I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

Episode 226: Sherlockian Collecting

<h4 style="text-align: center;">“a small but select library” [GLOR] </h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0UVGRr4_R1s/YWoVRD-X83I/AAAAAAABWvI/sWct4crIEUMlrYYV3IRt8U3YwI8ii3DPQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1203/Small%2Bcollection.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1203" height="446" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0UVGRr4_R1s/YWoVRD-X83I/AAAAAAABWvI/sWct4crIEUMlrYYV3IRt8U3YwI8ii3DPQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h446/Small%2Bcollection.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><p>After covering the Shaw 100 in a previous episode and wondering what the future of Sherlockian libraries and collections might look like, we could think of no better guest to interview than Rebecca Romney, BSI ("That Gap on the Second Shelf").</p><p>You may remember her from a previous appearance (on Episode 101) or from her frequent drop-ins on <i>Pawn Stars</i>, or more recently in the documentary <i>The Booksellers</i>. We know her as a Sherlockian, co-author of <i>Printer's Error</i>, co-founder of the Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize, and co-founder of Type Punch Matrix. And yes, even as a collector herself.</p><p>Our conversation with Rebecca was wide-ranging, during which she gave her prediction about future definitive lists of collectibles, defined who collectors are and how young people can begin their collecting journey, and astutely observed that a collection is "an autobiography in the form of a treasure hunt."</p><p>And of course, we have another <b>Canonical Couplet</b> to challenge your acuity. If you are chosen as a winner, you'll get a collectible or two from the IHOSE vaults. Answers are due by October 29, 2021 at 11:59 a.m. EDT.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UKkxGvjcwAc/YWodadSGw7I/AAAAAAABWvU/c0io2TjI25IYiXofudFvfqqxpBZ2mwybACLcBGAsYHQ/s1845/Screenshot%2B2021-10-12%2B141730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="1845" height="282" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UKkxGvjcwAc/YWodadSGw7I/AAAAAAABWvU/c0io2TjI25IYiXofudFvfqqxpBZ2mwybACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h282/Screenshot%2B2021-10-12%2B141730.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Information on sponsors, links, and notes are available below.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606">Become a Patron!</a></div><script async="" src="https://c6.patreon.com/becomePatronButton.bundle.js"></script><p></p><div><div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Please do consider becoming a <a href="https://ihose.co/ihosepatron" target="_blank">Patron of the Arts</a>. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and transcription services. </div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h3><a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock226.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 36.8 MB, 1:12:20</h3><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"></div><br /><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1142623183&color=%23ce1a21&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" title="ihearofsherlock" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">ihearofsherlock</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock/sherlockian-collecting" title="Sherlockian Collecting" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Sherlockian Collecting</a></div><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"></div><div style="line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; word-break: normal;"><br /><br /><br /></div></div></div><h2 style="margin: 0px;">Sponsors</h2><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.danandriacco.com" target="_blank">Dan Andriacco</a> has a new edition in the McCabe-Cody series: <i><a href="https://mxpublishing.com/products/no-ghosts-need-apply-mccabe-and-cody-10?_pos=3&_sid=2c713ae10&_ss=r" target="_blank">No Ghosts Need Apply</a></i>, available on September 28.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a> is the premier publisher of books about Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle, including <i><a href="https://wessexpress.com/html/bookman.html" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle and The Bookman</a></i> by S.E. Dahlinger.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://mxpublishing.com/" target="_blank">MX Publishing</a> carries both volumes of David MacGregor's <i><a href="https://mxpublishing.com/search?type=product&q=thousand+faces" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes: The Hero with a Thousand Faces</a></i>.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Would you care to advertise with us? You can find <a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" target="_blank">more information here</a>. Let's chat!<br /><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><h2><b>Links</b></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul><li>This episode: <a href="https://ihose.co/ihose226">ihose.co/ihose226</a></li><li><a href="https://www.typepunchmatrix.com/" target="_blank">Type Punch Matrix</a></li><li><a href="https://www.honeyandwaxbooks.com/prize.php" target="_blank">Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize</a></li><li><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3vf5F9y" target="_blank">The Booksellers</a></i> (Amazon DVD) | <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3DJfsYD" target="_blank">The Booksellers</a></i> (Amazon Prime Video)</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3pflXOG" target="_blank">Printer's Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History</a> (Amazon)</li><li>Previous episodes mentioned:</li><ul><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose16" target="_blank">Episode 16: Collector's Corner: Jerry Margolin</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose101" target="_blank">Episode 101: Rebecca Romney</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose224" target="_blank">Episode 224: The Shaw 100</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/trifles247" target="_blank">Trifles Episode 247 - Sherlock Holmes, Book Collector</a></li></ul></ul><div><div style="margin: 0px;">Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="https://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> as well as through our accounts on <a href="https://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://youtube.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Please subscribe via the podcast provider of your choosing:</b></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://pod.link/258126625" target="_blank">Listen to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a></div><br />And would you consider leaving us a rating and review? It would help other Sherlockians to find us.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).</div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><h3><br />Transcript</h3><div style="margin: 0px;">We are so grateful for your support <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">on Patreon</a>, which makes our transcripts possible. Every amount helps. A transcript will be here soon.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606">Become a Patron!</a></div><script async="" src="https://c6.patreon.com/becomePatronButton.bundle.js"></script><p></p><div><div></div></div><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"><br /></p></div><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;">--</p><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"><br /></p></div></div></div><br />

Episode 226: Sherlockian Collecting

“a small but select library” [GLOR] After covering the Shaw 100 in a previous episode and wondering what the future of Sherlockian librarie...

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by Scott Monty

Banknotes Fit to Pass Anywhere

<h4 style="text-align: center;">"Is it forgery, coining, burglary?" [VALL] </h4><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GqyzreyGhTs/YWWTX1msu6I/AAAAAAABWks/n1Qnh2BycJQJZtAIJKqeQu76S1bvTgoLgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/Collage_for_banknote_design%252C_Bank_of_Manchester%252C_UK%252C_1833._On_display_at_the_British_Museum_in_London.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1200" height="392" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GqyzreyGhTs/YWWTX1msu6I/AAAAAAABWks/n1Qnh2BycJQJZtAIJKqeQu76S1bvTgoLgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h392/Collage_for_banknote_design%252C_Bank_of_Manchester%252C_UK%252C_1833._On_display_at_the_British_Museum_in_London.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Banknote, Bank of Manchester (credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Collage_for_banknote_design,_Bank_of_Manchester,_UK,_1833._On_display_at_the_British_Museum_in_London.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/11/remembering-donald-redmond-bsi-2s.html" target="_blank">Donald A. Redmond, BSI</a>, who was my father, wrote something like 200 works of Sherlockian scholarship and imagination over more than four decades, and I've spent a lot of time lately working through the typescripts he left in his files. Most of his works were published in one way or another, including two full-length books; but I have been surprised to find quite a mass of material that apparently never saw print.<br /><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jvHUox4LA-A/YWWUdHS9cUI/AAAAAAABWlA/wl6ErOeY3ScjMZ6j7j9X3iAIADLGZWICQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1680/Donald%2BRedmond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1680" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jvHUox4LA-A/YWWUdHS9cUI/AAAAAAABWlA/wl6ErOeY3ScjMZ6j7j9X3iAIADLGZWICQCLcBGAsYHQ/w286-h400/Donald%2BRedmond.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Credit: Redmond family photo</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />A number of these never-published articles are brief studies that Donald Redmond (DAR) called "<b>Sherlockian Plotnotes,</b>" which seem to be leftovers from his research about Arthur Conan Doyle's sources for the Sherlock Holmes tales. (The central work resulting from that research was his 1982 book <a href="https://amzn.to/3aswNsc" target="_blank"><i>Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Sources</i></a>.)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V11YygyVoOQ/YWWVw_z3CqI/AAAAAAABWlI/ZdWZBl96EDsq62YAL0j1R1KczNYkxYwsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s458/A%2BStudy%2Bin%2BSources.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V11YygyVoOQ/YWWVw_z3CqI/AAAAAAABWlI/ZdWZBl96EDsq62YAL0j1R1KczNYkxYwsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/A%2BStudy%2Bin%2BSources.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><div><br /> One of those Plotnotes, dated 1989, deals with "The Three Garridebs," and with the crime at its center — not the attempt to shoot Watson in front of his friend Holmes, but the counterfeiting of Bank of England notes. Here's some of what DAR wrote on that topic:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote><div>"The key plot element in 3GAR, aside from the wild-goose-chase ruse, is the cache of plates for counterfeiting banknotes. This differs sufficiently from the thirty thousand napoleons in gold in REDH, perhaps the critic will allow, permitting more freedom of locale. It has been a popular device in pastiches too." </div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>He cites the Rathbone/Bruce film <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3mKUimb" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dressed to Kill</a></i> and the more recent <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2YF9ysQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Without a Clue</a></i>.<br /><br /></div><div>"The pastiches," says DAR, "were not as adventurous as 3GAR — nor as the reality —for they chased after plates for pounds and fivers, whereas Rodger Prescott's notes were hundreds." <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>On the other hand, Prescott was a coiner as well,</div><blockquote><div>"and most coining was of spurious    silver — half-crowns, crowns, perhaps only shillings, worth $2 to$10 in 1980s  purchasing power — which was easier to make and to pass, being so much more common. Holmes exposed one coiner, he alleged, by finding copper and zinc filings in his trouser cuffs — most unlikely, pewter (the usual material for duff coins) being composed of tin and lead. But the real money was in high value banknotes."</div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Victorian newspapers make clear that the forging industry was viable. DAR quotes from the Portsmouth Evening News of 30 January 1883:</div><blockquote><div>"The manufacture of flash bank notes is being extensively carried on in the Midlands. The notes are of such good imitation that not only have commercial men been deceived, but they have been accepted by numerous local banks. The spurious character of the notes was first discovered on some being passed  to the Bank of England. The police suspect that the notes are produced and circulated by a gang of clever swindlers, having agents in the principal midlandtowns."</div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>And from the same paper in 1885:</div><blockquote><div> "On Monday or Tuesday last a woman, accompanied by a respectabletradesman in Leadenhall Market, appeared at the Bank of England, and tendered to a cashier a £500 note, which she requested cash and  notes for. Thenote to all appearances was perfectly genuine, and it was only by the discovery that there were no notes of that particular number issued for that amount that the forgery was detected."</div></blockquote><div> <br /> A £500 note would have the modern purchasing power of — well, DAR, writing in the 1980s, says $35,000; I'd call it $100,000, based on the latest estimates of <a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2021/09/thinking-about-money-in-sherlock-holmes.html#.YWWXfNpKjb0" target="_blank">how much the value of money has changed</a>.  <br /><br /> He adds: </div><blockquote><div>"One may marvel over the fact that the Bank of England could record and keep track of the number of every single banknote; but recall that gold was the usual medium of everyday transactions, unless the amount was sizeable. Banking accounts were less common, used chiefly for cheques transmitted between firms or by persons of substantial means."</div></blockquote><div>   <br /><br /> One final note:</div><blockquote><div>"There was a Roger Prescott, by the way, far back in English history; his line founded Lancaster, Massachusetts, and brought the Prescott name to America. There is no record of his coining or forging; perhaps the plates still lie buried."</div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>I hope to include some of these never-published studies in a proposed anthology of DAR's writing. Details will be announced in due course.</div><div><br /></div><div>--</div></div><div><br /></div><br />

Banknotes Fit to Pass Anywhere

"Is it forgery, coining, burglary?" [VALL] Banknote, Bank of Manchester (credit: Wikimedia Commons ) Donald A. Redmond, BSI , who...

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by Chris Redmond

Book Review: Playing the Game

<h4 style="text-align: center;">"we should have had the opportunity of playing his own game upon himself" [HOUN]</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UodtU_ZJCBM/YV0XwBBrP1I/AAAAAAABWaA/0ZCH8xWZKysSYsaj3yTBqw-HWL-u35VqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1817/Cenarth%2BFox%2B-%2BPlaying%2Bthe%2BGame.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1357" data-original-width="1817" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UodtU_ZJCBM/YV0XwBBrP1I/AAAAAAABWaA/0ZCH8xWZKysSYsaj3yTBqw-HWL-u35VqACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h478/Cenarth%2BFox%2B-%2BPlaying%2Bthe%2BGame.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Sherlockians know that "playing the game" means considering Arthur Conan Doyle's role as Dr. John Watson's literary agent for his stories about his friend Sherlock Holmes. </p><p>In <i><b><a href="https://amzn.to/3oFpTIm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes: Playing the Game</a></b></i>, Cenarth Fox takes this approach to ludicrous but amusing extremes. It's a comedic meta-story, stuffed with facts and historical details. </p><p>A seventy-something Holmes is packing for his retirement in Sussex when Mrs. Hudson reveals that she's written a book about the mistakes he and Watson have made. He wants to stop publication at any cost, while she's determined to make her literary debut. </p><p>Things spiral out of control when she visits the editorial staff at the<i> Strand</i> <i>Magazine</i>. They send her to meet Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who thinks the old woman is deluded, since she thinks his creation is real. The editor loves the manuscript but can't find the writer. Sir Arthur is grumpy about the criticism of his writing and what he believes to be annoying fans. Meanwhile, Holmes and Watson bicker while trying to find the book.</p><p>Readers who wonder about Doyle's grasp of details will enjoy seeing many of the bobbles mentioned here, whether it's the location of Watson's wound or the question of his wife's name. The story drags a bit in the middle<span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">—</span>I'm not sure this idea and its working-out needed 180 pages<span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">—</span>but the concept is ridiculously fun. It's a caper spurred by love of the characters, errors and all. </p><p><br /></p><p><i><b><a href="https://amzn.to/2YsQuOe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes: Playing the Game</a></b></i> by Cenarth Fox, published by Fox Plays, 2020</p><p><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=scottmonty-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0949175420&asins=0949175420&linkId=b49fc96d8ec856c3cb11d0772e9551d1&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br /></p><p>--</p><p><br /></p>

Book Review: Playing the Game

"we should have had the opportunity of playing his own game upon himself" [HOUN] Sherlockians know that "playing the game&quo...

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by Johanna Draper Carlson

Baker Street Elementary – Corporal Punishment

<h4 style="text-align: center;"><span>“</span>they will soon receive a more than sufficient punishment” [BERY]</h4><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvCAQvk1Osg/YVnJLw3p8QI/AAAAAAABWVI/5bLyfSU-iZ8z5SGlwynVSmgNr_sQVGmZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvCAQvk1Osg/YVnJLw3p8QI/AAAAAAABWVI/5bLyfSU-iZ8z5SGlwynVSmgNr_sQVGmZgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div>When we think of boarding school education in Victorian England, it's easy to conjure up the usual stereotypes: old drafty buildings, horrible food, stern teachers, and the like.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the hallmarks of the educational system at the time was corporal punishment, typically administered with a cane or piece of rattan. Boys were usually caned on their backsides and girls were either beaten on their bare legs or across their hands. </div><div><br /></div><div>A pupil could receive a caning for a whole range of reasons, including: rudeness, leaving a room without permission, laziness, not telling the truth, or playing truant.</div><div><br /></div><div>A harsh penalty for a harsh time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Or was it?</div><div><br /></div><div>In our research we discovered that the Dickensian nightmare scenario, the physical torture of children at the hands of teachers, was not outlawed in England until... 1985.</div><div><br /></div><div>More about boarding schools can be found on <a href="https://ihose.co/trifles127" target="_blank">Trifles Episode 127</a>:</div><div><br /><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/631951566&color=%23ce1a21&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/sherlockholmes-trifles" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Sherlock Holmes: Trifles">Sherlock Holmes: Trifles</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/sherlockholmes-trifles/schools-out" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="School's Out">School's Out</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Meanwhile, at Baker Street Elementary, the boys are considering how to lessen the likelihood of punishment...</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yUxfpp3NGqk/YVnJRHYZTHI/AAAAAAABWVM/Np42E0vZXbQD13O4vVhNDVX7A-f2VDXkgCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yUxfpp3NGqk/YVnJRHYZTHI/AAAAAAABWVM/Np42E0vZXbQD13O4vVhNDVX7A-f2VDXkgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kig7ZbBkPH0/YVnJRNXFPwI/AAAAAAABWVQ/F9lt6XzkOcMRvAk9DLx5LSu3YRvC0roeACLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kig7ZbBkPH0/YVnJRNXFPwI/AAAAAAABWVQ/F9lt6XzkOcMRvAk9DLx5LSu3YRvC0roeACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GDW9jJustrI/YVnJRHnhRqI/AAAAAAABWVU/NQ2_YIqNTEEXcMJ9WGpVt3CzkpnwJWrpgCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GDW9jJustrI/YVnJRHnhRqI/AAAAAAABWVU/NQ2_YIqNTEEXcMJ9WGpVt3CzkpnwJWrpgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFIyA2y1pJg/YVnJRZ6TeZI/AAAAAAABWVY/Mb3i6qHwjpMMsNssiQwcTzYizX4T52HnwCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFIyA2y1pJg/YVnJRZ6TeZI/AAAAAAABWVY/Mb3i6qHwjpMMsNssiQwcTzYizX4T52HnwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B116.5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /><div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Baker Street Elementary</i></b><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 14px;"> follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at </span><a href="http://www.bakerstreetelementary.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #006f85; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">www.bakerstreetelementary.org</a><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 14px;">.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F-VumJdilF0/WJa_9TrpA3I/AAAAAAAAuO8/52U-hZ7WY4Qz2Oqo84lF8KQnF0zynZ5YQCPcB/s1600/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary.jpg" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F-VumJdilF0/WJa_9TrpA3I/AAAAAAAAuO8/52U-hZ7WY4Qz2Oqo84lF8KQnF0zynZ5YQCPcB/s640/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><br />--</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>

Baker Street Elementary – Corporal Punishment

“ they will soon receive a more than sufficient punishment” [BERY] When we think of boarding school education in Victorian England, it's...

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by Scott Monty

Episode 225: Evidence Boxes

<h4 style="text-align: center;">“I’ll show you a grim little bit of evidence” [RETI] </h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sbbh4TnlJfg/YVXBg6r9eYI/AAAAAAABWQM/28ImRe3EIG02mcy0wQZOoI9WDxVvmLhdgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/Evidence%2BBox%2Bcontents.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sbbh4TnlJfg/YVXBg6r9eYI/AAAAAAABWQM/28ImRe3EIG02mcy0wQZOoI9WDxVvmLhdgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Evidence%2BBox%2Bcontents.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><p>Paul Churchill, BSI (“Corot”) delighted in recreating evidence boxes for each Sherlock Holmes story. After his death in 2008, Deborah Clark became their steward.</p><p>Regular attendees of Watson's Tin Box see evidence boxes at every monthly meeting, but we wanted to give you a peek inside as well. Debbie sat down with us to detail what these evidence boxes are, how Paul created them, and what makes them so special. </p><p>The contents inside them (and outside of some of them) are astounding in their reality and detail, bringing the Sherlock Holmes stories to life in a unique way. We have posted <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/56803056" target="_blank">photos of some of the contents</a>.</p><p>And of course, we have another <b>Canonical Couplet</b> to challenge your acuity. If you are chosen as a winner, you'll get <i>The Sherlock Holmes Scrapbook</i> by Peter Haining. Answers are due by October 14, 2021 at 11:59 a.m. EDT.</p><br /><p>Information on sponsors, links, and notes are available below.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606">Become a Patron!</a></div><script async="" src="https://c6.patreon.com/becomePatronButton.bundle.js"></script><p></p><div><div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Please do consider becoming a <a href="https://ihose.co/ihosepatron" target="_blank">Patron of the Arts</a>. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and transcription services. </div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h3><a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock225.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 29.4 MB, 59:46</h3><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"></div><br /><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1133659216&color=%23ce1a21&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true" width="100%"></iframe><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="ihearofsherlock">ihearofsherlock</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock/evidence-boxes" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Evidence Boxes">Evidence Boxes</a></div><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"></div><div style="line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; word-break: normal;"><br /><br /><br /></div></div></div><h2 style="margin: 0px; text-align: left;">Sponsors</h2><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.danandriacco.com" target="_blank">Dan Andriacco</a> has a new edition in the McCabe-Cody series: <i><a href="https://mxpublishing.com/products/no-ghosts-need-apply-mccabe-and-cody-10?_pos=3&_sid=2c713ae10&_ss=r" target="_blank">No Ghosts Need Apply</a></i>, available on September 28.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a> is the premier publisher of books about Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle, including Terence Faherty's <i><a href="https://wessexpress.com/html/trueadventures.html" target="_blank">The True Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://mxpublishing.com/" target="_blank">MX Publishing</a> has a number of new Kickstarters that need your attention: <i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vincestadon/hounded-my-obsession-with-sherlock-holmess-hound" target="_blank">Hounded: My Obsession with Sherlock Holmes's Hound</a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1208756724/the-magnificent-madness-of-tessa-wiggins" target="_blank">The Magnificent Madness of Tessa Wiggins</a></i>, and <i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amazonianexplorer/sherlock-holmes-and-the-adventure-of-the-amazonian-explorer" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Amazonian Explorer</a></i>.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Would you care to advertise with us? You can find <a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" target="_blank">more information here</a>. Let's chat!<br /><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><h2><b>Links</b></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul><li>This episode: <a href="https://ihose.co/ihose225">ihose.co/ihose225</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2008/11/genuine-corot-sign_9.html#.YVW_sZrMLb0" target="_blank">Remembering Paul Churchill, BSI</a></li><li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/56803056" target="_blank">Photos of some of the contents of evidence boxes</a></li><li><a href="http://www.watsonstinbox.org/" target="_blank">Watson's Tin Box</a></li><li><a href="https://www.scintillation.org/" target="_blank">A Scintillation of Scions</a></li><li>Previous episodes mentioned:</li><ul><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose153" target="_blank">Episode 153: The Rooms at 221B Baker Street</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose203" target="_blank">Episode 203: The Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Podcast</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose219" target="_blank">Episode 219: The Baker Street Almanac</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose137" target="_blank">Episode 137: Boxes from Royalty</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose107" target="_blank">Episode 107: A Scintillation of Scions</a></li></ul></ul><div><div style="margin: 0px;">Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="https://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> as well as through our accounts on <a href="https://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://youtube.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><b>Please subscribe via the podcast provider of your choosing:</b></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://pod.link/258126625" target="_blank">Listen to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a></div><br />And would you consider leaving us a rating and review? It would help other Sherlockians to find us.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323).</div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><h3><br />Transcript</h3><div style="margin: 0px;">We are so grateful for your support <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">on Patreon</a>, which makes our transcripts possible. Every amount helps. A transcript will be here soon.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606">Become a Patron!</a></div><script async="" src="https://c6.patreon.com/becomePatronButton.bundle.js"></script><p></p><div><div></div></div><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"><br /></p></div><p style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;">   <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/529745022/Transcript-I-Hear-of-Sherlock-Everywhere-Episode-225-Evidence-Boxes#from_embed" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 225: Evidence Boxes on Scribd">Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 225: Evidence Boxes</a> </p><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_45291" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/529745022/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-ouDURx42Xdd33tZEVFKs" title="Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 225: Evidence Boxes" width="100%"></iframe><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;">--</p></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>

Episode 225: Evidence Boxes

“I’ll show you a grim little bit of evidence” [RETI] Paul Churchill, BSI (“Corot”) delighted in recreating evidence boxes for each Sherlock...

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by Scott Monty

Thinking About Money in the Sherlock Holmes Stories

<h4 style="text-align: center;">"certain arguments, metallic or otherwise" [COPP] </h4><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zgvf1_rshkU/YVIC2LibLhI/AAAAAAABWM4/f-ALGZB0cTsFAPgJvW657Hc6JESqTRNCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/French%2BGold%2Bin%2BThe%2BRed-Headed%2BLeague.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zgvf1_rshkU/YVIC2LibLhI/AAAAAAABWM4/f-ALGZB0cTsFAPgJvW657Hc6JESqTRNCQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/French%2BGold%2Bin%2BThe%2BRed-Headed%2BLeague.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="https://youtu.be/PTtiR9j-IQw" target="_blank">YouTube</a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Money figures in most of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and the reader misses some of the point without a reliable answer to the question, "How much is that really?" For North American readers, more specifically: what would the equivalent be in today's US dollars?   <br /><br /><div>How lavish was that £6,000 cheque from the Duke of Holdernesse?   <br /><br />How pricy was that 8d glass of sherry? (Here we get into the messy calculations: twelve pence to a shilling, 20 shillings to a pound, so a pound would buy a round of sherry for 30 people at an expensive hotel.)  <br /><br />How "nicely" could Mary Sutherland get along on the annual income of £100 from her trust fund?  <br /><br /><br /> The obvious way to address this kind of question is a comparison of canonical sums with today's prices, such as the $18 rock bottom price for a glass of port (sherry doesn't seem to be available) at the Palm Court at New York's Plaza Hotel. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, no single multiplier seems to work, especially for the luckless researcher who tries to take into account incomes (Mycroft Holmes's "four hundred and fifty pounds a year") as well as prices. It does appear that salaries were low in the Victorian era— but one must remember that hardly anybody paid income tax, and that there were no iPhones, cable packages, sushi or gym memberships to gobble up a modest middle-class income.  <br /><br /> Three or four decades ago, I used that sort of hand-waving calculation to proclaim that £1 in Sherlock Holmes's era had the purchasing power of $100 in modern times. That made the Baker Street Irregulars' daily shilling the equivalent of a $5 bill. </div><div><br /></div><div>Later, as prices kept rising, I amended my rule of thumb to say that the pound was worth $120 ("<a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2018/01/canonical-currency-in-present-day-terms.html#.YVH_u5pKjb0" target="_blank">Canonical Currency in Present-Day Terms</a>"), at the unfortunate cost of complicated mental arithmetic when the subject was, say, Watson's wound pension of eleven shillings and sixpence a day. That would work out to (brings calculator into play) $2,070 a month, not generous but unfortunately plausible.  <br /><br /> Other enthusiasts have done the calculation in other ways, such as converting the 11/6 (or the Duke's £6,000, as the case may be) to US dollars at the traditional rate of $5 to £1, and inflating the result by the 125-year inflation factor of about 3,000 per cent. </div><div><br /></div><div>Alternatively, one could calculate inflation first and transatlantic currency exchange afterwards (the pound is worth about $1.40 US these days). The calculation is a simple one, as Sherlock Holmes mendaciously said in "Silver Blaze."</div><div><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">A Value Proposition</h3> Recently, however, it struck me that there's another way to look at the matter. After all, the pound, the basic unit of British currency, is tied firmly to the value of precious metals in two different ways.   <br /><br /> First of all, it's the pound sterling. If you go back far enough £1 was the negotiable value of a "Troy pound" (373 grams) of silver. </div><div><br /></div><div>And second, it was in Victorian times almost entirely represented by a gold coin, a "sovereign", that wasn't just worth a pound, it literally was a pound. A sovereign, according to several trustworthy books of reference, contained 123.27 grains, or 7.98 grams, of gold (see also "<a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/04/the-curious-incident-of-guinea-coin.html#.YVIAt5pKjb0" target="_blank">The Curious Incident of the Guinea Coin</a>").<br /><br /><br /> The prices of precious metals are volatile these days, to say the least. Over the past two years (which include the COVID-19 era and its severe threats to the world economy), silver has sold for as little as 37 cents per gram, as much as 94 cents. In 2020-21, the wildness has moderated a little, and the average price has been about 80 cents a gram. Multiply the weight by the price, and you'll find that a pound of silver should cost about $298 US.  <br /><br /> Similar calculations work with gold, though Neil Gibson, the Gold King, would be glad to know that the swings are not as extreme. </div><div><br /></div><div>The price per gram has been about $56 a gram over the past two years, in a range from about $47 to $67. Multiply that $56 by the sovereign's weight of just under 8 grams, and you get $447 US as the value of the gold that Irene Adler gave Sherlock Holmes at her wedding.  <br /><br /> Why aren't these numbers the same? Well, that's the effect of "the bimetallic question", that international economic conundrum on which Mycroft Holmes was available to be consulted. </div><div><br /></div><div>But either of the figures, $298 or $447, is a plausible candidate for the "real" value of an 1895 pound in today's American money. Which shines a whole new light on the "seven pounds thirteen" found on the body of Enoch Drebber, Mrs. Maberley's £5,000 trip around the world, and even the 55 shillings (just short of three pounds) that Holmes paid for his Stradivarius. </div><div><br /></div><div>More than you'd think, more than you'd think.    </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Editor's note</i></b>: Also see "<a href="https://fourthgarrideb.com/2019/04/09/the-bimetallic-question-in-the-valley-of-fear/" target="_blank">The Bimetallic Question in The Valley of Fear,</a>" via The Fourth Garrideb</div><div><br /></div><div>Further listening:</div><div><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/610626000&color=%23ce1a21&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/sherlockholmes-trifles" title="Sherlock Holmes: Trifles" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Sherlock Holmes: Trifles</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/sherlockholmes-trifles/old-money" title="Old Money" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Old Money</a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>--</div><div><br /></div>

Thinking About Money in the Sherlock Holmes Stories

"certain arguments, metallic or otherwise" [COPP] Image credit: YouTube Money figures in most of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and...

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by Chris Redmond

Baker Street Elementary – Secret Ingredient

<h4 style="text-align: center;"><span>“he could see a great deal that was hidden from me</span>” [STUD]</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1SMixRTjdMQ/YUazYRlQY-I/AAAAAAABV9Y/eiCz8ka7UZ0ggq_OFGy4_OxeniYadVd9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B115.1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1SMixRTjdMQ/YUazYRlQY-I/AAAAAAABV9Y/eiCz8ka7UZ0ggq_OFGy4_OxeniYadVd9gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B115.1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>When he created Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle knew immediately that he needed to show how the sausage was made. Or perhaps, given his background, how the haggis was made.</div><div><br /></div><div>He didn't create the genre of detective fiction, but he did popularize it. Greats such as Edgar Allan Poe and Wilkie Collins preceded him, but Doyle wasn't particularly fond of their heroes' abilities, as told by the authors.</div><div><br /></div><div>In <a href="https://youtu.be/tUjUZ-ASJeI" target="_blank">a 1929 movie reel</a>, he expressed his initial dissatisfaction:</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote><div>Well, first of all, about the Sherlock Holmes stories. They came about in this way: I was quite a young doctor at the time and I had a course of scientific training, and I used to occasionally to read detective stories, it often annoyed me how in the old-fashioned detective story the detective always seemed to get at his results either by some sort of lucky chance or fluke, or else it was quite unexplained how he got there. He got there but he never gave an explanation to how. Now that didn't seem to me quite playing the game. It seemed to me that he's bound to give his reasons why he came to his conclusions.</div></blockquote><div><br /></div></div><div>So, he set out on a different path. A path that was not only possible but plausible, thanks to Dr. Joseph Bell, a professor at Edinburgh University, who taught Conan Doyle:</div><div><br /></div><div><div></div><blockquote><div>But when I began thinking about this, I began to think of turning scientific methods, as it were, onto the work of detection. And I used, as a student to have an old professor his name was Bell, who was extraordinarily quick at deductive work. He would look at the patient, he would hardly allow the patient to open his mouth but he would make his diagnosis of the disease, and also very often of the patient's nationality and occupation and other points, entirely by his power of observation. So naturally I thought to myself, "well if a scientific man like Bell was to come into the detective business, he wouldn't do these things by chance, he'd get the thing by building it up, scientifically."</div><div><br /></div><div>So, having once conceived that line of thought, you can well imagine that I had as it were, a new idea of the detective and one which it interested me to work out. I thought of a hundred little dodges, as you may say, a hundred little touches by which he could build up his conclusions and then I began to write stories on those lines.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tUjUZ-ASJeI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In "The Red-Headed League," Sherlock Holmes said "‘<i>Omne ignotum pro magnifico</i>,’ you know," which means everything unknown is perceived as grand. Holmes was protective of his reputation and his wizard-like powers that constantly astounded clients, the official police, and even Watson himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet, in his storytelling, Doyle managed to demystify the mysteries and place Holmes on the same level as we mere mortals at the same time elevating him to a hero worthy of our admiration.</div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe haggis isn't so bad after all.<br /><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, at Baker Street Elementary, it's time for some mystery meat...</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JEwKbfX_bPE/YUazcmb6IyI/AAAAAAABV9c/xD1wXKnHgd4Maf3ysB7I-VWBX6xjz3X2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B115.2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JEwKbfX_bPE/YUazcmb6IyI/AAAAAAABV9c/xD1wXKnHgd4Maf3ysB7I-VWBX6xjz3X2QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B115.2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hNXxOfsq0N4/YUazcvLA0rI/AAAAAAABV9k/8qvYwf5ncHwsCgc1Htc5C13NK7dfOb1OwCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B115.3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hNXxOfsq0N4/YUazcvLA0rI/AAAAAAABV9k/8qvYwf5ncHwsCgc1Htc5C13NK7dfOb1OwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B115.3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLFMQpbXbyY/YUazcrWGe8I/AAAAAAABV9g/IdnWH4nG6oUqP3Eobumy4zNlhcbTIo_vgCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B115.4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLFMQpbXbyY/YUazcrWGe8I/AAAAAAABV9g/IdnWH4nG6oUqP3Eobumy4zNlhcbTIo_vgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary%2B115.4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /><div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Baker Street Elementary</i></b><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 14px;"> follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at </span><a href="http://www.bakerstreetelementary.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #006f85; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">www.bakerstreetelementary.org</a><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 14px;">.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #0e0e0e; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F-VumJdilF0/WJa_9TrpA3I/AAAAAAAAuO8/52U-hZ7WY4Qz2Oqo84lF8KQnF0zynZ5YQCPcB/s1600/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary.jpg" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F-VumJdilF0/WJa_9TrpA3I/AAAAAAAAuO8/52U-hZ7WY4Qz2Oqo84lF8KQnF0zynZ5YQCPcB/s640/Baker%2BStreet%2BElementary.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><br />--</div><div><br /><br /></div></div></div></div>

Baker Street Elementary – Secret Ingredient

“he could see a great deal that was hidden from me ” [STUD] When he created Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle knew immediately that he nee...

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by Scott Monty

New Enola Holmes Book Out Now

<h4 style="text-align: center;">"the young woman came to the door" [SECO] </h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePJgWl2BM5w/YUTwgatJfZI/AAAAAAABV88/9bDd5Q5BHU4KIH3Gxsr6kZtvbGKapxlxACLcBGAsYHQ/s1681/Enola%2BHolmes%2BBlack%2BBarouche%2B-%2Blandscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1681" height="408" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePJgWl2BM5w/YUTwgatJfZI/AAAAAAABV88/9bDd5Q5BHU4KIH3Gxsr6kZtvbGKapxlxACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h408/Enola%2BHolmes%2BBlack%2BBarouche%2B-%2Blandscape.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Out now is <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3AgEVY2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche</a></i>, a new installment in the young adult novel series by <a href="https://ihose.co/ihose200" target="_blank">Nancy Springer</a>. </p><p>The previous six books were published between 2006 and 2010. Inspired by the recent successful Netflix film, this latest volume provides Sherlock and Mycroft's younger sister, now fifteen years old, with a new adventure. As the publisher describes it, </p><p></p><blockquote><p>When a young professional woman, Miss Letitia Glover, shows up on Sherlock's doorstep, desperate to learn more about the fate of her twin sister, it is Enola who steps up. It seems her sister, the former Felicity Glover, married the Earl of Dunhench and per a curt note from the Earl, has died. But Letitia Glover is convinced this isn't the truth, that she'd know--she'd feel--if her twin had died.</p><p>The Earl's note is suspiciously vague and the death certificate is even more dubious, signed it seems by a John H. Watson, M.D. (who denies any knowledge of such). The only way forward is for Enola to go undercover--or so Enola decides at the vehement objection of her brother. And she soon finds out that this is not the first of the Earl's wives to die suddenly and vaguely--and that the secret to the fate of the missing Felicity is tied to a mysterious black barouche that arrived at the Earl's home in the middle of the night. To uncover the secrets held tightly within the Earl's hall, Enola is going to require help--from Sherlock, from the twin sister of the missing woman, and from an old friend, the young Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether!</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">To find out more, you can <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/excerpt?isbn=9781250822956">read the first chapter</a> online or check the <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250822956">publisher's website</a>. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">And of course, you don't want to miss the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere <a href="https://ihose.co/ihose200" target="_blank">interview with Nancy Springer</a>:</p><p style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/893856502&color=ef1625" width="100%"></iframe></p><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="ihearofsherlock">ihearofsherlock</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock/enola-holmes" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Enola Holmes">Enola Holmes</a></div><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><br /></div>--<div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><br /></div><p></p><script type="text/javascript">
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