I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

You Can Own a Piece of Sherlock Holmes' Hollywood Wardrobe [UPDATED]

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"He was dressed in a heavy gray suit" [VALL]</h4>
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[This story has been updated since in first ran. See final paragraph. - <i>Ed.</i>]<br />
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One of the most iconic images in modern memory is of Basil Rathbone in his attire as Sherlock Holmes in the 1939 Universal film <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1fd2jJA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a></i>. For the modern era, it's the defining image of what Sherlock Holmes should look like. The action on the moors, the deerstalker cap and the heavy country suit that would be appropriate in such a setting - all are part of the atmosphere that lent themselves to creating the common image of Holmes in our collective minds.<br />
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Now, you have a chance to own part of movie history. TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has teamed up with Bonham's auction house for a monumental auction of Hollywood memorabilia. Titled "<a href="http://bonhams.com/tcm" target="_blank">What Dreams Are Made Of: A Century of Movie Magic as Curated by TCM</a>," it encompasses some of the most memorable and iconic costumes, scripts and memorabilia from Hollywood such as:<br />
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<li>The original lead statuette and Sam Spade's red leather chair from <i>The Maltese Falcon</i></li>
<li>The 1940 Buick Phaeton from <i>Casablanca</i></li>
<li>Jack Nicholson's Joker costume and Michael Keaton's Batman costume from the 1989 film <i>Batman</i></li>
<li>Vivien Leigh's negligee from <i>Gone With the Wind</i></li>
<li>John Huston's original typewritten draft of <i>Treasure of the Sierra Madre</i></li>
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But the item that might set Sherlockians' hearts racing is none other than <a href="http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21427/lot/221/" target="_blank">Lot 221</a> (we have be believe the curators knew what they were doing in placing an entirely appropriate lot number on it):<br />
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A Basil Rathbone Jacket from The Hound of the Baskervilles</h4>
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Described as follows:<br />
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Twentieth Century Fox, 1939. Gray and black wool tweed herringbone double-breasted jacket, bearing a green-lettered United Costumers Hollywood label with the typed inscription, "No. 713 / Basil Rathbone." Accompanied by a copy of the film.<br />
Rathbone, playing the master detective Sherlock Holmes, wears this jacket while investigating the crimes on the moors with Watson (Nigel Bruce), and questioning suspects at the Baskeville home. <i>The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> was the first of fourteen films and 275 radio episodes pairing Bruce and Rathbone as Holmes and Watson, and is the best known film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel.</blockquote>
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The estimate for this item is $12,000 - $15,000, which is relatively inexpensive, as the <i>Casablanca</i> Buick is slated for a half million dollars, for comparison's sake.</div>
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Astute observers may recall that actress Debbie Reynolds put her sizable Hollywood collection up for auction in 2011. In fact, the provenance of this item is credited to that auction: <a href="http://www.icollector.com/Basil-Rathbone-Sherlock-Holmes-tweed-wool-double-breasted-jacket-from-Hound-of-the-Baskervilles_i10657942" target="_blank">Profiles in History, Debbie Reynolds: The Auction, June 18, 2011, lot 115</a>. At the time, the item sold for $9,500, plus $2,185 buyer's premium, taxes, fees, etc.</div>
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Should you not be satisfied with a single item for your Sherlock Holmes Hollywood wardrobe, <a href="http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21427/lot/222/">Lot 222</a> is a tweed suit worn by Richard Greene as Sir Henry Baskerville in the same film. Its auction estimate is a respectable $1,300 - $1,500.</div>
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No word on whether the Inverness cape from <i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i>, which <a href="http://www.icollector.com/Basil-Rathbone-caped-overcoat-from-The-Adventures-of-Sherlock-Holmes-Hound-of-the-Baskervilles_i10657941" target="_blank">was originally sold for $50,000</a> (plus $11,500 buyer's premium, taxes, fees, etc.) will make another auction appearance.</div>
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The auction preview takes place at Bonham's in New York City from November 22 - 25, 2013 and the auction will be begin at 13:00 EST on November 25. More information at bonhams.com/tcm</div>
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Take a look through the online catalog. What are some of the items that you would fancy if you weren't constrained by a budget?<br />
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<i>"What shall we give for it?"</i></div>
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<i>"All that is ours."</i></div>
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<b>UPDATE </b>(Nov. 25, 2013):  The Bonham's auction has ended and the Rathbone jacket sold for <b>$13,750</b>, including buyer's premium. The Richard Greene suit went for <b>$1,625</b>. And the Maltese Falcon statue went for a cool <b>$4,085,000</b>.<br />
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You Can Own a Piece of Sherlock Holmes' Hollywood Wardrobe [UPDATED]

"He was dressed in a heavy gray suit" [VALL] [This story has been updated since in first ran. See final paragraph. - Ed. ] ...

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by Scott Monty

How Sherlock Holmes Made 50 Shades of Grey Possible

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"That's just inspiration, not business." [VALL] </h4>
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It may seem like sacrilege, but could it just be possible that Sherlock Holmes was the precursor to <i><a href="http://amzn.to/1bEp3Pn" target="_blank">Fifty Shades of Grey</a></i>? Now before you jump to any conclusions (we know what you're thinking and it's not like that at all), let us explain.<br />
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It's not that there are sexual innuendos within the Sherlock Holmes Canon - although, Christopher Redmond made a case for that in his groundbreaking book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0889241422/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0889241422&linkCode=as2&tag=thebakerstree-20">In Bed With Sherlock Holmes: Sexual Elements in Arthur Conan Doyle's Stories of the great Detective</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0889241422" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i>
 in 1984. We highly recommend trying to pick up a copy on Amazon, eBay or a used bookstore if you find it.<br />
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The nature of the relation between Sherlock Holmes and <i>50 Shades</i> is more along the lines of fan fiction. Yes purists, we said the 'F' word. The bottom line is that Sherlock Holmes has arguably been one of the richest sources of fan fiction, and it goes all the way back to Conan Doyle's time (think William Gillette asking "May I marry Holmes?" as he was planning the plot of his famous play in 1899).<br />
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Watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beJdVmiQijM" target="_blank">the video from PBS Idea Channel</a> for exactly how all of this played out and the connection to the modern expression.<br />
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Do you buy this? Let us know.<br />
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How Sherlock Holmes Made 50 Shades of Grey Possible

"That's just inspiration, not business." [VALL] It may seem like sacrilege, but could it just be possible that Sherlock ...

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by Scott Monty

Remembering Peter G. Ashman, BSI

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Peter G. Ashman died on August 5, 2013 at the age of 61. Although he lived in Alaska, he died at his daughter's home in California. He was born in Amarillo, Texas and traveled the world with his military family. He graduated from high school in New York, studied at Dartmouth and then the University of Maryland, where he received a Bachelor's degree in history. His fondness for the book <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> inspired him to attend the University of Virginia to study law.<br /><br />In 1987 Peter was appointed as a District Court Judge in Palmer, Alaska. He was on the bench for 16 years and made a significant impact on the legal community of Alaska. His professional accomplishments are numerous and distinguished. He received the Judge Nora Guinn award in 2013 by the Alaska Bar Association for his work in providing aid to rural communities, especially the Alaskan native population.<br /><br />Peter's interests included photography, poetry, music, and art. His last great love was the ukulele and he formed a ukulele group of Alaskan judges and lawyers.<br /><br />Peter was a member of <a href="http://www.redcircledc.org/">The Red Circle</a> in Washington, D.C. in the 1970s. He published articles in many Sherlockian journals, created a short-lived scion society called "The Pawky Humorists" which issued a single newsletter, and was a founding member of an epicurean scion in Washington, D.C. called "The Dining Detectives." <br /><br /><div>
Peter Ashman was invested into the Baker Street Irregulars in 1982 as "Peter Steiler the Elder."</div>
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Please share any memories you have of Peter as a comment below.</div>
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Remembering Peter G. Ashman, BSI

Peter G. Ashman died on August 5, 2013 at the age of 61. Although he lived in Alaska, he died at his daughter's home in California. He...

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by Francine Kitts

Benedict Cumberbatch's Early Voice Work as Sherlock Holmes

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<span style="text-align: start;">"Give me your details, and from an armchair I will return you an excellent expert opinion." [BRUC]  </span></h4>
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The year 2010 was an eventful one for both the Sherlock Holmes franchise and Benedict Cumberbatch's role in it. Benedict had just unleashed his brilliant, modern version of the great detective and still found sometime during that year to record a reading for a series of non-Doyle Sherlock short stories: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609982665/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1609982665&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20">Sherlock Holmes: The Rediscovered Railway and Other Stories</a>.<br />
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Some might think it odd for a mega-popular star like Benedict to do voice work (excluding the work he's doing as Smaug, for the Hobbit obviously). But you might be surprised (or not if you're as obsessive a Benedict fan as my teenage daughter is) to know that Benedict is not only an accomplished voice actor but still enjoys doing radio shows on the BBC.The whole time Benedict has been doing the Sherlock series and all of his other, increasing, acting gigs, he's been continuing to do the BBC radio show, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/mn/search/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-author=Benedict%20Cumberbatch&linkCode=ur2&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank&tag=theconblo04-20&text=Benedict%20Cumberbatch">Cabin Pressure</a>. It's a family favorite.<br />
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I'm very curious about the timing of the events around these stories, because BBC's Sherlock may or not have been released when he did the recordings, but they definitely wouldn't have reached the level of popularity that they have today. So asking Benedict to read these stories was a stroke of incredible luck.<br />
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When you read the reviews on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609982665/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1609982665&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9688584-sherlock-holmes">Goodreads</a>, it's obvious that this series owes all of it's success to Benedict's popularity.<br />
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I'm not usually into audio books. But I do enjoy a good Sherlock Holmes pastiche and I really enjoy Benedict Cumberbatch's voice work so this was a win-win for me. I know some people don't like pastiches, but I always find it fascinating to read other people's take on Doyle's work.<br />
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But back to the point of this review. The family and I enjoyed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609982665/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1609982665&linkCode=as2&tag=theconblo04-20">The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries and other stories</a> (there's four in all). As far as Sherlock Holmes pastiches, they're okay. They don't capture the spirit of Doyle as well as some but as far as stories they're better than most. But what puts these stories over the top, and makes these worthy of a family road trip, is the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch.<br />
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But if you'd like to see for yourself, they've <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5g8EVFiCzI">put a short sample on YouTube</a>.<br />
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[Editor's note: I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere is running a special with <b>Audible</b>, where you can <a href="http://www.audible.com/t1/30trial_at?source_code=NETOR0002WS022912" target="_blank">get a free book download with a free 30-day trial</a>. The Cumberbatch recordings are available via Audible as well.]<br />
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