until someone issues a stamp showing a horse named Iris. Brian Stableford's THE HUNGER AND ECSTASY OF VAMPIRES (Shingletown: Mark V. Ziesing Books, 1996; 207 pp., $25.00) is an imaginative tale of time travel and vampires, involving Count Dracula, H. G. Wells, Nikola Tesla, Sir Will- iam Crookes, M. P. Shiel, and others (who include an unnamed detective who lives in Baker Street, and his unnamed doctor friend). Available from the publisher (Box 76, Shingletown, CA 96088); $29.00 postpaid (a limited and signed edition costs $64.00 postpaid). Further to the review of Richard M. Caplan's new book (Feb 97 #5), an arti- cle about him and his chronic condition ("Sherlockianism") written by Lynda Leidiger appears in the spring 1997 issue of the Iowa Alumni Quarterly (100 Alumni Center, Iowa City, IA 52242). "The Holmes Brothers are one of my favorite bands!" someone posted recently to the newsgroup alt.fan.holmes. And the Holmes Brothers have been playing blues and gospel for more than 30 years, in New York and on tour; they are Sherman and Wendell Holmes, and they've been recording since 1989, and they wrote the soundtrack for the film "Lotto Land" (1995), and their new album is "Promised Land" (Rounders 2142), reviewed recently in People magazine as being "the real article: rugged, honest and undeniably soulful." BBC Radio/BDD Audio now have eight two-cassette sets of the Merrison/Will- iams radio series in the shops: three volumes of MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES ($15.99 each), three vols. of THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES ($16.99 each), and two vols. of ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES ($16.99 each). Mar 97 #4 Kiwi Carlisle notes that the St. Louis Art Museum is celebrat- ing Italian art, and that an exhibit on "In the Light of Italy: Corot and Early Plein-Air Painting" includes the "View at Tivoli" by Claude Joseph Vernet [grand-father of Sherlock Holmes' granduncle Horace Vernet]; the exhibit closes on May 18. Alfred Sheinwold died on Mar. 8. He began playing bridge "to escape dull philosophy lectures" while a student at City College of New York, and went on to become one of the best players in the world. He wrote 13 best-sell- ing books on the game, and his syndicated column "Sheinwold on Bridge" ran in more than 200 newspapers (and for more than 25 years he enjoyed includ- ing Sherlock Holmes in occasional bridge columns). The Reichenbach Irregulars will convene the first Sherlock Holmes Symposium ever held in Switzerland, at Wartensee Castle near Rorschach, on Lake Con- stance, on Sept. 12-14. This will be an international affair, and details are available from Marcus Geisser, 40 avenue de la Gare, CH 1003 Lausanne, Switzerland . The Northern Musgraves will celebrate their tenth anniversary at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire on Aug. 22-24. Arthur Conan Doyle was at the school 1870 to 1875, and there are echoes of the school to be found in the Canon. The weekend will includes talks and a dramatic presentation, and additional details are available from Christine Fell, 13 Greavestown Lane, Lea, Pres- ton, Lancs. PR2 1PD, England. Dave Galerstein reports that anyone who missed the Feb. 1997 issue of His- toric Traveler with the article on Sherlockian sites in England (Dec 96 #1) can order it using their toll-free number (800-829-9555); $5.00. Some statistics from the U.S. Postal Service, which in 1996 handled 43% of the world's mail; Japan, the second largest carrier of cards and letters, handled 6%. In 1966 the U.S.P.S. processed 182.7 billion pieces of mail; our 32c first-class rate is among the lowest in the industrial world (in Japan the rate is 70c, and in Germany it's 64c). Stan Drake died on Mar. 10. He created the award-winning comic strip "The Heart of Juliet Jones" in 1953, and in 1989 switched to drawing "Blondie" (created by Chic Young in 1930), which is syndicated in thousands of news- papers worldwide in 55 languages. This strip appeared on Oct. 8, 1994. Mar 97 #5 Howard Einbinder reports that 221B BAKER ST.: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE TIME MACHINE (Sep 96 #6) has been discounted to $29.95 in the latest catalog from Bits & Pieces, 1 Puzzle Place, Stevens Point, WI 54481 (800-544-7297); this is a new version of the board game first market- ed by the John N. Hansen Co. Connie Steffan reports a sheet of Wishbone Stickers (including Wishbone in Sherlockian costume) at a Hallmark shop ($1.95 for 8 sheets). But so far no one has reported a Sherlockian toy in the specially-marked packages of Crackerjack. The agenda at the Mar. 14 meeting of The Red Circle of Washington included a demonstration by Frank Young of a new CD-ROM disk that has the "Complete Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" (including his novels, essays, short-story collections, histories of the Boer War and World War I, and much more). It has the text in eight-bit ASCII (so it will run on any computer, regardless of the operating system), and it includes a program that will enlarge the text (helpful for those whose vision isn't the best), and another program that will read the text aloud, and it allows a universal text search (so it takes only a minute to determine that Conan Doyle mentioned "Vernet" in a non-Sherlockian work). There are 311+ text files (more than 32 megabytes); a bit of final proof-reading and engineering will complete the project, and the disk should be ready to ship at the end of July, with a likely price of $95.00 postpaid. If you would like to be informed when it's ready, you can write (but don't send any money yet) to E-CODEX, Box 10785, Franconia, VA 22310. E-CODEX has already produced similar disks for Herman Melville and James Joyce ($45.00 each postpaid), and if you're wondering why the Conan Doyle disk will cost more, it's because he wrote a lot more than either Melville or Joyce. Marvin Lachman will receive a Raven award from the Mystery Writers of Amer- ica on May 1 (the Raven is a special award for outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing). Marv is a fine editor, critic, and reviewers; he worked with Chris Steinbrunner's on the DETECTIONARY (1971) and the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MYSTERY AND DETECTION (1976), and has written about Arthur B. Reeve and Craig Kennedy in "The American Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet Impersonation" in the Mystery Reader's Newsletter (Dec. 1969). David Kahn's THE CODEBREAKERS: THE STORY OF SECRET WRITING (1967) is widely and wisely regarded as the best book ever written about codes and ciphers, and those who deal with them (including Sherlock Holmes and the dancing men cipher); there's now a 30th-anniversary edition, revised and expanded (New York: Scribner, 1997; 1,181 pp., $65.00). Eleanor Wolff died on Mar. 7. She was Julian Wolff's wife, and a gracious hostess in those long-ago days when the January cocktail party in New York was held in their apartment on West Side Drive. She genially allowed her dining room to serve as Julian's editorial and business office, and she had a kind smile that served as a welcoming beacon to more than one generation of Sherlockians. She was honored The Woman in 1965, and in 1987 received The Baker Street Irregulars' unique gilded Queen Victoria Medal, recogniz- ing her "long service as the BSI's most devoted camp-follower." Mar 97 #6 The amusing Italian/Japanese "Sherlock Hound" animations first appeared in 1984, and they have been reissued by Just for Kids (Celebrity Home Entertainment) with two 24-minute stories on each cassette (and there are at least four cassettes); $2.88 each in toy stores. And Jim Vogelsang reports that there also are at least two single-story cassettes; $1.50 each. Carol Wenk continues to preside over The Mini-Tonga Scion Society for Sher- lockian miniaturists; membership (including three issues of the newsletter) costs $7.00 a year ($8.00 to Canada, $11.00 elsewhere), and if you'd like to have more information, send a #10 SASE to Carol at Box 770554, Lakewood, OH 44107. Patrick Kirkby, historian at the Royal Victoria Country Park at Netley, has written of plans for a special "Netley Veterans Reunion and Display" on May 14, 1998; they expect that many medical and nursing veterans to attend, and there are expectations that Dr. John H. Watson will be among them (since it was at Netley Hospital that he took the course prescribed for surgeons in the Army). Admission will be by ticket only, but arrangements can be made for visiting Sherlockians; if you think that you might be able to join the festivities, please write to Patrick W. Kirkby, 2 Colson Road, Winnal, Win- chester, Hants. SO23 0EX, England. Jerry Margolin spotted Mr. Mxyzptlk (the imp from the 5th dimension) wear- ing Sherlockian costume in one panel of Superman Adventures #6 (Apr. 1997); $1.75 in the comic-book shops. This is a new comic book, based on the new animated television series. Tom Galbo reports that the graphic books (comic-book series reprints) of A CASE OF BLIND FEAR and SCARLET IN GASLIGHT, written by Martin Powell and illustrated by Seppo Makinen, have been reissued by Caliber Comics with new covers. $12.50 each in the stores; $16.00 each postpaid from the publisher (225 North Sheldon Road, Plymouth, MI 48170). Baskerville Holmes and his girlfriend Tanya Franklin died on Mar. 18 in an apparent murder-suicide, according to police in Memphis. He was 6'7" and the star forward for the Memphis State Tigers, and played in the Final Four in 1985; he was picked by Milwaukee in the second round of the NBA draft in 1986, but didn't succeed in professional basketball. He was named by his mother, who liked the Basil Rathbone film, and saw it again not long before he was born. Ralph E. Vaughan's PROFESSOR CHALLENGER IN SECRETS OF THE DREAMLANDS brings Professor Challenger into a science-fantasy dreamworld of H. P. Lovecraft; the 63-page pamphlet is illustrated by Earl Geier and costs $10.95 postpaid from Gryphon Publications, Box 209, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Ronald Howard died on Feb. 16. He began his film career as a child, acting with his father Leslie Howard in "Pimpernel Smith" (1941), and he was only 36 years old when he starred as a younger-than-usual Sherlock Holmes in the first Sheldon Reynolds television series broadcast in 1954 and 1955; one of the 39 half-hour episodes includes the seldom-filmed first meeting between Holmes and Watson, and they're still grand fun to watch. Mar 97 #7 Murray Shaw, author of the excellent series of children's books MATCH WITS WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES, wrote and illustrated an imag- inative new Sherlockian story two years ago (Dec 95 #2); all the characters are cats, and the tale now is available again in a revised edition with a new title: THE CASE OF THE MISSING KIPPERED HERRING; the booklet has 31 pp. and hand-colored artwork, and costs $11.24 postpaid (3601 North 5th Avenue #106, Phoenix, AZ 85013). Tom Stix has forwarded an item from the N.Y. Times (Mar. 13) about the im- pending sale of the Algonquin Hotel to Olympus Real Estate of Dallas and the Camberley Hotel Co. of Atlanta. Aoki, a Japanese company, bought the hotel ten years ago for $29 million (Jun 87 #4) and then spent $22 million on renovations; the new owners will pay about $30 million for the hotel and plan to spend $4 million to renovate its 165 rooms and to extend the lobby back into what now is the Rose Room. And they hope to revive the hotel's literary heritage, in part by creating a Round Table Foundation to offer scholarships for young writers (the Algonquin's famous Round Table was in the Rose Room, of course, and there won't be a Rose Room any more). The new owners also expect to raise the rates, and to keep the hotel for only five to seven years. Reported by Stu Shiffman: Beaten's Christmas Annual, "chock full of goodies [by Stu Shiffman], British Grub, nifty stuff" (64 pages for $12.00 postpaid from David Haugen, 1244 107th Place NE, Kirkland, WA 98034); checks payable to Sound of the Baskervilles, please. The Piltdown hoax was in the news again this month in England, and so was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: on Mar. 20 the Linnean Society celebrated National Science Week by staging a debate between Richard Milner (who believes that Conan Doyle was the culprit) and Brian Gardiner (who doesn't). Milner, a historian of science at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, provided evidence for Robert B. Anderson's article in the spring 1996 issue of Pacific Discovery (Apr 96 #6), and Gardiner, a professor at King's Coll- ege and president of the Linnean Society, wrote the article in Nature (May 23, 1996) that identified Martin A. C. Hinton as the prime suspect (May 96 #6). Articles in the Daily Telegraph and The Times did not indicate who won the debate. Penelope Wallace died on Jan. 13. She was the daughter of Edgar Wallace, and the first woman to become chairman of the Press Club (a post her father had held the year she was born), and chairman of Crime Writer's Association and organizer of the first Crime Writers' International Congress; she wrote novels and short stories, including one with pleasant Sherlockian allusions ("The World According to Uncle Albert"), and she was the founder and presi- dent of the Edgar Wallace Society, which has just published the 113th issue of its newsletter The Crimson Circle. If you'd like more information about the society, write to Kai Jorg Hinz, Kohlbergsgracht 40, 6463 CD Kerkrade, The Netherlands. It's not quite the Order of the Legion of Honour that Holmes received, but Charlton Heston (who has played Holmes on stage and television in "The Cru- cifer of Blood") now is a Commander in the Order of the Arts and Letters, the highest civilian decoration awarded by the French Ministry of Culture. Mar 97 #8 John McAleer's REX STOUT, first published in 1977, is a splen- did biography of a fine writer and a fascinating men (and Stout was an important figure in the early years of The Baker Street Irregulars); the book won an Edgar from the Mystery Writers of America in 1978, and it's still available in a reprint (San Bernardino: Brownstone Books/Borgo Press, 1994; 622 pp., $57.00 cloth, $47.00 paper). Plan ahead: The "Fourth Occasional Sherlockian Cruise" has been scheduled for June 1998, from New York to Bermuda (and back), and the organizers are Irving Kamil, Susan Rice, Mary Ellen Rich, and Dorothy Stix; if you'd like to be on the mailing list, you can write to the Cruise Committee, Box 96, Norwood, NJ 07648. The cruise will feature Sherlockian events at sea, and pink sand beaches and shopping ashore. The Crime Writers of Scandinavia's annual Scandinavian Mystery Conference will be held in Aalborg on May 9-11; additional details are available from Jan B. Steffensen, Sdr. Tranders Bygade 23, DK-9220 Aalborg Oest, Denmark . Tim O'Connor has spotted a new edition of SHERLOCK HOLMES IN ORBIT, edited by Mike Resnick and Martin H. Greenberg, published in paperback in 1995 by DAW Books (Mar 95 #2), and now by MJF Books (seen so far only at Barnes & Noble, where it's available at a "special value" price of $8.98); 26 new science-fiction stories. Auction news: the manuscript of "How the Brigadier took the field against the Marshal Millefleurs" (22 leaves, bound in red morocco gilt) is lot 44 in the Apr. 17 sale at the Swann Galleries, 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010 (212-254-4710); the estimate is $4,000-6,000. David Stuart Davies is the new editor of the Sherlock Holmes Gazette (which actually is the Sherlock Holmes Gazette & Classic Detective Magazine but is focused firmly on the Sherlockian world), and the latest issue is #18, with 48 pages of articles, columns, reviews, and letters. The contents include part 4 of Michael Cox's continuing series on the behind-the-scenes story of the Granada series, Catherine Cooke's discussion of the Sherlockian aspects of T. S. Eliot, part 1 of David Stuart Davies' well-illustrated series on Sherlock Holmes in silent films, a report by Barbara Roden on Conan Doyle's western wanderings in Canada in 1914, and much more. $7.50 postpaid from Classic Specialties (Box 19058, Cincinnati, OH 45219); L3.50 postpaid from the Sherlock Holmes Gazette (49 Purfield Drive, Wargrave, Berks. RG10 8AR, England); credit-card orders are welcome at both addresses, and back issues are available. William Schley-Ulrich's "Sherlock Holmes and the Lizzie Borden Connection" ran in three installments in The Lizzie Borden Quarterly (July 1996, Oct. 1996, Jan. 1997); Holmes was in Vermont rather than southern France during the Great Hiatus, and was asked by a cousin to come to Fall River to look into the case. $9.00 for the three issues (Bristol Community College, 777 Elsbree Street, Fall River, MA 02720-7391. The Spermaceti Press: Peter E. Blau, 3900 Tunlaw Road NW #119, Washington, DC 20007-4830 (telephone: 202-338-1808) (Internet: pblau@capaccess.org) Apr 97 #1 Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press Christopher and Barbara Roden have acquired the unsold copies of the splen- did facsimiles of the manuscripts of "The Dying Detective" and "The Lion's Mane" (Sep 91 #7 and Sep 92 #6) and the reprint of Lord Donegall's "Baker Street and Beyond" columns from The New Strand (Nov 93 #4). The manuscript facsimiles are available in both the deluxe and standard editions, and all of the books are offered at bargain prices; more information is available from the Calabash Press, Box 1360, Ashcroft, BC V0K 1A0, Canada . Calabash also reports THE CASE FILES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE SPECKLED BAND (188 pp.), with new essays on the story and on Conan Doyle's dramatization. $30.00 cloth or $21.00 paper; shipping charges vary (same address). Douglas G. Greene continues to issue excellent collections of mystery short stories from his aptly-named publishing house, Crippen & Landru. The only Sherlockian item published so far is Edward D. Hoch's DIAGNOSIS IMPOSSIBLE (Mar 96 #1), which has a nicely appropriate allusion in a story about Dr. Sam Hawthorne, but there are many other fine authors in his catalog; write to Crippen & Landru at Box 9315, Norfolk, VA 23505 . Charles Marowitz's play "Sherlock's Last Case" will be produced by the Ac- tors' Repertory Company at the Courtyard Playhouse in Rolling Hills Estates (in southern Calif.) from Apr. 25 through May 31; the box-office address is Box 2512, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274 (310-544-6555). Irving Kamil (32 Overlook Avenue, Cliffside Park, NJ 07010) offers self-adhesive silhouettes of Sherlock Holmes (4" x 6") in black or white; $5.00 postpaid. Non-Sherlockian, but: try your hand at listing the U.S. states whose names contain only four letters. Nate the Great continues his sleuthing, deerstalkered and assisted by his dog Sludge, in an amusing children's series that now offers 17 titles, of which the most recent is NATE THE GREAT AND THE TARDY TORTOISE, by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Craig Sharmat, illustrated by Marc Simont (New York: Delacorte Press, 1995; 42 pp., $13.95); nicely done, as usual. John McPhee's essay "The Gravel Page" (the title was taken from the Canon) appeared in The New Yorker last year (Jan 96 #5), with a fine explanation of forensic geology, and acknowledgement of Sherlock Holmes' contributions to the science he invented; and it's included in his IRONS IN THE FIRE (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997; 216 pp., $22.00). Baron Barclay Bridge Supplies (3600 Chamberlain Lane #230, Louisville, KY 40241) (800-2740-2221) have a new catalog with just about anything a bridge player might want, including books such as Philip and Robert King's THE KINGS' TALES (Aug 96 #5) and FAREWELL, MY DUMMY (Jan 97 #4), and a reprint of RIGHT THROUGH THE PACK, by Robert Dar- vas and Norman de V. Hart (1947), all with Sherlockian bridge pastiches. Apr 97 #2 Baker Street W1 offers prizes for pastiches: "In 2,000 words or less, recreate the master detective as he and Dr. Watson solve yet another baffling mystery." All authors will win a postcard portrait of William Gillette, and the grand prize is a framed original Gillette signa- ture dated 1906 (and the pastiche will be published in the Jan. 1998 issue of the journal); entries will not be returned, and someone needs to write a good pastiche, because if none of the entries is deemed suitable, no prize will be awarded. The deadline is Oct. 15, 1997, the journal's address is 110 South El Nido Avenue #41, Pasadena, CA 91107; entries should be typed and double-spaced, and please don't forget to include your name, address, and telephone number. "Pinky and the Brain" is an animated television series, and a comic book, and the May issue (#11) of the comic book includes a Sherlockian tale ("The Final Narf"); $1.75. For those who have access to the World Wide Web, there are three URL's that will be helpful: is an American company, and it can supply just about any American book in print; the home page includes a fine search engine. is a British company, and can supply just about any British book in print; the home page includes a fine search engine. offers access to dealers in used and rare books; you can post your want-list, and wait for offers. U.S. states whose names have only four letters are: Iowa, Ohio, and Utah. But: are there any more U.S. states whose names contain only four letters? The Crew of the Barque Lone Star arranged a fine welcome in Dallas for The Practical, But Limited, Geologists and some other travelers from afar (both in Texas and other states), and an excellent dinner (with five courses and ten wines) at Tony's Wine Warehouse on Apr. 9, when the usual toasts were offered to the world's first forensic geologist. And it was nice indeed to be escorted by Don Hobbs and Jim Webb to Fort Worth (visitors from Dallas no longer are required to carry passports) to see the original manuscript of "The Dancing Men" at Barber's Book Store (both owned by Brian Perkins). Additional honors were paid to Sherlock Holmes on Apr. 12, when a stalwart dozen geologists and Sherlockians participated in the first-ever geological expedition to the summit of Holmes Peak, in Osage County on the outskirts of Tulsa. A threatened blizzard failed to materialize, but the temperature was about eight degrees above freezing, so the time actually spent at the summit (elev. 1032 ft.) was as brief as possible; the climbers then quickly retreated to a sheltered slope to toast both Sherlock Holmes and Richard S. Warner (Head Sherpa of the Holmes Peak Preservation Society), who was pres- ent to accept plaudits for all the work that in 1984 resulted in official government approval for the naming of the peak in honor of the great detec- tive. Also participating in the expedition were Nellie Brown (expedition entomologist), Charles J. Mankin (Oklahoma's state geologist), M. Charles Gilbert (director of the school of geology and geophysics at Oklahoma Uni- versity), and Vic Lahti (who manages to be both a geologist and a member of The Afghanistan Perceivers of Tulsa). It also is nice to report that the U.S. Geological Survey recently reprinted the topographic map of the Sand Springs quadrangle, and that Holmes Peak's name is now shown on the map. Apr 97 #3 The Sub-Librarians Scion of The Baker Street Irregulars in the American Library Association will meet in San Francisco this year, for afternoon tea and Sherlockian entertainment, at the Holiday Inn (Union Square) on June 29 at 4:00 pm, and it will be as always a nice gath- ering for Sherlockians and librarians and anyone else who wants to join the festivities. The cost is $17.00 (checks payable to Marsha L. Pollak, and please enclose an SASE); Marsha's address is: Sunnyvale Public Library, Box 3714, Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3714. More U.S. states whose names have only four letters are: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The latest issue of Scarlet Street has arrived, with David Stuart Davies' interesting interview with Christopher Lee (about Peter Cushing), the news that Steven Spielberg's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" will be released by Universal on Memorial Day weekend, and Forrest J Ackerman's note on plans for a film of Robert A. Heinlein's THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS (the book features a computer named Mycroft). And there's an advertisement for Haun- ted Hollywood's "Monster Bash" convention honoring Forry Ackerman's 80th birthday, with guests who include Sara Karloff (daughter), Bela Lugosi Jr. (son), and Ron Chaney (grandson), on July 18-20 in Ligonier (just east of Pittsburgh); Haunted Hollywood, Box 213, Ligonier, PA 15658 . Scarlet Street is published quarterly ($20.00 a year); Box 604, Glen Rock, NJ 07452. There's more news about the set of stamps due from Great Britain on May 13 honoring Tales of Terror: the Hound will appear on the 43p stamp, which will be nice for those who get airmail from Britain, and "the grisly hound is shown head-on with huge jaws baring the fearsome fangs" in the ink-and-watercolor design by Ian Pollock (the image will be highlighted with fluorescent ink which glows under ul- traviolet light). There will be a postcard showing the stamp (25p), and a presentation pack (L1.70) that has a brief history of the four classic tales, by Christopher Frayling (who produced the four-part "Nightmare" television series broad- cast here on Arts & Entertainment cable last October); the other stamps in the set will show Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Many other countries will issuing stamps honoring Tales of Terror this year, but so far only Great Britain is reported to be paying tribute to The Hound of the Baskervilles. There will be at least one fancy first day cover for the set: Roger Johnson has sent an illustrated flier from A. G. Bradbury (3 Link Road, Stoneygate, Leicester LE2 3RA, England): L10.00 for a full-cover cachet, with a special Princetown postmark; L12.50 signed by Edward Hardwicke or Tom Baker; L5.00 for a full-cover cachet with only the Hound stamp (add L1.00 per order for shipping). Tom Huntington reports that his article "On the Trail of Sherlock Holmes" in the Feb. 1997 issue of Historic Traveler (Dec 96 #1) will be reprinted in the May issue of the Japanese edition of Playboy. This may well be the first Sherlockian item ever to appear in the Japanese edition. Apr 97 #4 "Gun" is a new six-part one-hour anthology series that debuted on ABC-TV on Apr. 11, produced by Robert Altman and following a pistol as it passes from hand to hand. Sherlockians should look for a re- peat of the second program, which starred Martin Sheen as a cop whose last case involved the death of a Japanese businessman. David McCord died on Apr. 13. He was a poet and an author, and received the first honorary doctor of humane letters degree ever granted by Harvard Uni- versity. His collection ONE AT A TIME (1977) won the first national award for excellence in poetry for children from the National Council of Teachers of English; an earlier anthology WHAT CHEER (1945), reprinted as THE POCKET BOOK OF HUMOROUS VERSE (1946), included Philip H. Rhinelander's "It's Very Unwise to Kill the Goose (Sherlock Holmes)" (the poem was reprinted in the Oct. 1955 issue of The Baker Street Journal). Kevin Reed's THE ADVENTURES OF COCKROACH BONES offers three of his parodies about Cockroach Bones and Dr. Waspon, including their encounter with Arach- ne Adder and the King of Bulimia; the 20-page pamphlet costs $8.00 postpaid from the author (191 North Ridgeway Street, Anaheim, CA 92801). Auction news: the manuscript of "How the Brigadier took the field against the Marshal Millefleurs" (22 leaves, bound in red morocco gilt) sold for $8,500 (plus 15% buyer's premium) on Apr. 17 at the Swann Galleries in New York. It was purchased by C. Frederick Kittle, who owns other Conan Doyle manuscripts, and a copy of Beeton's Christmas Annual, and whose collection will eventually be given to the Newberry Library in Chicago. For those who would like to make their own Sherlockian costumes, THE CUT OF MEN'S CLOTHES, 1600-1900, by Norah Waugh (London: Faber and Faber, 1964) (New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1964), is reported to be a fine source, and includes a pattern for a Sherlock Holmes coat. Nice news from the August Derleth Society: the latest issue of their news- letter includes Peter Ruber's report that April Derleth has found a lot of unpublished material, including an early (1938-43) Solar Pons novel (miss- ing the first chapter), an unfinished Solar Pons short story, and two Solar Pons science-fiction stories written jointly with Mack Reynolds; Peter is editing the material for publication by George A. Vanderburgh. Membership in the society costs $20.00 a year (Box 481, Sauk City, WI 53583). Ben Macintyre's THE NAPOLEON OF CRIME: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ADAM WORTH, THE REAL MORIARTY is now due from HarperCollins in June (L18.00); this is an expanded version of his stories in The Times and the N.Y. Times when the famous Gainsborough portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire, once stolen by Worth, went to auction three years ago (Jul 94 #6). Connie and Jeff Gay, directors of Dreamland Productions, report that their MurderWatch Mystery Theatre performs twice a night on Saturdays at Basker- villes Restaurant (adjacent to Moriarty's Pub) at the Grosvenor Resort at Walt Disney World; the restaurant has a replica of the sitting-room, and the shows often allude to Holmes and Watson, and sometimes their detective is Shirley Holmes. And you get a $4.00 discount on dinner if you reserve in advance: Box 1114 Goldenrod, FL 33273 (407-827-6534) . Apr 97 #5 Nice news from the sport of kings: Neil Travis Honaker reports that My Dear Watson won the fourth race at Keenland (in Lexing- ton, Kentucky) on Apr. 20, paying $11.40 to win, $5.80 to place, and $3.60 to show. It would be nice indeed if there were horses so aptly named when Sherlockians go to the track to attend runnings of The Silver Blaze. Unexpected casting: Ernest Dudley's play "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" (in which Eille Norwood starred in 1923) was recently produced in Newcastle upon Tyne, with Michael Cashman as Holmes and Frederick Pyne as Watson, and Nicholas Smith as Milverton. Nicholas Smith has been seen here for many years on some PBS-TV stations as the bald, jug-eared, store manager in the British series "Are You Being Served?" (and if you've seen the series you will know how unexpected he is a Milverton). Mel Gibson's film "Braveheart" (1995) aired on cable not too long ago, and likely has been seen by many of you, in theaters and on television. What's the connection between the film and something mentioned often in the Canon? Well, those plans to make a film of Heinlein's THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS may not be real plans: it turns out that the magazine Locus had a report in Jan. 1996 that Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks SKG had bought the film rights to the novel. A film certainly would need some interesting special effects (since much of the story takes place on the Moon at one-sixth gravity). Laurie R. King is on the cover of the winter 1997 issue of The Armchair De- tective; the contents include Charles L. P. Silet's interview with Laurie (and her essay on "The Mystery of God Talk"), and an excellent discussion of Sherlockian miniatures by Scott and Sherry Rose Bond. Subscriptions are $31.00 a year (four issues); 459 Park Avenue #252, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076. Novel Explorations ("where fiction and travel merge") offer an interesting assortment of literary tours, including "The Great Detectives" on July 3-12 with due attention to Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle. And there will be "Suspense, Mystery, and Intrigue on the High Seas" on the Norwegian Cruise Line's "Norway" on Jan. 31-Feb. 7, 1998 (with stops at St. Thomas and St. Maarten, and Carole Nelson Douglas as one of the workshoppers). Details on these and other tours are available in their fliers; their address is 10590 Twin Rivers Road, Columbia, MD 21044 (800-432-6659) . Reported: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE FALL RIVER TRAGEDY, by Owen Haskell; with a reprint of Lizzie Borden's inquest testimony. Available for $20.00 post- paid from Murder by the Book, 1281 North Main Street, Providence, RI 02905 ; credit-card orders welcome. The prolific Pequod poet presses on, and John Ruyle promises that his new SHERLOCK UNBOUND will contain verses both whimsical and tragic, all hand- written, hand-set, and hand-printed; $40.00 (cloth) or $20.00 (paper), and his address is 521 Vincente Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707-1521. Sorry about that: it was Frank Darlington who proposed the Christmas toast "Geese on earth, goosewill to all!" (Feb 97 #2), reported by Ray de Groat to Herb Caen. Apr 97 #6 Tickets still are available for The Red Circle of Washington's theater party for "The Case of the Purloined Patience" at the Folger Elizabethan Theatre on Aug. 2 and 2:00 pm. Our discount price is $26.50 per ticket (checks payable to Mary V. Burke); Mary's address is 2515 South First Place, Arlington, VA 22204. What's the connection between "Braveheart" and something mentioned often in the Canon? Well, William Wallace's arch-enemy (played by Patrick McGoohan) was the English king, Edward Longshanks, who is better known now as Edward I. Edward's first wife was Eleanor of Castile, and when she died in 1290 he erected beautiful memorial crosses wherever her bier rested on its trip from Nottinghamshire to Westminster; one of those memorials was at Charing Cross (where a replica can be seen today), and Charing Cross is mentioned often in the Canon. As is Eleanor, for that matter, although not by name: Sherlock Holmes alluded to her when he asked (in "The Sussex Vampire") "Was there not a queen in English history who sucked such a wound to draw poison from it?" (Eleanor is said to have sucked poison from her husband's wounded arm, in 1272). "These stunning beauties have cast a spell over millions," according to an advertisement by the National Aquarium in Baltimore for its exhibition of "Jellies: Phantoms of the Deep" (Jun 96 #4); if you'd like to see a lion's mane, you've got until January 1998, when the exhibition closes. And further to the discussion of Holmes Peak, there's Sherlock Crater on the Moon, also named in honor of Holmes, and asteroids have been named in honor of Holmes and Watson and Moriarty. But I'm not aware of any other feature on Earth, either natural (mountain, river, lake, or whatever) or man-made (street or avenue, perhaps) actually named in honor of Holmes or anyone else in the Canon. Does anyone have a friend who's naming streets in a new sub-division somewhere? N. C. Wyeth illustrated three of Conan Doyle's short stories for Scribner's Magazine in 1910 and 1911, and THE WHITE COMPANY for the Cosmopolitan Pub- lishing Co. in 1922. And THE WHITE COMPANY is one of fourteen volumes in a series of leather-bound "Classics of Adventure Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth" now available from the Easton Press, 47 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06857 (800-367-4535); $48.25 per volume for the series. Baker Street W1 is published three times a year, reporting on Sherlockian activities west of the Mississippi, and costs $9.00 a year. The Sept. 1996 issue has 44 pages, and focuses on pastiches, with a fine tribute to August Derleth by William A. S. Sarjeant. Sam Moskowitz died on Apr. 15. He was tireless researcher in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and a fine editor as well; in 1939 he organized the first World Science Fiction Convention (now a major event in the sf world), and his "Studies in Science Fiction" series in the magazine Science Fantasy in 1959 included a warm tribute to Conan Doyle. The Spermaceti Press: Peter E. Blau, 3900 Tunlaw Road NW #119, Washington, DC 20007-4830 (telephone: 202-338-1808) (Internet: pblau@capaccess.org) May 97 #1 Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press The first issue of the quarterly newsletter of The Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota has arrived, with a fine description of the collections, and a look at some of its material, and a nice tribute to John Bennett Shaw. If you would like to be on the mailing list, you should write to Richard J. Sveum (466 O. M. Wilson Library, Uni- versity of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 . Why are dinosaurs so popular with kids? Well, they're big, and they're bad, and they're dead (so they can't hurt you). And the U.S. Postal Service knows they're popular, and our new souvenir sheet honors "The World of Dinosaurs" with 15 different stamps (and some scen- ery); one of them shows a Stegosaurus, in Colorado 150 million years ago (a stegosaur is one of the dinosaurs mentioned in Conan Doyle's THE LOST WORLD). Pat Ward reports that the Indianapolis Civic Theater will offer "The Cruci- fer of Blood" on Nov. 7-23, 1997; the theater is in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, at 1200 West 38th Street #1-X, Indianapolis, IN 46208, and the box- office telephone number is (317-923-4597). Eve Titus, author of the "Basil of Baker Street" series, offers inscribed copies of the out-of-print hardcover editions, and the almost-out-of-print paperback editions, and other Sherlockian material. If you would like to have a copy of her sales list, send Eve a #10 self-addressed stamped enve- lope (Mayfair Towers #10-H, 9195 Collins Avenue, Surfside, FL 33154). Sherlockian change-ringers interested in joining a special-interest Sher- lockian society are invited to write to Pam Verrey (408 Koko Isle Circle, Honolulu, HI 96825 . Jon Lellenberg spotted Adam Hochschild's interesting article "Mr. Kurtz, I Presume" in The New Yorker (Apr. 14); Hochschild wonders why "most scholars think there was no real Kurtz," and notes that "Zaire's history is full of them." The campaign against mistreatment of the natives in the Congo was launched in 1903 by Edward Morel and Roger Casement (who was then British Consul at Kinshasa), and in 1904 Casement returned to London and contacted several writers, including Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote THE CRIME OF THE CONGO (1909) and later tried to save Casement from execution after the 1916 rebellion against the British in Dublin, and Joseph Conrad, who had written HEART OF DARKNESS (1899). You'll know about Kurtz if you've read Conrad's book or seen the television film (1994), or seen the film "Apocalypse Now" (1979) that was based on Conrad's book but set in Vietnam. Hochschild has identified some of the Belgian colonial administrators Conrad may have met in the Congo in 1890, and who may well have contributed to his portrayal of his character Kurtz. THE SHERLOCK HOLMES COOKBOOK, by Charles A. Mills (Alexandria: Apple Cheeks Press, 1990; 49 pp., $5.00 postpaid), is still available, offering a brief culinary tour of the Canon, with discussion of food, drink, and clubs, as well as recipes (Aug 90 #3); Box 217, Alexandria, VA 22307. May 97 #2 Further to earlier reviews of abridged readings of Laurie R. King's novels about Mary Russell, Debbie Clark notes that un- abridged readings by Jenny Sterlin also are available, from Recorded Books Audio, 270 Skipjack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678 (800-638-1304). The cassettes play on normal machines; THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE costs $17.50 (rental)/$85.00 (purchase); A MONSTROUS REGIMENT OF WOMEN is $16.50/$67.00; and A LETTER OF MARY is $13.50/$49.00. Mike Royko died on Apr. 29. He went to work for the Chicago Daily News in 1959 as a police reporter, and became a columnist in 1963, eventually work- ing for almost all of Chicago's major papers (when he quit the Sun-Times in 1984 he announced that "no self-respecting fish" would want to be wrapped in a newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch); he became a Chicago institution, championing the common man and the Chicago Cubs, and in 1986 he used Holmes and Watson in a column about the mugging of TV anchor Dan Rather, admitting that "I'm more of a bumbling Watson than a cerebral Holmes." The Caliber comic-book mini-series THE SEARCHERS (Jul 96 #1 and Nov 96 #7) has picked up again: Jerry Margolin spotted THE SEARCHERS: APOSTLE OF MERCY #1 ($2.95) with one Sherlockian panel reprinted from the earlier series (if the new series continues, a descendant of Moriarty may turn up again, too). Bunny Yeager was a model and a beauty queen before becoming a photographer herself, and her work has been seen in Playboy for decades; she now offers a series of collector's cards, and one of models in "The Girl in the Hat" (set no. 1) is "Sher- lock Holmes' Apprentice" (it's a lot larger and more colorful than shown here. The set of twelve cards costs $19.95 post- paid, and you need to say that you're more than 18 years old (Bunny Yeager, 9301 N.E. 6th Avenue #C-311, Miami, FL 33138). Congratulations to Ben Wood, on his Two-Shilling Award, which he received during the Sunshine State Sherlockian Scion Symposium held this month in St. Pete Beach. The award is made by The Baker Street Irregulars "for ex- traordinary devotion to the cause beyond the call of duty," and Ben has certainly earned it; he received his Investiture ("A Scandal in Bohemia") in 1979, and served for many years as the BSI's Chaplain, and as sparking- plug for The Pleasant Places or Florida. The Mysterious Bookshop has a new 88-page spring-summer catalog, with three pages of Sherlockiana; 129 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019 (800-352- 2840) . The continuing saga of St. Bartholomew's Hospital (the site of the historic first meeting between Holmes and Watson) has taken a welcome turn for the better: the Conservative government's campaign to close the hospital (Apr 96 #1) ended with the recent Labour election victory. According to a story in The Times on May 9 (at hand from Christopher Roden), Tony Blair made a pre-election promise to halt planned hospital closures, and the new govern- ment has begun a full-scale review of London's health needs. Frank Dobson (the new Health Secretary) said: "This government will not end up endorsing the previous government's policy. I am not dealing with individual cases at present, but I will make my decisions at the end of the review." May 97 #3 Admirers of August Derleth's work will enjoy RETURN TO DERLETH: SELECTED ESSAYS, VOLUME TWO, edited by James P. Roberts and il- lustrated by Eugene Gryniewicz; 96 pp., with Basil Copper's six-page "The Game's Afoot: August Derleth and Solar Pons" (about Derleth's stories and Copper's continuation of the saga) and essays by other enthusiasts on Der- leth's life and work in other genres. Available from the White Hawk Press, 950 Jenifer Street, Madison, WI 53703; $8.00 postpaid. Bill Serow suggests that visitors to Paris may enjoy an exhibition of "The World of Sherlock Holmes" at the Louvre des Antiquaires (an antique-dealers cooperative) at 2 place Palais-Royale through Sept. 15; eight displays (in- cluding the sitting-room) have been arranged with the help of the Sherlock Holmes Society of France. I've now had a chance to hear (and meet) Billy Childish and Thee Headcoats (Sep 96 #8), at the Black Cat in Washington during the band's recent east- coast tour, but on this occasion only the drummer wore a deerstalker. The band's music is mainly punk rock, played well and highly regarded by fans, and record titles include "Sound of the Baskervilles" and "My Dear Watson" and other Sherlockian allusions, although Billy Childish seemed rather in- trigued, or perhaps merely amused, to meet a Sherlockian after the show. He explained that it was Don Crane, leader of the British rhythm-and-blues band Downliner Sect, who first wore a deerstalker (which he called a head- coat) while performing, and influenced Billy Childish, who was born in 1959 in Chatham, Kent, and now has many songs and records to his credit (as well as paintings and poems). Billy's band was formed in 1979, and records for Damaged Goods (P.O. Box 671, London E17, England); album jackets often have S'ian artwork. The band has a home page at , and there's a discography at . Steven Spielberg's "The Lost World" is doing well at the box office, but it remains to be seen whether it will do as well as "Jurassic Park" (which has grossed more than $900 million since 1993 and is the highest-grossing film in history). A colorful poster for the 1925 film based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's book led into the story about this year's film in the May 23 issue of Entertainment Weekly. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE FALL RIVER TRAGEDY, by Owen Haskell (North Provi- dence: Lazarus Press, 1997; 174 pp., $15.00), brings Holmes to Fall River in 1893 to investigate the murders of Lizzie Borden's parents, and to meet Lizzie after the trial at which she was acquitted, and to reveal his solu- tion to the mystery. The book includes 69 pages of Lizzie's testimony at the coroner's inquest (she didn't testify at the trial), and it's easy to see why she wasn't convicted, after such a confused and confusing investi- gation. $17.00 postpaid from the author (1 Homes Street, North Providence, RI 02904). Congratulations to Michael Atkinson, whose THE SECRET MARRIAGE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES has won a Mystery Writer of America "Edgar" for Best Critical/Bio- graphical Work. The book is a fine refutation of the widely-held belief that pop-cult lit-crit must be deadly dull and packed with academic jargon (Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press, 1996; 198 pp., $29.95). May 97 #4 Robert F. Fleissner's "The Old English Mr. Holmes: A Study in Critical Method" notes some parallels between "Beowulf" and the Canon in the 1996 annual volume of the academic journal In Geardagum (published by the Society for New Language Study); $5.00 postpaid from Ray Tripp, Box 100596, Denver, CO 80210. Forecast from Signet in August ($5.99): FIRST CASES 2: FIRST APPEARANCES OF CLASSIC AMATEUR SLEUTHS, edited by Robert Randisi; with a reprint of Carole Nelson Douglas' "Parris Green" (in which Irene Adler and Penelope Huxleigh meet Oscar Wilde in 1886), reprinted from MALICE DOMESTIC 2 (Aug 93 #3). Midnight Louie's Scratching Post-Intelligencer also notes that Carole had edited MARILYN: SHADES OF BLONDE (forecast from Forge in July, $23.95); Carole has written a dramatic monologue for the book, portraying what Marilyn would be doing were she alive and well today at age 70, and plans to present the monologue, with costume and props during a panel at Bouchercon in Monterey at the end of October. The newsletter is available from Carole (Box 331555, Fort Worth, TX 76163) ; she also has a home page at . Michael J. Smiglowski has executed a striking lith- ograph that shows a young Sherlock Holmes, working on a chemical experiment in 1878, waiting patiently to become an unofficial consulting detective; the signed prints (17 x 23 in.) are available from the artist (One Melissa Drive, Pembroke, NH 03275), and they cost $50.00 postpaid (he also offers a nicely- illustrated free flier). "Only the stupidest of intellectuals wouldn't real- ize that Alice in Wonderland and Sherlock Holmes are among the blessings that English writing in its many forms has given to the world." C. P. Snow, on England's literary legacy, in the Saturday Review (June 11, 1977). The set of four British stamps honoring "Tales of Terror" (Apr 97 #3) are available from the U.S. Postal Service: the presentation pack (805719) is $2.95, a block of four of the "Hound" stamp (805712) is $2.90, and a full pane of 100 "Hound" stamps (805714) is $71.40; add $1.00 for shipping. The address is: Philatelic Fulfillment Service Center, Box 7247, Philadelphia, PA 19101-9014 (800-782-6724); credit-card orders welcome. Pat Ward reports that Paul Giovanni's play "The Crucifer of Blood" will be preformed at the Indianapolis Civic Theater (at the Indianapolis Museum of Art) on Nov. 7-23. The box-office address is 1200 West 38th Street #1-X, Indianapolis, IN 46208 (317-923-4597). Stafford G. Davis ("Horace Harker") died on May 10. He had a long career in corporate communications, and was the founder and the True Perceiver of The Afghanistan Perceivers of Tulsa, and received his Investiture from the BSI in 1980.He worked hard to keep the memory green in Oklahoma, where he even managed to persuade the residents of Watson that their town had been named for Sherlock Holmes' friend and chronicler. May 97 #5 Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding starred in "Move Over Moriarty" in England last year (Jul 96 #8), playing all the roles (including Holmes and Watson) and winning praise from the critics; now they're in the United States, at the Santa Fe Stages, where the comedy will have its North American premiere on June 4-14. The box-office address is 105 East Marcy Street #107, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505-982-6683). Carolyn and Joel Senter's latest sales list ("Quick Watson...!" #3) offers some nice Sherlockian books, audio, video, pins, a new Sherlockian map of England drawn by Jan Walker, and much more; Classic Specialties, Box 19058, Cincinnati, OH 45219. HENRY IRVING'S WATERLOO, by W. D. King (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993; 303 pp., $40.00), is a fascinating and rewarding book. Arthur Conan Doyle adapted his story "A Straggler of '15" (1891) into the one-act play "A Story of Waterloo" and sent it to Henry Irving, who quickly bought the rights to the play and made it famous, performing it hundreds of times in London and on tour from 1894 until his death in 1905. But today it is best known (and often remembered only) for the scathing review that George Bernard Shaw gave Irving's performance when the play opened in London in 1895. One of the reasons why King's book is so fascinating and rewarding is that King stresses the fundamental change from the "actor's theater" that Irving represented so well to the "author's theater" that Shaw was about to launch and lead. And the book is full of real people, including Ellen Terry and Bram Stoker and Edward Gordon Craig and Napoleon, and King tells his and their story well, offering a fine look at what drama was like a century ago. A video-taper alert: "The X-Files" starts in reruns on the fX cable channel on Aug. 19, five nights a week. The first season's 12th episode ("Fire") had Muldur's old flame, now a Scotland Yard detective, enlisting his aid in tracking down an arsonist who is able to ignite things simply by touching them. And there are Sherlockian allusions in the episode, which should be broadcast on Sept. 3, if the schedule is correct. It was many years ago that John Bennett Shaw prepared calling cards for Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty (long enough ago that Richard M. Nixon was president of the United States, accounting for John giving the White House telephone number as the Washington contact for Moriarty). But whose were the London numbers he gave for Holmes (01-486-5555) and Moriarty (01-236-5555)? Does anyone remember? Or were they non-working even then? May 97 #6 John Ruyle, preferring to believe that Sherlock Holmes shares the birthday of Arthur Conan Doyle rather than Felix Morley, has celebrated May 22 with BEEING THERE, a new collection of Sherlockian verse, handset and printed at the Pequod Press; $40.00 (cloth) or $20.00 (paper) from John (521 Vincente Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707). The weather was delightful for the 27th running of The Silver Blaze (South- ern Division) at Pimlico on May 24, when it was nice indeed to find a horse named Dr. Doyle entered in the seventh race (we also learned that Dr. Doyle had been scheduled to run the day before, but had been scratched so that he could run the next day). It was even nicer when Dr. Doyle won handily, but he was an odds-on favorite and paid only $3.40/$2.60/$2.20. Unfortunately, The Silver Blaze was the fourth race, in which many Sherlockians had backed Lulu's Boy, who had won the same race in 1991 and missed a chance to be our only double-winner by finishing sixth. Screen Star was an easy winner, and the traditional trophy was presented by Gwen Knight, of Philadelphia. The sixth annual Watsonian Weekend (celebrating Dr. Watson and the Battle of Maiwand) begins with a regimental dinner at Knickers Restaurant in Des Plains, Ill., on July 18, and continues with the 38th annual running of The Silver Blaze at Arlington Race Course on July 19, and concludes with brunch at the Destiny restaurant in Des Plaines. More details are available from Fred Levin, 8242 North Ridgeway Avenue, Skokie, IL 60076. Edward Mulhare died on May 24. He began his acting career in Ireland in 1942, moving to London and then to New York, where in 1957 he succeeded Rex Harrison at Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady". He had starring roles in the television series "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" and "Knight Rider", and in 1977 was to star as Holmes (with Ben Wright as Watson) in "The Sherlock Holmes Radio Theatre", a radio series planned by KIIS (Los Angeles); Glenhall Tay- lor wrote twelve scripts for the series, and seven were recorded, but the series never made it onto the air. Lisa Oldham's electronic newsletter "The Brettish Empire" continues to run installments of her excellent survey of Jeremy Brett's stage career. Her address is ; back issues can be read on the web at . John Hillen has kindly forwarded news of a new production by the California Artists Repertory Theatre: "Alice in Wonderland" will be performed at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum at 10:00 and 7:00 on June 14. The play is adapted and directed by Peggy Webber, and stars Samantha Eggar (Alice) and David Warner (Lewis Carroll, John Astin (the White Knight), Louis Nye (the Mock Turtle), Parley Baer, Elliott Reid, and others; the Museum's address is 7021 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028 (213-960-4806). CART was founded 48 years ago by Peggy Webber, who has had a long career on stage, screen, radio, and television; she worked on the "Sherlock Holmes" radio series in the 1940s, and she and Parley Baer and Elliott Reed have contri- buted to the audio reissues produced by Ken Greenwald at 221A Baker Street Associates (and distributed by Simon and Schuster and Brilliance Audio). The Spermaceti Press: Peter E. Blau, 3900 Tunlaw Road NW #119, Washington, DC 20007-4830 (telephone: 202-338-1808) (Internet: pblau@capaccess.org) Jun 97 #1 Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press David L. Hammer's A DANGEROUS GAME: BEING A TRAVEL GUIDE TO THE EUROPE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (Indianapolis: Gasogene Books, 1997; 277 pp., $19.95) is as delightful as his four earlier travel books (three devoted to Britain, and one to North America), and like the others it is a reasonable substi- tute for having the author himself as one's guide. But only reasonable, since he so obviously enjoys his journeys and his research, and it is easy enough to imagine how much fun it would be to join one of his expeditions. The book is written with style and humor, and recommended; $22.70 postpaid from the publisher (Box 68308, Indianapolis, IN 46256). Leslie Klinger will repeat his six-week, Monday-evening, extension course on "Sherlock Holmes and His World" at the University of California in Los Angeles from Oct. 6 through Nov. 10; details are available from the UCLA Extension (310-825-9971) . "A serious course," Les notes, with "lots of reading!" A new postage stamp honors Bugs, the world's most famous Bunny, and he's famous enough that the postal service didn't even need to put his name on the stamp. And yes, there is a mention of a bunny in the Canon (revealed on the next page). Further to the item about the sale of the Algonquin Hotel (Mar 97 #7), John Baesch has kindly forwarded a flier for the newly renovated landmark (which for many years has been the informal headquarters for the January birthday weekend) is run now as a Camberley Hotel); the Algonquin's Camberley Club Suites feature "a personal library of significant works, current periodicals, fresh fruit, a decanter of American sherry, complimentary soft drinks and special Algonquin Beer." Malcolm Payne died on May 30. He was the founder of The Conan Doyle (Crow- borough) Establishment, and had a close association with Windlesham (since his father, aunt, and uncle had worked for Sir Arthur); he put together an interesting museum collection of Conan Doyle material, now shown at Groom- bridge, and in 1993 edited and published RECOLLECTIONS OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE BY RESIDENTS OF CROWBOROUGH, with reminiscences by his relatives and others who were employed by the family. Jo Soares' pastiche O XANGO DE BAKER STREET has been published in Brazilian Portuguese (Feb 96 #4), and in Spanish (Nov 96 #8), and Olaf Maurer reports that there now is a German translation: SHERLOCK HOLMES IN RIO (Frankfurt: Insel Verlag, 1997; 320 pp., DM 39.80); this may well set a record for mod- ern Sherlockiana in languages other than English before there's an English translation (which is forecast from Pantheon in paperback in November as A SAMBA FOR SHERLOCK). The Canadian television series "The Adventures of Shirley Holmes" (Sep 96 #3) began airing on YTV cable on Feb. 24, with thirteen 30-minutes episodes starring Meredith Henderson as the 12-year-old great grandniece of Sherlock Holmes., but there's no news about possible broadcast in the United States. In the meantime, Jamie Hubbs notes, the electronically enabled can visit an Internet web site at . Jun 97 #2 FRITZ SPIEGL'S BOOK OF MUSICAL BLUNDERS AND OTHER MUSICAL CURI- OSITIES (London: Robson Books, 1996; L16.95) includes a 8-page discussion titled "Sherlock Holmes mistreats his mahogany violin" in which Spiegl concludes that Holmes was far less a musician than Watson made him out to be. Spiegl also notes that Holmes' violin must have been the most remarkable instrument ever to come out of the Cremona workshops: when (in "The Norwood Builder"), "during a fit of exasperation, Holmes 'flung down the instrument' into a corner, it came to no harm. It was 'made of maho- gany'. Solid, no doubt." But there's no mention of a mahogany violin in my copy of the Canon. The Wigmore Street Post Office is a nicely imaginative electronic journal published on the Prodigy computer service, and some of the best of its fun and games and scholarship now is available ink-on-paper in MELANGE DE WSPO, edited and published by Mel Hughes; the 100-page anthology is available for $23.45 postpaid from Classic Specialties, Box 19058, Cincinnati, OH 45219 (credit-card orders welcome). Yes, there is indeed a Canonical mention of a bunny. Two bunnies, in fact, in "Shoscombe Old Place" ("me and Stephens, quaking in the bushes like two bunny-rabbits"). Hal Prince produced the play "They Might Be Giants" in London in 1961, and directed the Broadway musical "Baker Street" (1965), and tells tales about both shows (and many others) in CONTRADICTIONS: NOTES ON TWENTY-SIX YEARS IN THE THEATRE (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1974. It's an interesting and amusing book, and of course Prince has had many more years in the theater: his production of the musical "Candide" is the last show he covers in the book, and his revival of "Candide" is running now at the Gershwin Theatre in New York. "I was once janitor and sweeper-out of the laboratory at York College," said Jefferson Hope (in "A Study in Scarlet"). And the City College of New York (founded in 1847 and hon- ored on a recent postal card) is a reasonable candidate; all of the actual York Colleges in America were founded in 1890 or later. Phillip Gold (221Books) has sent a nice mail-order catalog of Sherlockian books, and it's available for the asking; 760 Carlisle Canyon Road, West- lake Village, CA 91361) <221books@interloc.com>. One item not included in the catalog is the Sherlock Holmes Presskit distributed by Leo Gutman in the 1970s when he was marketing the Rathbone/Bruce films: there are more than 120 loose pages, mostly reprints of articles, photographs, and period advertisements, and a letter from Gutman; $150 postpaid. Michael Phillips, manager of The Sherlock Holmes Public House & Restaurant, has provided a copy of their sales list of souvenirs and other Sherlockiana (and of course they welcome tourists who want to dine or drink or view the recreation of the sitting-room); 10-11 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5DA, England , and they have a home page on the World Wide Web . Jun 97 #3 "Movie Studios Pursue Elusive Girls Segment" was the headline on a story by Jeff Jensen in the June 2 issue of Advertising Age about Hollywood plans for marketing film properties this fall: Disney will release "The Little Mermaid" for the second time, Twentieth Century- Fox will have its first animated musical "Anastasia", and Paramount will release "Fairy Tale: A True Story" (which you have heard about before as "Illumination" and before that as "The Golden Afternoon", starring Peter O'Toole as Conan Doyle and Harvey Keitel as Houdini). Viacom hopes it can do for fairies what Universal has done with dinosaurs, and the brand name "Fairies of Cottingley Glen" has been licensed to Playmates Toys, Gibson Greeting Cards, and Random House. "It's a brand that can outlive a single movie and create a distinct world that can produce future line extensions," said Viacom's vice president for strategic property development. Tom Hunt- ington, who spotted the story, also reports that the film is scheduled for release in October. Marsha Pollak spotted a forecast in Publishers Weekly (Apr. 14): AGAINST THE BROTHERHOOD, by Quinn Fawcett, due from Forge in October, is the first in a new series featuring Mycroft Holmes. The University of Minnesota held an Official Ground Breaking Celebration on May 9 to celebrate the start of work on the new Minnesota Library Access Center that will house the university's special collections (including the Sherlock Holmes Collections). Dick Sveum reports that university president Nils Hasslmo and university librarian Tom Shaughnessy described the center and its collections, and politicians discussed their battles with the gov- ernor and the state legislature, and then shovels moved dirt, and pictures were taken. Serious construction begins this summer, and the collections will move to the new center in 1999. If you'd like to be on a mailing list for the quarterly newsletter of The Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collec- tions, write to Richard J. Sveum (466 O. M. Wilson Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455) . Forecast: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE RED DEMON, by Larry Millett, in paperback from Penguin in July ($9.95); a reprint of last year's pastiche (Sep 96 #5) in Holmes and Watson travel to Minnesota to help save the Great North Rail- way from an insane arsonist. Congratulations to Christopher Plummer, who on June 1 won a Tony Award for best actor in a play, for his performance in "Barrymore" (he is one of the very few actors who have played Sherlock Holmes and an actor who has played Sherlock Holmes). The Tony Awards are given by The American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers. Jerry Margolin is offering to sell some of his animation cels. Additional information is available from Jerry at 10007 S.W. Quail Post Road, Portland OR 97219 (503-293-7274) . At hand from John Pforr is a flier for the next "Victorian Holmes Weekend" in Cape May, N.J., on Oct. 31-Nov. 2. There will be a Sherlockian mystery to solve, a tour of eight Victorian homes, meal, and other fun and games. Additional information is available from the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts, Box 340, Cape May, NJ 08204-0340 (609-884-5404) (800-275-4278). Jun 97 #4 Cracker Jack fans now have more than one Sherlockian "Wishbone" prize to look for: the first one reported was a small portrait of Wishbone as Sherlock Holmes (one of a 12 different character portraits), and Don Hobbs' son now has found a fancier "dog tag" with two portraits of Wishbone (one in Sherlockian costume) under a piece of ridged plastic that allows you to see one or the other depending on the viewing angle (again, this is one of a dozen different prizes, so you get to eat lots of Cracker Jack before you get to the Sherlockian prize). There seems to be no offi- cial name for the process; some have suggested "switch cards" or "flickers" (or one can just say "what they had before holograms"). Brilliance Audio's continuing series of cassettes produced by Ken Greenwald and his 221A Baker Street Associates offers more of the splendid old radio shows from the 1946-47 season with Nigel Bruce as Watson and Tom Conway as Holmes; Elliott Reid introduces one of the cassettes with discussion of the Baker Street Irregulars and modern Sherlockian societies, and other intro- ductions offer a nice round-table discussion by Holmes, Mycroft, Moriarty, Irene Adler, and Conan Doyle (played by Hank Garrett). Cassettes #13-#16 are now available, at $9.95 each (with two shows on each cassette). MORE NEW ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is the series title and if you can't find them in your local shops, Brilliance is at Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417 (800-222-3225). THE STRANGE CASE OF MRS. HUDSON'S CAT: AND OTHER SCIENCE MYSTERIES SOLVED BY SHERLOCK HOLMES, by Colin Bruce (Reading: Addison-Wesley, 1997; 254 pp., $23.00), offers explanations of the more important paradoxes of classical and modern physics (and resolutions for most of them), with a cast of char- acters that includes Holmes, Watson, Mycroft, Prof. Challenger, Summerlee, Mrs. Hudson, and her cat; this is serious science, presented with style and imagination. Ben Wood offers a sales list for Sherlockian stamps (From Great Britain and Guernsey) and Sherlockiana (needlework, booklets and other souvenirs); his address is Box 740, Ellenton, FL 34222. Stan and Jan Berenstain continue to include Sherlockian allusions in their Berenstain Bears series: David McCallister has spotted THE BERENSTAIN BEARS AND THE GALLOPING GHOST (New York: Random House, 1994; $2.99); Brother and Sister are enjoying the adventures of the great bear detective, Grizzlock Holmes, and his faithful assistance, Dr. Bearson. David also noted an article by John de Lancie in the July issue of Starlog, about the audiobook series "Alien Voices" (distributed by Simon and Schus- ter): the first show is "The Time Machine" with Leonard Nimoy as the Time Traveller; "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is due in July, starring Nimoy and de Lancie; and "The Lost World" comes next, with Armin Shimerman as Challenger and Dwight Schultz as Malone. Plan well ahead: the next STUD Sherlockian Society annual banquet will be held on Mar. 6, 1998, at the Starlight Inn in Schiller Park (near Chicago), with David L. Hammer as featured speaker, followed as usual by a Solar Pons Breakfast in Oak Park on Mar. 7; if you'd like to be on their mailing list, write to Dennis France, 8546 North Kedvale Avenue, Skokie, IL 60076-2113. Jun 97 #5 Andrew Joffe's fine one-act chamber opera "Tobermory" (based on the story by Saki) was produced in Washington and New York last year (with Andrew as the director and a Giant Rat of Sumatra lurking on the set). It will be performed again (with a different director and cast) at the Lake George Opera Festival on Aug. 9, 11, and 13; the box office is at Box 2172, Glens Falls, NY 12801 (518-793-3859). Maurice Tanner (180 Whitehorse Road, West Croydon, Surrey CR0 2LA, England) offers his own color-cachet first day cover of the recent British "Hound of the Baskervilles" stamp with two different pictorial postmarks (L7.99 each postpaid in U.K. or L8.99 overseas), and combination FDCs with the Guernsey Rathbone stamp also with two different pictorial postmarks (L10.99/L11.99), and maximum cards for the four "Tales of Terror" stamps (L9.99/L10/99); you can pay with sterling checks or money orders, or with credit cards with a 30p surcharge (an illustrated flier is available in return for two IRCs or a $1.00 bill). Susan Cohen has forwarded a flier from the Committee for the Scientific In- vestigation of Claims of the Paranormal, which will sponsor a workshop they call "The Skeptic's Toolbox '97" at the University of Oregon at Eugene on Aug. 21-25; the workshop topics will include Houdini and Conan Doyle, Pilt- down Man, dowsing, and the Oregon Vortex. The flier (with Sherlockian art- work) is available from CSICOP (Box 703, Amherst, NY 14226). Auction news: an auction of "English Literature and History" at Sotheby's on July 17 will include a copy of the first edition of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (estimated at L500-700), and a lot with eleven signed letters and cards (ten by Arthur Conan Doyle and one by his widow) to Lord Gorrell (mostly about publishing and the Psychic Bookshop (estimated at L800-1000); the sale will be in the Aeolian Hall in London, and Sotheby's address is: 34-35 New Bond Street, London W1A 2AA, England. The Conan Doyle (Crowborough) Establishment offers a lapel pin as part of its ongoing effort to raise money for a life- size statue of Sir Arthur in Clokes Corner in Crowborough Close. The pin is in antique pewter and 1" high, available from Brian Pugh (20 Clare Road, Lewes BN7 1PN England; L6.00 postpaid in the U.K. or L7.00/$14.00 elsewhere (dollars in currency only, please). Gary Thaden has forwarded David Thompson's article on "Sherlock Holmes and the Ghost Hunter" in the July issue of Biblio: The Magazine for Collectors of Books, Manuscripts and Ephemera; the article deals with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Price and their books about spiritualism. The magazine is found is many used-book stores ($4.95), and published from 845 Willamette Street, Eugene, OR 97401. Bill Barnes (19 Malvern Avenue, Manly, NSW 2095, Australia) offers copies of THE HOUNDS COLLECTION: VOLUME 2, with 100 pages of stories, cartoons, poems, and plays written by members of The Hounds of the Internet; most of the material is new, but a few pieces have appeared elsewhere. $13.00 or CA$18.00 or L9.00 postpaid by airmail; $9.00/$12.00/L6.00 postpaid by sur- face mail. Payment by personal checks or currency is welcome. Jun 97 #6 Sherlockians planning to attend Bouchercon 28 in Monterey on Oct. 30-Nov. 2 will be happy to know that the convention will include two Sherlockian symposia, on "Sherlock Holmes and the Golden State" and "Victorian Gentlemen's Clubs and the Sherlockian Canon (including a Woman's Point of View)". And the Diogenes Club of the Monterey Peninsula will host a reception for visiting Sherlockians on Oct. 31 (5:00 to 7:00 pm); if you plan to attend the reception, please contact Michael H. Kean, 3040 Sloat Road, Pebble Beach, CA 93953. Plan ahead: 221Beach ("a fun-filled Sherlockian spring break of canonical games, contests and camaraderie at the Jersey shore"), is planned for Apr. 17-19, 1998, in Spring Lake, N.J.; if you would like to be on the mailing list, write to Dick Kitts, 35 Van Cortlandt Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301 . Congratulations to Al Rosenblatt, who has been selected as a member of the 1997 U.S. Maccabiah Masters Squash Team. The Maccabiah Games, sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, have been held in Israel every four years since 1932, and more than 5,600 athletes from more than 56 countries will participate in this year's Games in July. Hugh S. Scullion's THE SHERLOCK HOLMES REFERENCE MANUAL offers indexes to Canonical murderers, smoking and tobacco, ships, wrongful arrests, charac- ters and places mentioned, and other topics; the 28-page pamphlet is $13.00 postpaid (checks payable to Hugh Scullion, please) from Cadds Printing, 59 Lancaster Avenue, West Norwood, London SE27 9EL, England. Tom Huntington's "On the Trail of Sherlock Holmes" (Apr 97 #3) ran in the June issue of the Japanese edition of Playboy; he's very fluent in Japanese (the article first ran in the Feb. 1997 issue of Historic Traveler). The house at 12 Tennison Road, South Norwood, is again available, sporting a "for sale" sign, according to a message posted to the Internet news group alt.fan.holmes. It was the home of Arthur Conan Doyle from 1891 to 1893, and four years ago (Sep 92 #4) was offered for L350,000. Ian Henry Publications (20 Park Drive, Romford, Essex RM1 4LH, England) has sent its summer 1997 catalog of Sherlock Holmes material, with a long list of in-print pastiches, scripts, and Doyleana (most also are available from Empire Publishing Services, Box 1344, Studio City, CA 91614). Carolyn and Joel Senter describe THE FORMIDABLE SCRAP-BOOK OF BAKER STREET as "being a compendium of creations, contributions, and offerings from, of, and about Sherlockians everywhere," and that's a fine description indeed: the book includes photographs and program and reports from events they have attended, and material submitted by others, and it offers an interesting view of the world of today's Sherlockians in 292 pages. $35.50 postpaid (US $38.50 to Canada) from Classic Specialties, Box 19058, Cincinnati, OH 45219 ; credit-card orders are welcome, and orders from outside North America will be charged actual shipping costs. The Spermaceti Press: Peter E. Blau, 3900 Tunlaw Road NW #119, Washington, DC 20007-4830 (telephone: 202-338-1808) (Internet: pblau@capaccess.org) Jul 97 #1 Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press I've long sought to identify an actor or artist earlier than Basil Rathbone who portrayed Sherlock Holmes with a calabash pipe. William Gillette used a curved or "bent" wooden pipe rather than the straight pipe shown in the illustrations by Paget and Steele, most likely because he realized (as any actor would) that lighting and smoking a straight pipe puts the hand right in front of the actor's face, whereas a bent pipe doesn't). And Robert S. Ennis has located just such an earlier calabash, and has reported on it in a fine article in the June issue of The Baker Street Journal: the calabash and a deerstalker are shown in a photograph of Robert Woolsey in an adver- tisement for the film "The Nitwits" (1935), which also had Bert Wheeler and Betty Grable in the cast. Alas, the film seems not to be available on vid- eocassette, although it may be found on a now-withdrawn laserdisc, and it's certainly something to watch for in the television listings. And as always I am happy to recommend The Baker Street Journal, published quarterly at $18.95 a year ($21.50 a year outside the U.S.); you can sub- scribe for up to three years, subscribers outside the U.S. can use Visa or Mastercard, and the address is: Box 465, Hanover, PA 17331. Venezuela's giant sandstone mesas (called tepuis) were featured in a one- hour program "Islands in the Sky" in the PBS-TV series "Nature" in 1989, (with mention of their having inspired Conan Doyle's "The Lost World"). And John Hillen spotted an Associated Press story by Bart Jones (June 26) about the campaign by Indians and environmentalists against a government plan to run a high-voltage power line through Canaima National Park, which is the home of Angel Falls (the world's tallest waterfall) and many tepuis. Canaima, the sixth largest national park in the world, was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 1994. The power line will serve gold mines in the state of Roraima, across the border in Brazil, and there are plans to expand mining into the Imataca forest reserve near Canaima. THE FINAL PROBLEMS: SHE