Episode 223: Eille Norwood, Restored

<h4 style="text-align: center;">“And why not Norwood?” [NORW] </h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsQACCb6H0h0iRrIX0b0CntV4ive7KB6eFH9kMPk5ztkinh9tTYaLL1YSy7Sd3fqOGWyYgUI5yDEG-2HTFakQ6iJtaVkJC3CMno5utM-3PI7NcWj5q-e716NwvuZy86x1mXhH-N2qdjJh/s2048/ihearofhserlock123+header.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsQACCb6H0h0iRrIX0b0CntV4ive7KB6eFH9kMPk5ztkinh9tTYaLL1YSy7Sd3fqOGWyYgUI5yDEG-2HTFakQ6iJtaVkJC3CMno5utM-3PI7NcWj5q-e716NwvuZy86x1mXhH-N2qdjJh/w640-h360/ihearofhserlock123+header.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><p>Before there was Jeremy Brett, there was Anthony Edward Brett. Like the modern-day television actor, he played Sherlock Holmes in over 40 films.</p><p>But you know him as Eille Norwood.</p><p>Most of his Sherlock Holmes films from the 1920s remain hidden from the public, so when the British Film Institute announced a major restoration project, we called Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder") to enlighten us.</p><p>Russell is a silent film scholar, having recently retired from the University of California, Berkley as a professor of film. He was actively involved in the restoration of other recently discovered silent Sherlock Holmes films such as William Gillette's 1916 <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> and the German <i>Der Hund der Baskervilles</i> from 1929.</p><p>Together, we go behind the scenes of the Norwood films — a drama itself — and cover the Clive Brook film, as well as Russell's Holy Grail of lost Sherlock Holmes films.</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 some mystery item from the IHOSE vaults. Answers are due by September 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><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><h4 style="margin: 0px;"><b>BONUS CONTENT:</b></h4><div style="margin: 0px;">For our <a href="https://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Patreon</a> supporters, we have <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/55538043/" target="_blank">special photos and video</a> from the 2016 Chautauqua conference, where we screened some Eille Norwood films. This additional material is just for our supporters. Become one for as little as $1 a month on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/55538043/" target="_blank">Patreon</a>.</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/ihearofsherlock223.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 33.7 MB, 1:05:47</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/1115880706&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/eille-norwood-restored" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Eille Norwood, Restored">Eille Norwood, Restored</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="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></div><h2><b><br /></b></h2><h2><b>Sponsors</b></h2><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 <a href="https://wessexpress.com/html/bookman.html"><em>Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle, and the Bookman</em></a>.</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/ihose223">ihose.co/ihose223</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/silent-sherlock-holmes-series-restoration" target="_blank">Silent Sherlock Holmes series of the 1920s gets major restoration project</a> (BFI)</li><li><a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/10/breaking-long-lost-william-gillette.html#.YRvapYhKjb0" target="_blank">Long Lost William Gillette Film from 1916 Found</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/05/the-1916-william-gillette-sherlock.html#.YRvarYhKjb0" target="_blank">The 1916 William Gillette "Sherlock Holmes" Available for Order on DVD/Blu-ray</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2021/06/the-1932-clive-brook-sherlock-holmes.html#.YRvZVIhKjb0" target="_blank">The 1932 Clive Brook Sherlock Holmes Film - Restored at Last</a></li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/KmffCrlgY-c" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Baffled</a> (YouTube)</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes;_or,_Held_for_Ransom" target="_blank">Vitagraph Studios' <i>Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i>, or <i>Held for Ransom</i></a> (Wikipedia)</li><li><a href="http://www.philipcarli.com/" target="_blank">Philip Carli</a></li><li>Previous episodes mentioned:</li><ul><li></li><li><a href="https:/ihose.co/ihose104" target="_blank">Episode 104: Sherlockians at Chautauqua</a></li><li><a href="https:/ihose.co/ihose147" target="_blank">Episode 147: Sherlock Holmes and Silent Films</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.</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></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/522724542/Transcript-I-Hear-of-Sherlock-Everywhere-Episode-223-Eille-Norwood-Restored#from_embed" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 223: Eille Norwood, Restored on Scribd">Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 223: Eille Norwood, Restored</a></p><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_44901" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/522724542/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-ZFshOvZ8kCRcztjeORlw" title="Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 223: Eille Norwood, Restored" width="100%"></iframe><div style="margin: 0px;">--</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>

Episode 223: Eille Norwood, Restored

“And why not Norwood?” [NORW]  Before there was Jeremy Brett, there was Anthony Edward Brett. Like the modern-day television actor, he playe...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

The 1932 Clive Brook Sherlock Holmes Feature — Restored at Last

<h4 style="text-align: center;">"The air of London is the sweeter for my presence" [FINA] </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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmYNyoOUM2yXmghNTe56xyaQeM4rwtElM3la5BVeMPLq3bODecz9bVuKg9zGxGADOi5UnoR_VBxEC3Xk4zRCHSjGQqaE-8ihKv-izx8Lidn3zXcPmvrsR5NHk7kQ3K9yZ4ooW5O09K2Gg/s1280/Clive+Brook+1932+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmYNyoOUM2yXmghNTe56xyaQeM4rwtElM3la5BVeMPLq3bODecz9bVuKg9zGxGADOi5UnoR_VBxEC3Xk4zRCHSjGQqaE-8ihKv-izx8Lidn3zXcPmvrsR5NHk7kQ3K9yZ4ooW5O09K2Gg/w640-h360/Clive+Brook+1932+Sherlock+Holmes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Source: screen capture (YouTube)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>Bitter-sweet news on the Sherlockian film front.   </p><p>The good news first: the <a href="https://www.moma.org/" target="_blank">Museum of Modern Art</a> has restored the 1932 Fox <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023460/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_25" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes</a></i> with Clive Brook in a sparkling new print with a crystal clear soundtrack. Technically, this has not been a lost film, but the nasty DVD dupe we’ve been stuck with does the film a cruel disservice, making it all but unwatchable.   </p><p>What the MoMA restoration reveals is a droll pre-Code feature that ranks among the most stylish Sherlocks made in the black-and-white era.  This was a major studio production, directed by one of Fox’s leading directors, William K. Howard, and filmed by the legendary cinematographer, George Barnes.</p><p>This is not a production for Sherlockian purists, but for non-purists it’s a pleasure to watch a great studio director in top form having fun with Holmes and Hollywood genres: Moriarty is on the loose, importing American gangsters and their continental allies to wreak havoc on London pubs [!] with Tommy guns, hand grenades, and speeding cars. </p><p>Holmes, not to be undone, counters with his genius for scientific investigation. Clive Brook, usually the stiffest of British matinee idols, loosens up with sardonic one-liners and elegant banter, having a fine time jumping off a balcony to fight one of Moriarty’s henchmen. </p><p>Howard and Barnes turn this into a series of visual tours-de-force. The first scene sets the tone, a court sentencing Moriarty to death in a series of silhouettes and close-ups slowly revealed behind raised veils. Moriarty then delivers a curse in a rich Scottish burr by the great silent actor Ernest Torrence. This sets the tone for a virtuoso display of powerful shadow effects, whip pans, shock cuts, flash-backs, weird angles, and complexly staged deep focus shots.</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">From Gillette to Rathbone</h3><p>Of particular interest to Sherlockians is how the movie fits into the trajectory from William Gillette to Basil Rathbone. The Fox film illustrates what gets revealed when we can see fine prints: a benchmark with links to the past and future. </p><p><i>Sherlock Holmes</i> was adapted by young Bertram Millhauser, the first of several Millhauser-Holmes screenplays that starts with Gillette’s play<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span>or rather with Gillette’s reinvented characters. The plot itself owes nothing to Gillette<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span>it might be called a sequel but Millhauser is too unbridled. Alice Faulkner is now Holmes’s long-suffering fiancée; Moriarty has been turned into a homicidal jewel thief; and Watson has been replaced by both Billy, Holmes’ adoring apprentice, and Holmes’ Scotland Yard arch-rival turned co-conspirator [Alan Mowbray]. </p><p>Brook himself provides the clearest through-line to Gillette, the patrician Holmes par excellence. If Rathbone and his successors are high strung<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span>the high E-notes on the Sherlockian violin<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span>Brook continues, along with Wontner, on the Gillette low G, graceful and imperturbable. This is the debonair Holmes, whether in his spats and cutaway, or in his smoking jacket and Gillettian dressing gown. </p><p>And much would be recycled into the Rathbone films. The opening court scene would be re-used (to flabbier effect) in Rathbone’s 1939 <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i>, as would the idea of Moriarty being a cunning jewel thief. And Millhauser would steal from himself when recycling the jewel thief angle (<i>Pearl of Death</i>) and placing a gangster hideout behind the shooting gallery at an amusement park (<i>The Spider Woman</i>).</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Now for the Challenge</h3><p>So much for the good news. The difficulty is that MoMA’s restored print is currently all but inaccessible. Currently, it has only been shown for a month as a one-off in MoMA’s online film series, available to <a href="https://membership.moma.org/" target="_blank">members only</a>.   </p><p>Otherwise, The Walt Disney Company controls distribution rights, and getting them to release the film is likely to be an uphill battle. So far Disney has shown little interest in vintage Fox films, and in fact, has discharged Fox’s restoration chief of staff.  </p><p>Even Fox’s Cinema Archives series, which had been the studio’s quirky way of distributing its old movies on an expensive, on-demand line of no-frills DVD-Rs, has been put on hold.  And even if the merged company were to add the 1932 <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> to the list, there is no guarantee they would use MoMA’s sparkling print.   </p><p>So, for now, we need to wait and see what Disney plans to do. Or perhaps some enterprising individual ought to petition Disney to get things started...</p><p>Watch this space. </p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Further reading by Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder")</h4><p>Gillette’s performance in the 1916 film version of Sherlock Holmes: the 2016 <i>Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual <a href="https://bakerstreetirregulars.com/2016/12/27/bsj-2016-christmas-annual/" target="_blank">The Day After Christmas: First Encounters with Gillette's Silent Sherlock Holmes</a></i>.</p><p><a href="http://www.bestofsherlock.com/movies/1950s-tv-history.htm" target="_blank">Holmes and the Snake Skin Suits: Fighting for Survival on '50s Television</a> (Best of Sherlock)  </p><p> </p><p> </p>

The 1932 Clive Brook Sherlock Holmes Feature — Restored at Last

"The air of London is the sweeter for my presence" [FINA]  Source: screen capture (YouTube) Bitter-sweet news on the Sherlockian f...

+ Read more »

by Russell Merritt

Sherlock Holmes's Dressing Gown(s)

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "lounging about his sitting room in his dressing-gown" [ENGR]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPGRLNhm_GTPzZJ4zphMqABh_fjnzKKFFrRoqGJIziReXCnUto72_-za3R0UYwpUS02-cyCgmsGSOp2rLhi28xOzSUM6ElAKujMJwhjfr772e4SEbczPNc3ErJgznPRvDmqSa6hzH9QX1/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Gillette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPGRLNhm_GTPzZJ4zphMqABh_fjnzKKFFrRoqGJIziReXCnUto72_-za3R0UYwpUS02-cyCgmsGSOp2rLhi28xOzSUM6ElAKujMJwhjfr772e4SEbczPNc3ErJgznPRvDmqSa6hzH9QX1/s640/Dressing+gown+-+Gillette.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> While the most famous pieces of Sherlock Holmes's wardrobe may typically be his deerstalker cap and Inverness cape — ironically two items never mentioned in the Canon — he's still recognized (although less well known) in his dressing gown. William Gillette (above) famously played Sherlock Holmes on stage some 1,300 times from 1899 to 1930 in a heavy quilted and silken number.<br /> <br /> But what do we know about the dressing gowns mentioned in conjunction with Holmes in the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? And how can you dress just as nattily as Holmes in the comfort of your own abode?<br /> <br /> <h3> The Original Stories</h3> The first time (in the order the stories were published) we glimpse Sherlock Holmes in a dressing gown is in "The Man With the Twisted Lip," in which Watson describes the scene at the St. Clairs' home:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "He took off his coat and waistcoat, put on a large blue dressing-gown, and then wandered about the room collecting pillows from his bed, and cushions from the sofa and armchairs. With these he constructed a sort of Eastern divan, upon which he perched himself cross-legged, with an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front of him."</blockquote> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEher8X4-i48_q6wbPmwINx3kn-br_4nLGYNFQEH8U6QYLTGaGTovijDmJzg6ugULhFKpLWg40CFhsOfcml6443Sgb8uFy4Aa5AG9PXmQ2CPfCHmvoGDNrYsAMWgv2LvBC2M_8t3BaNIBdH4/s1600/TWIS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEher8X4-i48_q6wbPmwINx3kn-br_4nLGYNFQEH8U6QYLTGaGTovijDmJzg6ugULhFKpLWg40CFhsOfcml6443Sgb8uFy4Aa5AG9PXmQ2CPfCHmvoGDNrYsAMWgv2LvBC2M_8t3BaNIBdH4/s400/TWIS.jpg" width="371" /></a></div> <br /> We next read of Watson discovering Holmes "lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown" in "The Blue Carbuncle," as Holmes examined Henry Baker's discarded hat. The pair were later interrupted by Peterson the commissionaire, with his amazing discovery of the precious gem in the crop of the goose he brought home to his wife.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKv3tDCcTQGwVws4QN92m4Kwq_EG0tBifa39dO4oOSb2zJs-soXahiK_ZjJBc0dpxgbss7LEftxd7OhVlkepBMyltmhUU_tisLWZLCnlATpicb1PNGlTsL6sHTpy8MW5Ff-0qu9gxKvyA/s1600/Dressing+gown+BLUE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKv3tDCcTQGwVws4QN92m4Kwq_EG0tBifa39dO4oOSb2zJs-soXahiK_ZjJBc0dpxgbss7LEftxd7OhVlkepBMyltmhUU_tisLWZLCnlATpicb1PNGlTsL6sHTpy8MW5Ff-0qu9gxKvyA/s400/Dressing+gown+BLUE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> Other times when Holmes appeared in his dressing gown were days when he was sitting idly at Baker Street, such as in "The Engineer's Thumb" ("lounging about his sitting-room in his dressing-gown, reading the agony column of <i>The Times</i>"), "The Beryl Coronet" ("My friend rose lazily from his armchair, and stood with his hands in the pockets of his dressing-gown, looking over my shoulder."), and "The Bruce-Partington Plans" ("He was a different man to the limp and lounging figure in the mouse-coloured dressing-gown who had prowled so restlessly only a few hours before round the fog-girt room.").<br /> <br /> There are instances when Holmes is roused to action and, still clad in his dressing gown, wakes Watson. In "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax," "he rushed into my room. He was in his dressing-gown, but his pale, hollow-eyed face told me that his night had been a sleepless one." And in "The Resident Patient," Holmes has done everything but change into his coat: "At half-past seven next morning, in the first dim glimmer of daylight, I found him standing by my bedside in his dressing-gown." We see Holmes the quick-change artist in <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i>: "'Your hat and boots, Watson, quick! Not a moment to lose!' He rushed into his room in his dressing-gown, and was back again in a few seconds in a frock-coat."<br /> <br /> Let's not forget the dressing gown as disguise for Holmes's mannequin in the window in two stories. First, Holmes's return in "The Empty House" led Col. Sebastian Moran to mistake the bust for his real target as "It stood on a small pedestal table with an old dressing-gown of Holmes's so draped round it that the illusion from the street was absolutely perfect." Later in the story, Holmes wore it himself: "He had thrown off the seedy frock-coat, and now he was the Holmes of old in the mouse-coloured dressing-gown which he took from his effigy."<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNMRIqiRogOPyuda_LglILw_6plKz1wvXzLbyy099iIqYA0igO2Ny0eFU4Tm9tXlDUaUhJd1yw-FKqdVdBDnXMhoTKq18j42yw5hE1ke4OMNhKYwWay7_rZ65qXYqYt4BzKEUGEZFODJX/s1600/MAZA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNMRIqiRogOPyuda_LglILw_6plKz1wvXzLbyy099iIqYA0igO2Ny0eFU4Tm9tXlDUaUhJd1yw-FKqdVdBDnXMhoTKq18j42yw5hE1ke4OMNhKYwWay7_rZ65qXYqYt4BzKEUGEZFODJX/s400/MAZA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> And later in "The Mazarin Stone," in an effort to fool Count Negretto Sylvius (and evidently Dr. Watson as well),<br /> <br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "There was a facsimile of his old friend, dressing-gown and all, the face turned three-quarters towards the window and downwards, as though reading an invisible book, while the body was sunk deep in an armchair."</blockquote> <br /> Yes, the dressing gown was almost akin the effect of a superhero changing from street clothes to appointed costume as our hero readied himself for any occasion.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> The Color Theory</h3> If you read the excerpts above, you'll note that there are three colors mentioned (and in most cases no color noted whatsoever). What are we to make of this? Some Sherlockians have assumed that Holmes owned more than one dressing gown (see "Sherlock Holmes's Dressing Gown(s)," S.F. Blake, <i>The Baker Street Journal</i>, Vol. 10, No. 2, April 1960, pp. 86-89 - <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/ebooks/ebsj.html" target="_blank">available via the eBSJ</a>).<br /> <br /> But we prefer the ingenious and tidy solution developed by Christopher Morley, the founder of the Baker Street Irregulars. In his essay "Was Sherlock Holmes an American?" which first appeared in 1936, he mentioned the controversy<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "such as, was Holmes's dressing gown blue, purple or mouse colored?" [Fn. "Elementary. This particular gown was blue when new. (<i>The Twisted Lip</i>) It had gone purple by the time of the <i>Blue Carbuncle</i>. During the long absence 1891-94, when Mrs. Hudson faithfully aired and sunned it in the backyard, it faded to mouse (<i>The Empty House</i>).</blockquote> It was this deduction that led Morley to plan for the official colors of the Baker Street Irregulars. From <i><a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B001K2EE2W" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="969fe6edc5c975228060210db819ffb7" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Standard Doyle Company" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Standard-Doyle-Company-Christopher/dp/B001K2EE2W/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thebakerstree-20&linkId=969fe6edc5c975228060210db819ffb7&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_3143120" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Standard Doyle Company</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_3143120" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thebakerstree-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=969fe6edc5c975228060210db819ffb7&_cb=1450763412314" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /></i> by Steven Rothman, BSI, 2s. ("<i>The Valley of Fear</i>"), Morley wrote to Helen Hare on December 15, 1949:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;"> "I want to sell the BSI boys the idea of adopting <i>colors</i> for the club: to be shewn in either a rosette for the lapel, or even in a necktie. The colors, of course, to be<br /> <i>Purple, Blue and Mouse</i><br /> these being the three shades through which Sherlock's dressing gown passed in its fadings. A fine rich purple; a pleasing "electric blue" (like the dress Violet Hunter had to wear in Copper Beeches!); and then a furry, soft, comfortable mouselike gray. . . . "</blockquote> Then came the official <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1950-bsi-dinner.html" target="_blank">announcement at the 1950 BSI Dinner</a>. And the ties (and rosettes!) are still in use today, available to investitured Baker Street Irregulars.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YQV3E1MvxZKPZsN8PqLy05hBPZl3UNbarYhLP5XDWbIfoRm-Hcm6t-Psp3FhgmdU2vXZcQtihXnjcX5DaZhxp_J7iUOB3I0K0H14eoi9hQj3IwBbzt1eOdnsf4CqZHfA-aStyi-h16w9/s1600/Mike+Berdan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YQV3E1MvxZKPZsN8PqLy05hBPZl3UNbarYhLP5XDWbIfoRm-Hcm6t-Psp3FhgmdU2vXZcQtihXnjcX5DaZhxp_J7iUOB3I0K0H14eoi9hQj3IwBbzt1eOdnsf4CqZHfA-aStyi-h16w9/s640/Mike+Berdan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Berdan, BSI ("Henri Murger") sports the official BSI tie. Hear Mike on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose03" target="_blank">IHOSE #3</a>.</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> Listen to us discuss dressing gowns and the color theory on <a href="http://ihose.co/trifles10" target="_blank">Trifles</a>:<br /> <br /> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/311308311&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /> <h3> Get Your Own Dressing Gown</h3> If you like the idea of lounging about in a dressing gown like Holmes, there's good news: <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/" target="_blank">Derek Rose</a>, purveyor of fine nightwear, once recommended <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/news/sherlock-holmes-dressing-gowns/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes' Dressing Gowns</a> (link now dead). Some of these styles were worn by Benedict Cumberbatch in <i>Sherlock</i>. Others are reminiscent of Sherlocks past.<br /> <br /> [Fair warning: these are not for the faint of budget. But they are extraordinarily beautiful and we outline them below. Click each image to enlarge.]<br /> <br /> You could start with the <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/mens-tasseled-belt-dressing-gown-lincoln-11-pure-herringbone-wool-navy.html">Lincoln II</a>, a grey wool herringbone with navy trim.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbilVDuSgzBD8QPihbGbZmKG8yC2IwGEkGpu98jD1YewZl-yKHlndVUYvS4IEzrjZWMVceA6JU1JZYKdqCItKY4KGjCqaNauDr_yaIGGRBZatFhhRqtHhwZnq_J2Iv-M4t8amtKB5prqsh/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Lincoln+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbilVDuSgzBD8QPihbGbZmKG8yC2IwGEkGpu98jD1YewZl-yKHlndVUYvS4IEzrjZWMVceA6JU1JZYKdqCItKY4KGjCqaNauDr_yaIGGRBZatFhhRqtHhwZnq_J2Iv-M4t8amtKB5prqsh/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Lincoln+II.jpg" width="239" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0EefdPBJ_8q6Y2jOijQKM1AIchxOISGNJ-ll3DwkAVKeOOxUC39NncF9opdVM-TBqpsfpW6YRr8vdTze7pi3FivPYWTzgln3dhvRqsyoYZUysgz2H2FsSlMLMH1RzjKGmKniMJ7sIRfg/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Lincoln+II+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0EefdPBJ_8q6Y2jOijQKM1AIchxOISGNJ-ll3DwkAVKeOOxUC39NncF9opdVM-TBqpsfpW6YRr8vdTze7pi3FivPYWTzgln3dhvRqsyoYZUysgz2H2FsSlMLMH1RzjKGmKniMJ7sIRfg/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Lincoln+II+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> The <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/us/mens-tasseled-belt-dressing-gown-westminster-2-pure-wool-navy.html" target="_blank">Westminster</a> is a navy blue number, in pure wool with a piped finish.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlKVNNgObQKQsqgKk_IvzVKgox3Q_UPlhgS-ieKvsf6Z8LImlreRrx4Jpb_L8dH6P3ev2waNkc6OzBo84IXR_byvvGtIaDRPuQdWQKg1JubQrzRQGvZvteXiZX3A6M6ow1kx8_Co0QCZS/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Westminster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlKVNNgObQKQsqgKk_IvzVKgox3Q_UPlhgS-ieKvsf6Z8LImlreRrx4Jpb_L8dH6P3ev2waNkc6OzBo84IXR_byvvGtIaDRPuQdWQKg1JubQrzRQGvZvteXiZX3A6M6ow1kx8_Co0QCZS/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Westminster.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuraM_BmZ7gpnfxHy9wM4WC2q1Ni5mSuiYUhfLtZ9gOuvVOaQhd1Q_81W81qoTeOGJib_Jcd5KhvozWLwb6V_OQLrXjKu3UMTbDTftrAzo1fpRSJRagz99cIatSjm6BnebGxDf2bsdmDZ/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Westminster+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuraM_BmZ7gpnfxHy9wM4WC2q1Ni5mSuiYUhfLtZ9gOuvVOaQhd1Q_81W81qoTeOGJib_Jcd5KhvozWLwb6V_OQLrXjKu3UMTbDTftrAzo1fpRSJRagz99cIatSjm6BnebGxDf2bsdmDZ/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Westminster+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> If looking like Benedict Cumberbatch is more your style, then you need the <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/nightwear/mens-nightwear/mens-dressing-gowns/mens-piped-dressing-gown-woburn-8-pure-silk-satin-stripe-navy.html" target="_blank">Woburn</a> in striped blue silk for £308.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTEc1k6NSEmnT5VlMVyfHRPrTwHphwZ2YuRrPUkmIF4i5WMEm9CnkfLT9tsciaJ9buWIrtQxZspXEYi4xrGwGVQQhw3aNvA6F-DgktyNmi5_b9HMj6qXkJt3cmAuTgQLL_LlRyaqtr_lJ/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Woburn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTEc1k6NSEmnT5VlMVyfHRPrTwHphwZ2YuRrPUkmIF4i5WMEm9CnkfLT9tsciaJ9buWIrtQxZspXEYi4xrGwGVQQhw3aNvA6F-DgktyNmi5_b9HMj6qXkJt3cmAuTgQLL_LlRyaqtr_lJ/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Woburn.jpg" width="240" /></a>  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLstusDT6z3bu7QNjXSRfn4ByD7pNvHybLA_MIJFARIv6uAD3OFWLK2jFNCw5hHDnyvLgh2zd1mztSRx5H1KxmOYOT6yVVqqp5uSFqJi9nQHSBuIUZ_aUOOB0q-BpU2LjG6r9oN1jhXkMD/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Woburn+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLstusDT6z3bu7QNjXSRfn4ByD7pNvHybLA_MIJFARIv6uAD3OFWLK2jFNCw5hHDnyvLgh2zd1mztSRx5H1KxmOYOT6yVVqqp5uSFqJi9nQHSBuIUZ_aUOOB0q-BpU2LjG6r9oN1jhXkMD/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Woburn+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> Or maybe you'd like to channel your inner William Gillette with the <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/mens-tasseled-belt-dressing-gown-verona-47-pure-silk-jacquard-navy.html">Verona 47</a>, an embroidered pure silk jacquard robe.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKFISOCPQ1NmLx3lazrV4dT-H69rbZ38P-4SKx_LRUh2mHd4ZpTzkWXvUax9V84a0VBZhSVPClDmG9tCm3pTSwZR9J6W884O8vaeeBAhS44LBIQFyyDjnVMZ-EkCMO_14uXdCLcnbuRtQ/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Verona+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKFISOCPQ1NmLx3lazrV4dT-H69rbZ38P-4SKx_LRUh2mHd4ZpTzkWXvUax9V84a0VBZhSVPClDmG9tCm3pTSwZR9J6W884O8vaeeBAhS44LBIQFyyDjnVMZ-EkCMO_14uXdCLcnbuRtQ/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Verona+47.jpg" width="239" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvL_E99qP6T5L191DVtEFW7RdBpMAXT7a03mgVguiBiZaxHYDqU-ScfwuBTbdRel3yNCy7VkxxXSx7wxmhV8qVJKhQIhb0LWn2VcvzrGIyhGy8MpiU9bnPO-7pfA008z9md7puKBamUrb0/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Verona+47+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvL_E99qP6T5L191DVtEFW7RdBpMAXT7a03mgVguiBiZaxHYDqU-ScfwuBTbdRel3yNCy7VkxxXSx7wxmhV8qVJKhQIhb0LWn2VcvzrGIyhGy8MpiU9bnPO-7pfA008z9md7puKBamUrb0/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Verona+47+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> And for those who really want to go upscale, there's the <a href="https://www.derek-rose.com/us/mens-tasseled-belt-dressing-gown-blandford-merino-cashmere-check-charcoal.html">Blandford</a>, a merino cashmere check in charcoal.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQp9kPmjr-iYOETlibV1dAsHd8ugNbcfRRDRNz8aFGn0SLI947iLInvjZsWktKWlHAsgj9qRqGmmSa8M8R61XLMLa8btzM3pMFmEyDx_puaE3RqrKO1yeZamYilntUFTj1OKlsDUMRssqE/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Blandford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQp9kPmjr-iYOETlibV1dAsHd8ugNbcfRRDRNz8aFGn0SLI947iLInvjZsWktKWlHAsgj9qRqGmmSa8M8R61XLMLa8btzM3pMFmEyDx_puaE3RqrKO1yeZamYilntUFTj1OKlsDUMRssqE/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Blandford.jpg" width="239" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu7e3dUgAY2PKCi10i55m1QPB6JRzmSZpt5vktT2eu6GWnUKr1J9mwG6xMZ4sl2QLsrqNyLuV6VAtLlwqzJfBwBbhGH63Qk1ZYEjow6I8FXuw7S6NYW3FObXvidQ70Vcy_4JwjAQtBSTD/s1600/Dressing+gown+-+Blandford+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu7e3dUgAY2PKCi10i55m1QPB6JRzmSZpt5vktT2eu6GWnUKr1J9mwG6xMZ4sl2QLsrqNyLuV6VAtLlwqzJfBwBbhGH63Qk1ZYEjow6I8FXuw7S6NYW3FObXvidQ70Vcy_4JwjAQtBSTD/s320/Dressing+gown+-+Blandford+closeup.jpg" width="239" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> However, if you're prone to the reality of most budget-minded Sherlockians, there was once a way to get all three of Holmes's dressing gown colors for less than the cost of any of the Derek Rose gowns above. Admittedly, it's more of a robe than a dressing gown. If a few years ago, if you ventured to your local Costco Wholesale, you could have found plush robes in — get this — <a href="http://www.costco.com/Carole-Hochman-Ladies%E2%80%99-Plush-Full-Zip-Robe-Purple.product.100219543.html" target="_blank">purple</a>, <a href="http://www.costco.com/Carole-Hochman-Ladies%e2%80%99-Plush-Robe-Blue.product.100159578.html" target="_blank">blue</a> and <a href="http://www.costco.com/Carole-Hochman-Ladies%E2%80%99-Plush-Full-Zip-Robe-Gray.product.100219537.html" target="_blank">gray</a>.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMBA-yoimDzjU1VO2GDmBlSfXw9fOySsjy_eXc6qQsZLAb4DbfV871o_8MoZb1skcUZArgGEjf8nKafroEcht2QpaCK6tMcUhAvhMoTSDPVOZmkDquGb8uVgpDPJqh0vWqZnkErIxWABp/s1600/Dressing+gowns+-+Costco.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMBA-yoimDzjU1VO2GDmBlSfXw9fOySsjy_eXc6qQsZLAb4DbfV871o_8MoZb1skcUZArgGEjf8nKafroEcht2QpaCK6tMcUhAvhMoTSDPVOZmkDquGb8uVgpDPJqh0vWqZnkErIxWABp/s640/Dressing+gowns+-+Costco.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Costco's BSI robes</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> --<br /> <br />

Sherlock Holmes's Dressing Gown(s)

"lounging about his sitting room in his dressing-gown" [ENGR] While the most famous pieces of Sherlock Holmes's wardrobe ...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Gillette Castle Needs Your Help

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> <b>"Heaps of loose masonry" [SHOS]</b></h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHmMPvkys6UQc_FphS8YrErHX9K6ZUSLLypTWWiscbo5oK-TPeBwVt63CLwx_0gHSkmwpdbwY_4kXUF31H38cOGOwDx3xDDaTEPPxwdrOc1Xm1dTRbnDziTttqfg4aRkC1LZ2Scbq7UKi/s1600/1620px-Gilettes_Castle_KevinPepin_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHmMPvkys6UQc_FphS8YrErHX9K6ZUSLLypTWWiscbo5oK-TPeBwVt63CLwx_0gHSkmwpdbwY_4kXUF31H38cOGOwDx3xDDaTEPPxwdrOc1Xm1dTRbnDziTttqfg4aRkC1LZ2Scbq7UKi/s640/1620px-Gilettes_Castle_KevinPepin_01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> The gem of Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam, Connecticut is the quirky and stately Gillette Castle.<br /> <br /> The park and its manor house are both named for the original owner of the estate, actor and playwright <a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2018/04/remembering-william-gillette.html#.XTnu6OhKjb0">William Gillette</a>. Gillette gained worldwide fame as a portrayer of Sherlock Holmes in his own play by the same name—a play for which he sought Arthur Conan Doyle's permission to take liberties with great detective, as quoted in Vincent Starrett's <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2SDb1Z7">The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</a></i>:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "May I marry Holmes?" Gillette inquired. </blockquote> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> Doyle replied with resigned detachment, "You may marry him, or murder him, or do what you like with him."</blockquote> <br /> Gillette Castle is as unique as the man himself. Gillette put in secret doors, special hard-carved locking mechanisms, and surrounded the property with a special narrow-gauge railroad. In recent years, Baker Street Irregulars Tyke ("The Man on the Tor") and Teddie ("Carina") Niver have become William and Helen Gillette, and have welcomed visitors to the Castle. You can find their story on <b><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose126">Episode 126</a></b>.<br /> <br /> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/337947767&color=ff5500" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>The current situation</b></h2> A correspondent has informed us that things at the Castle are not quite so rosy any more. In fact, "things are fairly dire up at the Castle. The old stone heap needs repairs and a person to replace Phil Yuris who did his best to keep it from falling down these last years."<br /> <br /> Our correspondent also reminds us:<br /> "It’s 100 years old now, and the Friends [of Gillette Castle] want to give a birthday party for it, Roaring Twenties style, but they need some sponsors."<br /> <br /> "The State of Connecticut doesn’t seem to be exhibiting any great pride in one of its chief theatrical landmarks, as far as chipping in to keep it standing up..."<br /> <br /> Gillette's last will and testament was clear about his fears of the estate being mismanaged:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "I would consider it more than unfortunate for me – should I find myself doomed, after death, to a continued consciousness of the behavior of mankind on this planet – to discover that the stone walls and towers and fireplaces of my home… my railway line with its bridges, trestles, and tunnels… my locomotives and cars…that these and many other things of a like nature should reveal themselves to me as in the possession of some <b><i>blithering saphead</i></b> who had no conception of where he is or with what surrounded."</blockquote> It's hard to think of an industry other than government that is consistently filled with "blithering sapheads," but here we are.<br /> <br /> <h2> <b>What you can do</b></h2> We'd like to see this movement gain traction, because while the I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere audience is significant, we need more people to take action.<br /> <br /> The first thing you can do is to become a member of <b><a href="https://www.gillettecastlefriends.org/membership" target="_blank">The Friends of Gillette Castle</a></b>. You can determine what level of giving works for you, but it's as low as $10. You'll get newletters, invitations to events, a discount at the gift shop, and more. Please consider <a href="https://www.gillettecastlefriends.org/membership" target="_blank">becoming a Friend</a>.<br /> <br /> The second thing you can do is to <b>share this update</b>. Email, social network, carrier pigeon—however you choose. We need people to see this and to care about William Gillette's legacy.<br /> <br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WJwmX18DHnCvb_bavrZc5glonieGERDsJlRgQ1z_IeqBmYu3Nx4lvZXYUOMWfv_om9thbbFu0gHGQf2UIUIQ1c_Pm5qvl6BGB3pHsIZSdrmWqtf5AAq_FHNTpcKLWV-UctTLnfXoe58e/s1600/Gillette+Castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WJwmX18DHnCvb_bavrZc5glonieGERDsJlRgQ1z_IeqBmYu3Nx4lvZXYUOMWfv_om9thbbFu0gHGQf2UIUIQ1c_Pm5qvl6BGB3pHsIZSdrmWqtf5AAq_FHNTpcKLWV-UctTLnfXoe58e/s640/Gillette+Castle.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: Kayla Shay (<a href="https://flic.kr/p/nztJ27">Flickr</a>)</span></i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> Here's hoping we can overcome the disinterest and neglect.<br /> <br /> <i><br /></i> <i>Top image credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4099864">Gillette Castle</a> (by Kevinpepin at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia, Public Domain)</i><br /> --

Gillette Castle Needs Your Help

"Heaps of loose masonry" [SHOS] The gem of Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam, Connecticut is the quirky and stately G...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Nominate Sherlock Holmes to the National Registry of Films

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "Who do you give your casting vote to?" [ENGR]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTMdbKkSMsQwsU9mJKhK_xtAawR-HRi1ee1g7oFHngIfVI6k62YmFEZhy6wEnYrCqEGd99wxDIU6SLrPUpC-V2VM2M-cxAwS_ovre-8spubLASyEK0zRdyDWJ8i9Zn644Z4rJv7N0yqKm/s1600/Sherlock_Holmes_1916_still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTMdbKkSMsQwsU9mJKhK_xtAawR-HRi1ee1g7oFHngIfVI6k62YmFEZhy6wEnYrCqEGd99wxDIU6SLrPUpC-V2VM2M-cxAwS_ovre-8spubLASyEK0zRdyDWJ8i9Zn644Z4rJv7N0yqKm/s1600/Sherlock_Holmes_1916_still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1280" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTMdbKkSMsQwsU9mJKhK_xtAawR-HRi1ee1g7oFHngIfVI6k62YmFEZhy6wEnYrCqEGd99wxDIU6SLrPUpC-V2VM2M-cxAwS_ovre-8spubLASyEK0zRdyDWJ8i9Zn644Z4rJv7N0yqKm/s1600/Sherlock_Holmes_1916_still.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> The <a href="http://ihose.co/1916film" target="_blank">discovery of the 1916 William Gillette film <i>Sherlock Holmes</i></a> in 2014 was one of the highlights of the Sherlockian calendar.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose147" target="_blank">Russell Merritt, BSI</a> ("The Trepoff Murder"), the Cinémathèque Française, the San Francisco Silent Film Institute, and <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose79" target="_blank">Glen Miranker, BSI</a> ("The Origin of Tree Worship") did a fine job of restoring and <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/06/sherlock-holmes-in-san-francisco.html" target="_blank">presenting the film</a> to the public.<br /> <br /> And now we (and the film) need <i>your</i> help.<br /> <br /> <b>The Library of Congress</b> of the United States has a <a href="https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/about-this-program/" target="_blank">National Film Preservation Board</a> that works to ensure the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America's film heritage. As part of that, the National Film Registry selects 25 films each year showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation.<br /> <br /> <h2> Nominations are now being accepted for the 2018 Registry</h2> The Library of Congress invites you to submit your recommendations for movies to be included on the 2018 National Film Registry. Public nominations play a key role when the Librarian and Film Board are considering their final selections. To be eligible for the Registry, a film must be at least 10 years old and be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."<br /> <br /> The National Film Registry historically has included only those films that were produced or co-produced by an American film company, typically for theatrical release or recognized as a film through film festivals or film awards.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> Nominations are open until September 15, 2018.</div> <div> <br /> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr42dmQw1ss5Gy4-MutamKmGqW-mdIXS56vCT-ZFuGcM6U0tcjap9ZRp-uqtzZlCpTbdsKp0UcDeF6DZzhKRvdn5RBao2ZprJt1GlDLV5C1WcA19mj67jFF7gkBvF-fsRjKRSm2FG2vwZJ/s1600/SFSFF+-+William+Gillette+sunglasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="467" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr42dmQw1ss5Gy4-MutamKmGqW-mdIXS56vCT-ZFuGcM6U0tcjap9ZRp-uqtzZlCpTbdsKp0UcDeF6DZzhKRvdn5RBao2ZprJt1GlDLV5C1WcA19mj67jFF7gkBvF-fsRjKRSm2FG2vwZJ/s320/SFSFF+-+William+Gillette+sunglasses.jpg" width="281" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /></div> <h2> <b>How to nominate William Gillette's <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> (1916) </b></h2> <div> Please click here visit the <a href="https://www.research.net/r/national-film-registry-2017" target="_blank">2018 National Film Registry Nomination Form</a>.<br /> <br /> Once there, you will be asked for your email address and how you heard about the site (please tell them you heard about them from I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere!).<br /> <br /> Then, you'll have the opportunity to nominate up to 50 films.<br /> <br /> Please enter: Sherlock Holmes for the name of the film; and 1916 for the year.<br /> <br /> That's it—it's that simple!<br /> <br /> And please share this with other Sherlockians so we can get this moving!<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <br /></div> </div>

Nominate Sherlock Holmes to the National Registry of Films

"Who do you give your casting vote to?" [ENGR] The discovery of the 1916 William Gillette film Sherlock Holmes in 2014 was...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Episode 147: Sherlock Holmes and Silent Films

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> “no ordinary merit” [REDH] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNImwDPMf9NnKHvDnZcJ-BEh7NxHEpaIZ1Tp1eE2CzS30a5yXzg_czq-YZPVx7RsHrvmrJ1AfunMXBVEwqn4cV-4nX3dFZweHG6yOa61ofVULZ5wvq-vaSDa9A-t4xy4aanwxqdui9wc7/s1600/Russell+Merritt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNImwDPMf9NnKHvDnZcJ-BEh7NxHEpaIZ1Tp1eE2CzS30a5yXzg_czq-YZPVx7RsHrvmrJ1AfunMXBVEwqn4cV-4nX3dFZweHG6yOa61ofVULZ5wvq-vaSDa9A-t4xy4aanwxqdui9wc7/s640/Russell+Merritt.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;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/6760671/height/90/theme/custom/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/000000/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> In 2014, the Sherlockian world was taken by complete and utter surprise when William Gillette's 1916 film <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> was discovered. It was the closest thing we'd ever have to seeing Gillette on stage, and Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder") was part of the team that restored it.<br /> <br /> We carried the news on our site, but now we're pleased to share the backstory of how it came to be, thanks to an interview with Russell Merritt, a University of California Berkeley film professor and an expert on silent films. In this episode, Russell also discusses the impact of Eille Norwood and the whereabouts of his 45 movies, the recently rediscovered 1929 German film Der Hund von Baskerville, and how he is likely the last person to first read <i>A Study in Scarlet</i> in an original Beeton's.<br /> <br /> And don't forget to try your hand at the latest <b>Canonical Couplet</b> and win a prize – you don't need to be a<b><i> </i></b><a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron" style="font-weight: bold;">Patron of the Arts</a> <i>– </i>now <b style="font-style: italic;">every </b>listener is eligible to participate! (But we could still use your support.)<br /> <br /> <div> <div> Information on sponsors, links, and notes available below.</div> <br /> <div style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;">  <a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron" target="_blank"><img height="40" src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/widget-images/become-patron-widget-medium%402x.png" style="color: #0000ee; cursor: move;" width="204" /></a></div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></div> </div> <br /> <br /> Please do consider becoming a <a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron">Patron of the Arts</a>. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Sponsors</b></h2> This episode includes our two longtime sponsors. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:<br /> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a><i></i></li> <li><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" style="font-style: italic;">The Baker Street Journal</a></li> </ul> </div> <br /> Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko">more information here</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock147.mp3">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 35 MB, 1:16:03</h3> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/465534132&color=%23743028&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /></div> <h2> <br /> </h2> </div> <h2> <b>Links</b></h2> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <ul> <li>This episode: <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose147">ihose.co/ihose147</a></li> <li><a href="https://future.library.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton">The Houghton Library</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.bestofsherlock.com/movies/1950s-tv-history.htm">Holmes and the Snake Skin Suits: Fighting for Survival on '50s Television</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Zacherle">Zacherle</a>, the "Cool Ghoul"</li> <li><a href="http://www.sh-whoswho.com/groups/the-scowrers-and-molly-maguires-of-san-francisco/">The Scowrers and Molly Maguires of San Francisco</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/">The British Film Institute</a> (BFI)</li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/05/1923s-sign-of-four-at-san-francisco.html#.WzeOy9Izrb1">Eille Norwood's <i>The Sign of Four</i> at the SFSFF</a></li> <li><a href="http://ihose.co/ihose104">The BSI at Chautauqua</a></li> <li><a href="http://ihose.co/1916film">Long Lost William Gillette Sherlock Holmes Film from 1916 Found</a></li> </ul> <div> <br /> Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a> as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock">Instagram</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock">Twitter</a>.<br /> <br /> Please subscribe on the podcast provider of your choosing:<br /> <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2loZWFyb2ZzaGVybG9jay5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw%3D%3D">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://play.radiopublic.com/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere-WRjkZW">RadioPublic</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I2nib4h55h3cz3yxmzovj6icbmi">GooglePlay</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-I-Hear-of-Sherlock-Everywh-27577121/">iHeartRadio</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock">Spreaker</a> — or perhaps another we haven't listed here — and be kind enough to leave a rating and review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br /> <br /> 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).<br /> <div style="font-family: "times new roman";"> <br /></div> <h3> <br /> Transcript</h3> Despite not reaching <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock">the $100 per episode level on Patreon</a> yet, we are making transcripts available. <b><i>But we still need your help</i></b> to fund this—please consider supporting us via <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock">Patreon</a> or <a href="http://paypal.me/ihose">PayPal</a> to make this process possible!<br /> <br /> <div style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"> <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/383055043/Transcript-I-Hear-of-Sherlock-Everywhere-Episode-147-Sherlock-Holmes-and-Silent-Films#from_embed">Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 147: Sherlock Holmes and Silent Films</a><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_83217" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/383055043/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-AeYJfksCwT645FKBmYeK&show_recommendations=true" title="Transcript - I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 147: Sherlock Holmes and Silent Films" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /> --</div> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> </div> </div>

Episode 147: Sherlock Holmes and Silent Films

“no ordinary merit” [REDH]  In 2014, the Sherlockian world was taken by complete and utter surprise when William Gil...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Remembering William Gillette

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "the actors have passed for ever out of our busy lives" [SOLI]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwxGqyFxHV4OxG74yOdsvqPRHxplOOpJzICYiilE58Pzkfehs_b7I2Ks5YUO5UxWUrTm5I6cg6wlJ6CDAbXNYZNClDp_dRbknOXDVIabVYCn6OS2UePaHli6iEjuitz-qaTXOCgn9nEBJ/s1600/Gillette+as+Holmes+DVD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="864" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwxGqyFxHV4OxG74yOdsvqPRHxplOOpJzICYiilE58Pzkfehs_b7I2Ks5YUO5UxWUrTm5I6cg6wlJ6CDAbXNYZNClDp_dRbknOXDVIabVYCn6OS2UePaHli6iEjuitz-qaTXOCgn9nEBJ/s1600/Gillette+as+Holmes+DVD.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> William Hooker Gillette, widely known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on stage, died on this date in 1937 in Hartford, CT.<br /> <br /> It was Gillette<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span>who, at the turn of the previous century, achieved matinee idol status and awoke the consciousness of theatergoers in the United States and Great Britain to the stage presence of one Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and continued to do so for the next thirty-eight years.<br /> <br /> While he had no formal training, early on Gillette developed his stage manner of talking, not reciting:<br /> <div> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> “The idea is that we are not reciting literature – not reciting anything that has ever been said or written before; we are talking, saying the first things that come into our heads, thinking them out as we say them, hesitating and wondering and sometimes blundering over it all.” </blockquote> <div> This sentiment made him one of the first American actors to speak rather than declaim his lines, giving him a wonderful ability to underact.<br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"> <o:p></o:p></div> <br /> His play, <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>, enjoyed universal success from 1899 when it debuted, through many revivals – Gillette himself appeared as Sherlock Holmes over 1,300 times. When it was finally turned into a film in 1916, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2014/10/breaking-long-lost-william-gillette.html#.WnVYi6inHb0">the film was lost for nearly a century before being discovered</a>, restored, and shown across the globe.<br /> <br /> Gillette is also remembered for the remarkable home he built for himself on a cliff overlooking the Connecticut River in Hadlyme, Connecticut. Gillette Castle is as unique as the man himself, and he put in secret doors, special hardcarved locking mechanisms, and surrounded the property with a special narrow-gauge railroad. In recent years, Baker Street Irregulars Tyke ("The Man on the Tor") and Teddie ("Carina") Niver have become William and Helen Gillette, and have welcomed visitors to the Castle. We interviewed them on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose126">Episode 126</a>.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5643924/height/90/theme/custom/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/87A93A/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe><br /></div> <br /> William Gillette finally parted this world on April 29, 1937, at the age of 83. He was buried in Farmington, Connecticut next to his wife, Helen. His last will and testament was clear on his wishes for his property:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> I would consider it more than unfortunate for me – should I find myself doomed, after death, to a continued consciousness of the behavior of mankind on this planet – to discover that the stone walls and towers and fireplaces of my home… my railway line with its bridges, trestles, and tunnels… my locomotives and cars…that these and many other things of a like nature should reveal themselves to me as in the possession of some blithering saphead who had no conception of where he is or with what surrounded.</blockquote> <div> <br /> Gillette might have been amused to know that his home entered the hands of Connecticut state government in 1943. Because we all know there are no blithering sapheads in government...<br /> <br /> Shortly after his death, Gillette's lifelong friend Richard Burton penned the following poem to remember his friend.<br /> <br /> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Asleep at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Farmington</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sleep well, dear Lad – yes still to me<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">You are a lad of eighty-three!<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of all the lads beneath the sun<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The most to be depended on.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Beneath the sun, beneath the sod<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">What matters it?  Leave that to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sleep well at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Farmington</st1:place></st1:city>, old town<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of peace and beauty.  To lie down<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In such a spot, for quiet rest<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Surely were good, surely were best<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of fates for any man whose sleep<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Would be content and long and deep.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Your kin are there beside you, so<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Whether hot sun or winter snow<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Visit the place there shall abide<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A sense of kindred at your side; <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Whate’er the legend cut in stone,<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">You are not lost or left alone;<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And though no word escape your lip<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Tranquil in that ripe fellowship<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Yours is a happy end ----- ‘Tis we<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 135.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who mourn you, lack felicity!</span></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> The world – certainly the Sherlockian world – is richer for having had William Gillette in it. From the curved pipe to the phrase "Elementary, my dear Watson," the enduring image of Sherlock Holmes exists thanks in large part to him. His performance lives on in the restore 1916 film, and millions of tourists have seen his home.<br /> <br /> Sleep well, dear lad.<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <br /></div> </div> </div>

Remembering William Gillette

"the actors have passed for ever out of our busy lives" [SOLI] William Hooker Gillette, widely known for his portrayal of She...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Episode 126: Becoming the Gillettes

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "they are an extraordinarily astute couple" [VALL] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hClCIaj_BwjxAZcIwA1RUSFM-ItYDqaOr2h3adJOw2Y8aNo5igOpADEJLGg0rsiL0nH6OvHm6L9U7J6wi1x7UgxVnjrZp2ZKUWaYOGnfPUC9YYg_Qe8-BpMGlYZQUAUlhD9X989ggWoB/s1600/Tyke_Teddie+Niver.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hClCIaj_BwjxAZcIwA1RUSFM-ItYDqaOr2h3adJOw2Y8aNo5igOpADEJLGg0rsiL0nH6OvHm6L9U7J6wi1x7UgxVnjrZp2ZKUWaYOGnfPUC9YYg_Qe8-BpMGlYZQUAUlhD9X989ggWoB/s1600/Tyke_Teddie+Niver.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5643924/height/90/width/600/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/87A93A/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe><br /> <br /> <br /></div> Harold and Theodora Niver (that's Tyke and Teddie to all who know them), are a unique couple, even by Sherlockian standards. They've had an abiding love of Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper and Dracula for most of their adult lives, they live at Baskerville Hall, and founded and ran the Men on the Tor, a Connecticut Sherlock Holmes society. [Which just so happens to be the group where Scott first got his start in Sherlockian societies.]<br /> <br /> But one thing that keeps them active is appearing across Connecticut as William and Helen Gillette. They make regular weekend appearances at Gillette Castle, have been special guests at the William Gillette Luncheon during the BSI Weekend, and have been hired for regular events to perform "An Evening with the Gillettes."<br /> <br /> As both of them are members of the Baker Street Irregulars, the Nivers are part of a select group of individuals in the Florin Society - having two shillings between them. Tyke received his investiture "The Man on the Tor" in 1977 and Teddie received her investiture "Carina" in 1997.<br /> <br /> Join us on this very personal episode that has wonderful stories and details about this grand couple's adventures. From Don and Betty Grant at the Castle to Michael Harrison's sly preparedness to the law firm that includes language like "blithering saphead," it's full of surprises. We conclude with a "Gas-Lamp" that's cobbled together from the Introduction to Gillette's play in book form, and a poem written on the occasion of William Gillette's death.<br /> <br /> <div> Information on sponsors, links, timing notes and transcript available below.</div> <br /> <div style="orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;">  <a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron" target="_blank"><img height="40" src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/widget-images/become-patron-widget-medium%402x.png" style="color: #0000ee; cursor: move;" width="204" /></a></div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></div> </div> <br /> <br /> And please consider becoming a <a href="http://ihose.co/ihosepatron">Patron of the Arts</a>. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Sponsors</b></h3> This episode includes our two longtime sponsors, plus a new addition. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:<br /> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a>, publishers of <i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/shrl.html">The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library</a></i>.</li> <li><a href="http://ihose.co/bsijuly50"><i>The Baker Street Journal</i></a>, the original nerd periodical, publishing Sherlockian scholarship quarterly since 1946.</li> </ul> </div> <br /> Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko">more information here</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock126.mp3">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 40.8 MB, 1:25:50</h4> <div> <div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: center;"> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/337947767&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></div> </div> <h3> <b>Notes</b></h3> <br /></div> <br /> <h3> <b>Links</b></h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://ihose.co/ihose103">Episode 103: Al and Julie Rosenblatt</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.sherlockholmesct.com/">Sherlock Holmes: An Evening with the Gillettes</a></li> <li><a href="http://ihose.co/ihose34">Episode 34: William Gillette, America's Sherlock Holmes</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/06/sherlock-holmes-in-san-francisco.html">Sherlock Holmes in San Francisco: The Triumph of William Gillette</a></li> <li><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_asc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aschlock+holmes&keywords=schlock+holmes&ie=UTF8&qid=1502784299">Schlock Holmes</a></i> by Bob Fish</li> <li><a href="http://essexsteamtrain.com/">Essex Steam Train</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Steinbrunner">Chris Steinbrunner</a></li> <li><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gillette-Castle-Landmarks-Erik-Ofgang/dp/1467118524">Gillette Castle: A History</a></i> by Erik Ofgang</li> <li><a href="https://youtu.be/cFxdoPumojQ?t=6m56s">Mysteries at the Castle: Season 3 Episode 2</a></li><li><b>2022 update</b>: <a href="https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/Gillette-legacy-now-brighter-Farmington-cemetery-17499731.php?fbclid=IwAR1Xizhi7VUHMgkJszqKvVceh25wgO5gEJxdZOjxyZhC-LPWCXB05ekhLwU" target="_blank">William Gillette Legacy Shines a Big Brighter at Farmington Cemetary</a> (<i>Middletown Press</i>)</li> </ul> <div> <div style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: center;"> <div style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></div> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <div style="margin: 0px;">Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a>, as well as through our accounts on <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock">Instagram</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock">Twitter</a>.<br /> <br /> Please <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock">subscribe to us on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I2nib4h55h3cz3yxmzovj6icbmi">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr">Stitcher</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock">Spreaker</a>—or the podcast player of your choice—and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br /> <br />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> </div> <br /> <h3 style="font-family: "times new roman";"> <br /> Transcript<br /> <span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /> <span style="font-size: small;">Transcript not yet released</span></span><br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /> <br /> </h3> </div>

Episode 126: Becoming the Gillettes

"they are an extraordinarily astute couple" [VALL]  Harold and Theodora Niver (that's Tyke and Teddie to al...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Episode 104: Sherlockians at Chautauqua

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "I had never heard of the institution" [GREE] </h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUG1iss8YX67KEqDyqYOM7KpZdCvnJuUNKOwpmy90dLpU4Caz0ImKxXR0hMMXQpomWE9lmI9q13eiIqKzp-Fdwwxyw8pCTm0HGFA0eVKLDC098OQ0xndpT_m5znNH5f6gvdL4S8_t5AUMY/s1600/IHOSE+104+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUG1iss8YX67KEqDyqYOM7KpZdCvnJuUNKOwpmy90dLpU4Caz0ImKxXR0hMMXQpomWE9lmI9q13eiIqKzp-Fdwwxyw8pCTm0HGFA0eVKLDC098OQ0xndpT_m5znNH5f6gvdL4S8_t5AUMY/s640/IHOSE+104+cover.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4671768/height/90/width/600/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/no-cache/true/render-playlist/no/custom-color/ffd555/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe><br /></div> <br /> <br /> Every four years, the Baker Street Irregulars, the New York-based literary society dedicated to studying Sherlock Holmes, arranges an excursion somewhere in the United States. These events happen outside of the usual BSI Weekend, and like the weekend itself, are open to all interested Sherlockians.<br /> <br /> The first in 2004 took the group to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania to the locales that inspired <i>The Valley of Fear</i>; then in 2008, the group went to Salt Lake City on the trail of <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>; in 2012, Los Angeles played host to a film-related conference. And in 2016, the group headed to the <a href="http://ciweb.org/" target="_blank">Chautauqua Institution</a> for "The Mind and Art of Sherlock Holmes."<br /> <br /> And this time, we were there! We managed to not only listen to and see some wonderful presentations, but we gave one of our own on the future of our little publication. But in the meantime, we nabbed a few of the speakers and got their stories — stories that went beyond the presentations. We even have some audio (and video clips below) of Philip Carli at the piano during the silent showings of the William Gillette film and Eille Norwood shorts. We even have some breaking news on a newly-discovered silent Sherlock Holmes film — the last one ever produced, in 1929.<br /> <br /> Join us to hear why this hobby is about more than the collective events and publications; it's about relationships.<br /> <br /> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a div="" gt="" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fihearofsherlock.com%2Fpodcast"><br /> <img height="40" src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/widget-images/become-patron-widget-medium%402x.png" width="204" /></a></div> <br /> Please consider becoming a regular supporter of us on <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. Won't you be part of this ongoing success story?<br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Notes</b></h3> 1:36 Intro<br /> 6:22 Sponsor: Wessex Press<br /> 7:34 On the ground in Chautauqua<br /> 9:12 Interview with computer science legend Alan Kay<br /> 12:39 Bonnie MacBird talks about the Vernet family<br /> 14:45 Glen Miranker takes us to the WWI trenches<br /> 20:30 Henry Boote, Sherlockian entertainer<br /> 24:09 Tim Greer on staging Sherlock Holmes<br /> 29:12 Sponsor: <i>The Baker Street Journal</i><br /> 31:22 Silent films<br /> 34:30 Philip Carli at the piano during the Norwood films<br /> 37:15 Russell Merritt talks about the silent films — and a newly discovered one!<br /> 41:59 Philip Carli accompanies the Gillette film<br /> 44:42 Jeffrey Hatcher on his inspiration for Holmesian screenwriting and playwriting<br /> 53:12 Closing thoughts<br /> <br /></div> <div> <div> <h3> Sponsors</h3> This episode includes our two longtime sponsors and we thank them. Please support our sponsors by visiting their sites:<br /> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a>, where the future and the past come together.</li> <li><a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Baker Street Journal</i></a>, where we can reflect, be part of the big tent and find a community. </li> </ul> <br /> <br /> Would you care to become a sponsor? You can find <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more information here</a>.</div> <div style="font-family: 'times new roman';"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <br /></div> </div> </div> <div> </div> <h4 style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock104.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size 26.5 MB, 57:32</h4> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/283123299&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /> <br /></div> </div> <div> <h3> </h3> <h3> Links</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://ciweb.org/">The Chautauqua Institution</a></li> <li>Bonnie MacBird on <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose103">Episode 83: Art in the Blood</a></li> <li>That <a href="https://flic.kr/p/7nAsnC">Moroccan table</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eille_Norwood">Eille Norwood</a></li> </ul> </div> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <h3> Additional Images / Videos</h3> <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/-bBDIkGAjsaI/V9tIMP0otCI/AAAAAAAApGE/43FT5pk70A4fev2ixSUAeE5WYnfSQd8IQCEw/s1600/29587970706.mov" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bBDIkGAjsaI/V9tIMP0otCI/AAAAAAAApGE/43FT5pk70A4fev2ixSUAeE5WYnfSQd8IQCEw/s640/29587970706.mov" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> [More photos coming soon]</div> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at  <a href="http://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a>, as well as on the <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/114565123495685504221" target="_blank">The Sherlock Holmes Community</a> on Google+ (with over 3,800 members), as well as through our accounts on  <a href="http://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2016/04/ihose-on-snapchat-just-in-time-for.html">Snapchat</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a>  and <a href="http://ihearofsherlock.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr</a>.</div> </div> <br /> <br /> Please <a href="http://bit.ly/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">subscribe to us on iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I2nib4h55h3cz3yxmzovj6icbmi">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-hear-of-sherlock-everywhere?refid=stpr" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> or <a href="http://www.spreaker.com/user/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Spreaker</a> and be kind enough to leave a rating or review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable.<br /> <br /> 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).<br /> <br /></div> <div> </div> <br /> <div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: "times new roman";">--</span></div>

Episode 104: Sherlockians at Chautauqua

"I had never heard of the institution" [GREE]  Every four years, the Baker Street Irregulars, the New York-based li...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

“Elementary, my dear Watson” — The Birth of a Quotation

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "placing it upon record." [BLAN]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODRAworeHuP_K7blGv2SGT6NL9ycCmfcawoVmfpjkXXu7AzJ7fcXoN0nlhILuJl4M2fZiP-3Hnjn9mtrklcm68fOo9Z2B1GBVu5FVuCKMfWJq9wWh4zp40owim7IRG_2XCwaCfTCQ6JSS/s1600/Edward_Fielding-William_Gillette_in_Sherlock_Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODRAworeHuP_K7blGv2SGT6NL9ycCmfcawoVmfpjkXXu7AzJ7fcXoN0nlhILuJl4M2fZiP-3Hnjn9mtrklcm68fOo9Z2B1GBVu5FVuCKMfWJq9wWh4zp40owim7IRG_2XCwaCfTCQ6JSS/s640/Edward_Fielding-William_Gillette_in_Sherlock_Holmes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> To anyone who has heard of Sherlock Holmes, “Elementary, my dear Watson” is always <i>the</i> quotation.<br /> <br /> Sherlockians know that the phrase is not a Doylean original, but still we have placed it together with the deerstalker and the curved pipe on our sacred canonical mantelpiece. We definitely do feel an emotion akin to love for it. Conan Doyle used “elementary” a few times in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and “my dear Watson” many times. In “The Crooked Man” (1893) both of these components are included. But there are 52 words between them.<br /> <br /> It is often stated that the line was first used in the American movie <i>The Return of Sherlock Holmes</i> from 1929. Sherlock Holmes was played by Clive Brook, and this was the first sound film about the detective. At the end of the movie Brook delivered the famous line.<br /> <br /> Other sources—e.g., Christopher Redmond’s <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Quotations-from-Baker-Street/dp/1896032168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471444433&sr=8-1&keywords=quotations+from+baker+street" target="_blank">Quotations from Baker Street</a></i> (2009)—point out a much earlier occurrence: <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Psmith-Journalist-Collectors-Wodehouse-P/dp/1590201051/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471444454&sr=8-1&keywords=Psmith%2C+Journalist" target="_blank">Psmith, Journalist</a></i> by P. G. Wodehouse, published as a book in 1915. The story had run as a serial in <i>The Captain</i> from October 1909 to March 1910. And it was in the February issue that Psmith murmured, “Elementary, my dear Watson, elementary.” No earlier occurrences have until now been known. But they do exist.<br /> <br /> Half a year before the first installment of Wodehouse’s serial, the astronomer and Harvard professor Edward C. Pickering claimed that there was a way of signalling to the planet Mars. It all depended on correct positioning of mirrors that should reflect the sunlight. “Elementary mathematics,” as Pickering expressed it himself. Or as that statement was commented in an American news item: “‘Elementary, my dear Watson,’ as Sherlock Holmes was wont to say. ‘Elementary.’” (<i>The Times Dispatch</i>, 24 August 1909)<br /> <br /> Wodehouse did not coin the classic words. Nor did that Richmond, Virginia, newspaper. On the contrary the line seems to have been commonly known—the wording in the <i>Times Dispatch</i> indicates that—and during the following years it appeared in a number of magazines and newspapers:<br /> <br /> <ul> <li><i>The Washington Herald</i>, 10 August 1910, from an article about a real-life detective: “Mr. Holmes always insisted that his methods were simplicity run riot. His most famous deductions invariably were characterized by himself as ‘elementary my dear Watson; elementary.’”</li> <li><i>The New York Times</i>, 30 April 1911, from an article about the detective William J. Burns: “‘Elementary, my dear Watson,’ says Sherlock Holmes. And since it’s not elementary, but rather occult and esoteric, the reader is apt to feel annoyed and to think the expression pure ostentation on Sherlock’s part. However it isn’t. Detectives all talk that way. Doyle is realistic, after all.”</li> <li><i>Kansas City Star</i>, 2 December 1911, from another article about Burns: “As Sherlock Holmes himself might put it, ‘Quite elementary, my dear Watson.’”</li> </ul> <br /> <br /> Always cited as a matter of course that this was Sherlock Holmes’s most famous line. And certainly with no knowledge that that was not so.<br /> <br /> During the following years the line appeared in widely differing contexts in magazines like the British<i> Sketch</i> (1912), the American <i>Everybody’s Magazine</i> (1913), the American <i>Western Electric News</i> (1913) and <i>The Journal of the American Medical Association</i> (1914). Sometimes the line was used with a reference to Sherlock Holmes, but more and more it stood by itself, with no reference to the source at all. “Elementary, my dear Watson” had become a common phrase. The line could be used in connection with anything; it didn’t need to be about detectives.<br /> <br /> In the <i>Louisville Courier-Journal</i> the following four-line funny story was published at the end of 1914:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> “Does Wombat own or rent his house?”<br /> “Rents it.”<br /> “How do you know?”<br /> “I know all right. He scratches matches on the paint.”</blockquote> This had obviously nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes. But the headline for the four lines was nevertheless “Elementary, Watson”—since the story was about sharp wit, and such was best represented by Holmes’s most famous line. (In this case in a shorter version, since ”my dear” were cut.) And over the years also in travesty versions. The word ”elementary” was sometimes changed to other words that sounded similar to get a comical effect. And on 2 February 1920 <i>The New-York Tribune</i> wrote in a political commentary: “That is elementary, my dear Senator.” The origin in the Holmes quotation is evident, and the reader is expected to understand it.<br /> <br /> During the ’20s the use of the phrase widespread. Agatha Christie included it in the Tommy and Tuppence novel <i>The Secret Adversary</i>:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> “Good morning,” said Tommy amicably. “You have not used Pear’s soap, I see.”<br /> Conrad growled threatingly.<br /> “No light repartee, have you, old bean? There, there, we can’t always have brains as well as beauty. What have we for lunch? Stew? How did I know? Elementary, my dear Watson—the smell of onions is unmistakable.”</blockquote> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxxznqiuy4gg7MadPU7K9tfRwaYpTCJfzNU4ptk4nPukuSnkGgpyQiORe_50nKOs6FZx4AhP1q9PcAXFsoGAUuPfCytUP6kNbD2MxREcFbn1k7UvcUJ8v-wrpwFf_tJ7-i4kxDZ9q_5l2/s1600/advert_1921.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxxznqiuy4gg7MadPU7K9tfRwaYpTCJfzNU4ptk4nPukuSnkGgpyQiORe_50nKOs6FZx4AhP1q9PcAXFsoGAUuPfCytUP6kNbD2MxREcFbn1k7UvcUJ8v-wrpwFf_tJ7-i4kxDZ9q_5l2/s320/advert_1921.png" width="187" /></a></div> The line also worked in advertising. The picture shows an advert for suits, from <i>The New-York Tribune</i> 14 May 1921.<br /> <br /> And it is in an ad that we can find the first published appearance of the line, even if it is in a slightly parodic form.<br /> <br /> In the late fall of 1901 an advertisement for Charles Ford’s Bile Beans for Biliousness was published in many British newspapers (e.g., <i>Northampton Mercury</i> 15 November 1901). This alleged cure-all had been popular for more than ten years, and many thought it really worked. (Adverts for the medicine were often designed to look like editorial text—the only thing that revealed that it was an advert was the letters ADVT at the end of the text.) The ad had the headline “Sherlock Holmes’s Latest” and was written as a Sherlock Holmes parody. Here follows the beginning of the text:<br /> <br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> One winter’s morning, a few years after my marriage, I was lying by my hearth, smoking a red herring, and nodding over the Encyclopedia Britannica, for my day’s work had been a hard one. Since first meeting Shylock Combs my practice as a doctor had, as a matter of course, rapidly declined. My presentation clock had chimed 4.47 a.m., and I was in the act of blowing out the gas when I heard the clang of my front door speaking tube. Thinking it must be the milkman I went into the hall, opened the door, and, to my astonishment, Shylock Combs stood upon my step. “Ah, Potson,” he said; “I hoped I should not be too early to catch you. I perceive the wind has changed round to N.N.E. by S.W. again.” I was astounded, as he had not had time to observe the thermometer in my bedroom. He noticed my amazement and smiled that wonderful smile of his. “Elementary, my dear Potson,” he said; “I observed the left-hand side of your moustache inclined about 47 5/8 degrees towards the west, and coming as I did from Butcher-street I at once deduced from which quarter the wind was blowing.”</blockquote> Here we find, in 1901, the quotation “Elementary, my dear Potson,” an obvious parody on the classic line. But no smoke without fire, and no parody without something to parody. From where then did the quotation come? We can but speculate about this, since we don’t have any written evidence. I have neither any examples of appearances of the line between 1901 and 1909. It is however evident that the quotation spread in both Great Britain and the U.S., and on a wide front in widely differing contexts. <br /> <br /> The origin of the quotation must be something that united the U.S. and Great Britain. And there was only one Holmes-related success that ranged over both continents. It wasn’t a book; it was nothing that had been written in the newspapers. It was William Gillette’s 1899 play <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>. It had been playing London in 1901. And that makes it no mystery that a quotation from the popular play was used in a British advertisement the same year—the play had by then been seen by a great many Englishmen.<br /> <br /> With the continued concurrent performances and tours of the play in the U.S. and in Europe during the first decades of the 20th century, it influenced people’s idea of Sherlock Holmes. To many theatergoers the master detective in the play became more real than the canonical Holmes. The deerstalker and curved pipe came to be connected with Holmes largely thanks to the play. Professor Moriarty had previously only figured in one single short story, but here he was established as the Napoleon of crime. And it is not unlikely that the famous quotation was born there.<br /> <br /> In the script Holmes once says “elementary, my dear fellow.” But since he also says “my dear Watson” a number of times, it might very well have happened that “elementary, my dear fellow” turned into “elementary, my dear Watson” after Gillette—and the other actors who played Holmes—had performed the play for some years, even though they never changed the written script.<br /> <br /> And even if the line was never actually uttered in the play, the audiences might very well have collectively mixed together those two phrases into one and thought that they had heard “elementary, my dear Watson.” In all probability it was through the spoken line that the phrase was coined, and it happened thanks to William Gillette. Conan Doyle had created Sherlock Holmes as a character, but there is no doubt that it was Gillette’s success that turned the master detective into one of the world’s most famous and recognizable symbols.<!--EndFragment--> <br /> <br /> <b><i>Author's note:</i></b> I wrote this some time ago, wanting to elaborate on some facts I mention in my book <i>From Holmes to Sherlock</i> (published in Swedish in 2013), and I thought it fitting to post my findings in connection with the forthcoming English edition in 2017. However, since <a href="http://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/07/14/watson/" target="_blank">Quote Investigator</a> posted a similar article a few weeks ago – based on pretty much the same sources – I see no reason to wait any longer with sharing these observations.<br /> <br /> <b><i>Editor's note:</i></b> In addition to the English edition of <i>From Holmes to Sherlock</i>, Mattias is also the co-editor (with Matt Laffey) of <i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers</a></i>, a multi-volume project under the banner of Wessex Press.<br /> <br /> --<br /> <br />

“Elementary, my dear Watson” — The Birth of a Quotation

"placing it upon record." [BLAN] To anyone who has heard of Sherlock Holmes, “Elementary, my dear Watson” is always the quot...

+ Read more »

by Mattias Boström

William Gillette's Sherlock Holmes (1916) Gets a Score

<h4 style="text-align: center;"> "Holmes's musical disquisition" [STUD]</h4> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQgjloHvoduH3aOJ0bDxvkpyfy1rButWwLXfLpWeT37mqBr3wekq23jiNVohqwIF_mYt662JX0wTUCfrHTvdF6ZCIsBJcY_zh-4Cy1MKu24Xy1HIX85Y_u3aaZT0mcp5QLp4QRjjyOXFZ/s1600/Gillette+Still.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQgjloHvoduH3aOJ0bDxvkpyfy1rButWwLXfLpWeT37mqBr3wekq23jiNVohqwIF_mYt662JX0wTUCfrHTvdF6ZCIsBJcY_zh-4Cy1MKu24Xy1HIX85Y_u3aaZT0mcp5QLp4QRjjyOXFZ/s640/Gillette+Still.PNG" width="640" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> The 1916 <i>Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual</i> will cover the topic of William Gillette's film <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. We here at I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere <a href="http://ihose.co/1916film" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">broke the news</a> that the long-lost film had been discovered in Paris and covered <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/06/sherlock-holmes-in-san-francisco.html#.V4eggLgrLb0" target="_blank">the screening of the film</a> at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival last year.<br /> <br /> We're pleased to present four musical themes that were played for the American premiere of the restored Gillette <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>. The excerpts are meant to illustrate the article, “Scoring Gillette’s Sherlock Holmes,” that acclaimed composer Donald Sosin wrote for the <i>BSJ Christmas Annual</i>, describing how he composed his music. And although these film excerpts are best understood when used in conjunction with Donald’s article, they can also be enjoyed on their own — examples of how a great original Holmesian score is constructed and coordinated with the images.<br /> <br /> The tracks come from the opening night performance when Gillette’s film was screened at San Francisco’s Castro Theater on May 30, 2015, where 2,000 people heard the score that night, performed by Sosin and his ensemble: Donald on piano with Günther Buchwald, violin; Sascha Jacobsen, bass; and Frank Bockius, percussion.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL6m8pknf2xi93U_1gnk0plD7jgatMMz2V" width="640"></iframe><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL6m8pknf2xi93U_1gnk0plD7jgatMMz2V&v=tmA3svbgk-4" target="_blank">Four Musical Themes from Gillette's <i>Sherlock Holmes</i></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> Since then, the film has attracted several first-rate scores – all quite distinct and all fine examples of the broad range of silent film accompaniment. The film has attracted several leading silent film composers – Stephen Horne who accompanied the film in Bangkok; Neil Brand in Paris, London, Pordenone, and on the Flicker Alley DVD; Steve Sterner at New York’s Film Forum; Dan Drazin in Northbrook, Illinois; Dennis James in Santa Barbara, California; and Phil Carli at the Library of Congress and the BSI Conference in Chautauqua. No two performers sound alike, each creating his own signature motifs and building on those motifs to give fresh perspective to the characters and plot lines.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> The themes performed here are the building blocks that Sosin created to build his extraordinary score. The themes recur, permitting improvisation and ingenious acoustic effects and designed to provide a musical mirror to the ever-changing mood and action.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sherlock-holmes-the-odessa-connection#/" target="_blank">According to Sosin in an Indiegogo</a> he ran, he has been commissioned by the Odessa International Film Festival to expand that 4-musician score for a 45-piece orchestra. The premiere of that composition is set for July 16, 2016. The music is in rehearsal and on schedule – a generous, anonymous donor stepped in to make up the short fall. We certainly hope that more audiences will have the benefit of hearing it outside of Odessa.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> [<i><b>Editor's note:</b> special thanks to Prof. Russell Merritt, BSI ("The Trepoff Murder") for providing the clips and the written update.</i>]</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> --</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div>

William Gillette's Sherlock Holmes (1916) Gets a Score

"Holmes's musical disquisition" [STUD] The 1916 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual will cover the topic of William G...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty