I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

About the Great Exhibition of 1951

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<b>"a wilder exhibition of passion" [CREE] </b></h4>
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In 1851, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Exhibition" target="_blank">Great Exhibition</a> highlighted then "cutting edge" technology and industry. For its 100th anniversary, the Exhibition used then-current means to create a special highlight for Sherlockians - a replica of Holmes' sitting room, which is now on display in the <a href="http://www.sherlockholmespub.com/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes Pub</a> in London.<br />
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Not to be outdone, <a href="http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/" target="_blank">the current version of the Exhibition is now online</a>...and also contains an excellent opportunity for Sherlockians to participate and demonstrate a slightly wilder exhibitions of their own passions.<br />
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Thanks to a strong Internet presence (including <a href="http://twitter.com/GreatExhibition" target="_blank">the Great Exhibition on Twitter</a>), people can actually vote for those things which are "great" about Great Britain. Of special interest to Sherlockians are the two following categories of interest:<br />
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<b>Sherlock Holmes</b> - <a href="http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/sherlock-holmes" target="_blank">http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/sherlock-holmes </a><br />
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<b>Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - </b><a href="http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/sir-arthur-conan-doyle">http://www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk/greats/sir-arthur-conan-doyle</a><br />
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At the 1951 Exhibition, the ability to view the Great Detective's drawing room helped the character make a deeper impact on history; now, Sherlockians can play an active role in making sure that impact is felt for future generations as well.<br />
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<i>Editor's note: This essay was submitted by Gordon Dymowski, who regularly covers the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the entertainment industry. You can also find him at <a href="http://www.blogthispal.com/">Blog THIS, Pal!</a> and <a href="http://www.comicrelated.com/">Comic Related</a>.  <br /><i> </i></i><br />
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About the Great Exhibition of 1951

"a wilder exhibition of passion" [CREE] In 1851, the Great Exhibition highlighted then "cutting edge" technology...

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by Scott Monty

The Effect of America and Americans on Sherlock Holmes

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"The 4th Inst." [STUD]  </h4>
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"It is always a joy to me to meet an American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a Minister in far gone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes," - Sherlock Holmes in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Annotated-Sherlock-Holmes/dp/0393059162/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341172790&sr=8-1&keywords=the+new+annotated+sherlock+holmes">“The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor”</a>. </blockquote>
As we celebrate Independence Day and the bicentennial of the War of 1812 this year, let’s also reflect on the profound effect America and Americans have had on the Canon.</div>
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Frank Moulton and Hatty Doran may have been two visitors from across the pond that Holmes welcomed to 221B with woodcock, pheasant, foie gras pie and “ancient and cobwebby bottles”, but most Americans, in Watson’s pages, would be left off the guest list.</div>
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There is Jefferson Hope, whose American virtue of tenacity is mixed with that equally American desire for revenge, and tracked his fellow countrymen Drebber and Stangerson to London with deadly results. Revenge was also on the mind of Captain James Calhoun of the “Lone Star”. Protection of the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan led to the deaths of three members of the Openshaw family. Abe Slaney, “the most dangerous crook in Chicago” tracked Elsie Cubitt (nee Patrick) to Norfolk and was willing to kill her husband to possess her. “James Winter, alias Morecroft, alias Killer Evans” even wounded Watson during “The Adventure of the Three Garridebs”. While it was worth a wound to Watson to see the great heart behind the great brain, it’s doubtful the American criminal was on Watson’s Christmas card list.</div>
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Ex-senator J. Neil Gibson, the Gold King, may have best exemplified the concept of “the Ugly American” in the Canon. Arrogant, demeaning and used to buying his way, it took the equally strong personality of Sherlock Holmes to put him in his place.</div>
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A better representative of the United States is John Douglas, amiable master of Birlstone Manor, a.k.a. Birdy Edwards, Pinkerton detective extraordinaire. As John Douglas he was cheery and genial and as Birdy Edwards, cool, tough and fearless, the qualities that most Americans would like to see in themselves.</div>
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There is one other to be mentioned; Altamont, the faux Irish-American played by Holmes in his bid to fool and ultimately capture German spy Von Bork. Holmes spent two years in America, traveling from Chicago to Buffalo to perfect his cover. It’s fitting to remember on this July fourth that Altamont was described as ”a tall, gaunt man of sixty, with clear-cut features and a small goatee beard, which gave him a general resemblance to the caricatures of Uncle Sam.”<br />
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Holmes’ dream of a united Great  Britain and United States may be no closer to reality in 2012 than in 1887, but the two countries are deeply intertwined in the Canon. As we Americans celebrate the 4th with family and friends; barbecue hamburgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob; and watch the rockets' red glare to the tune of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLT6BIUi7tE&feature=related">"The 1812 Overture"</a>, remember Holmes himself, that quintessential Englishman, liked and occasionally was one of us.<br />
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The Effect of America and Americans on Sherlock Holmes

"The 4th Inst." [STUD] "It is always a joy to me to meet an American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe...

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by James C. O'Leary

Episode 43: Fathers in the Canon

<h4><center>“followed my father’s custom” [SIGN]</center><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGUmHTigUebitaJdIP7U99BMACBkENvjWtso-K5S45mB4ttyxhSnjt4MV9Id_DVMCj18vdcjljVNsL4DX0u1Cr0lZd5Xb92Ua8_z1TRFrOqobhILKijh2E_xppxh456rMBtmWJJxmo2TFHXGof_0Jx6g7rj-db8Bpd64Ty2UfwhkIbaL0rAZE8kMBa2In4/s666/ihearofsherlock43%20header.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="666" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGUmHTigUebitaJdIP7U99BMACBkENvjWtso-K5S45mB4ttyxhSnjt4MV9Id_DVMCj18vdcjljVNsL4DX0u1Cr0lZd5Xb92Ua8_z1TRFrOqobhILKijh2E_xppxh456rMBtmWJJxmo2TFHXGof_0Jx6g7rj-db8Bpd64Ty2UfwhkIbaL0rAZE8kMBa2In4/w400-h300/ihearofsherlock43%20header.jpg" width="400" /></a></center></h4>
Sometimes, when there's a topic that bears a discussion-based episode between the two of us, we like to do a little research to see what's been written previously, so we can have some reference material upon which to base some of our zany theories.<br />
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Sunday, June 17 was Father's Day in the United States, which made it a perfect opportunity to tackle the topic of fathers in the Canon. Imagine our chagrin and surprise then, when we discovered that there was no appreciable material (at least to our "small but select" libraries of Sherlockiana) that adequately chronicled fathers and father figures in the Sherlock Holmes stories.<br />
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Not to be deterred, we decided to thumb through the stories and pick out not only fathers, but step-fathers, would-be fathers, father figures and others who espoused the characteristics that fathers do or should have. More than a laundry list of individuals, this episode turned into a fun reminiscence and analysis that we hope you enjoy listening to almost as much as we enjoyed creating it.<br />
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While we couldn't find an Editor's Gas-Lamp that was directly about fatherhood, we did find one that had paternal overtone in the Vol. 8 No. 4 issue from October 1958 titled "Truth is Better than Fiction."<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Links</span></h3>
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<li><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/morleymontgomeryaward/archivedwinners.html">The Morley-Montgomery Award Winners</a>, including "Who Wrote the American Chapters of <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>?" by Ben Vizoskie.</li>
<li>William Baring-Gould's biography <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/051703817X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=051703817X">Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street</a></i></li>
<li>Elementary!</li>
<li>The <a href="http://221bcon.com/">221B Con</a> in Atlanta in 2013</li>
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Episode 43: Fathers in the Canon

“followed my father’s custom” [SIGN] Sometimes, when there's a topic that bears a discussion-based episode between the two of us, we li...

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by Scott Monty

"No Question As To the Authorship" [SIGN]

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxVxnXTMndr4aYKz0FrHlTcakQUCvb1XnVaB24eeSYv9lTYB8HgxJDkCapQC1Pi8sP8ehygdOHljEa8ii4eYFgH3QwZ9cDkT_8hzVT_iiSnx9_yTettBMVX7M_vGs15BILfOor4M3rv78/s1600/acd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxVxnXTMndr4aYKz0FrHlTcakQUCvb1XnVaB24eeSYv9lTYB8HgxJDkCapQC1Pi8sP8ehygdOHljEa8ii4eYFgH3QwZ9cDkT_8hzVT_iiSnx9_yTettBMVX7M_vGs15BILfOor4M3rv78/s200/acd.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>For many Sherlockians, there is a great curiosity to actually see - and hear - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle discuss the background around the creation of the Great Detective's exploits. It is one thing to read his thoughts; it is another to observe him as he discusses his works.<br /><br />May 22, 2012 marks the 153rd birthday of Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, who brought the world such wonders as Professor Challenger, Sir Nigel, Alleyne, Brigadier Girard and of course, Sherlock Holmes. His work spanned decades and included a variety of written work from the medical and scientific to the fantastic and spiritualistic. <br /><br />But it is not often that one gets to hear the Scottish brogue and strident voice that are behind the considerable visage we know so well. Now available via the Internet Archive, here is a <a href="http://archive.org/details/SirArthurConanDoyleSpeaks_272" target="_blank">1927 newsreel in which Arthur Conan Doyle discusses the origins of Sherlock Holmes</a>. The first five minutes of this video focus on Holmes; the remainder cover his exploration of spiritualism. (Both overlap in a surprising way, but please feel free to watch in order to avoid spoiling).<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><a name="more"></a><br /><br /><br /><center><iframe frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://archive.org/embed/SirArthurConanDoyleSpeaks_272" width="480"></iframe></center><br /><br />On the occasion of his birth, what would you say to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? As a spiritualist, you know he's listening.<br /><br /><i>Editor's note: Gordon regularly covers the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the entertainment industry. You can also find him at <a href="http://www.blogthispal.com/">Blog THIS, Pal!</a> and <a href="http://www.comicrelated.com/">Comic Related</a>.  </i><br /><br />--