December 2013 Volume 17 Number 4 March 2009 D S O F N Volume 13 Number 1 E T 50 Years Ago...Continued from Page 3 I H R E bottle of Courvoisier plus one fifth of the history of the scion mentioned earlier, The physical book is an interesting F New Jersey cognac, with the note: ‘Tell Thomas Hart reports that a publication artifact in itself, featuring quarter bind- the bartender to serve the Courvoisier fund was established as early as 1952 ing with textured morocco-colored first. Then by the time the Sons get to (with the princely sum of $4.00.) Hart, as endpapers of the same stock as the the New Jersey cognac, they may not treasurer of the Publication Committee, covers. spot the difference’” (250). Today, goes on to apologize to the membership Lellenberg says of Starr, “I’m convinced for “his many exhortations for funds, and Leaves from The Copper Beeches was fol- Sherlock Holmes that Julian Wolff [who took over leader- many stern admonitions against failure, lowed up by a second volume, More ship of the Baker Street Irregulars under made at meetings” over the years. Leaves from The Copper Beeches, in COLLECTIONS the title “Commissionaire” after Smith’s 1976. The Sons are still flourishing as untimely death in 1960] would have an active scion society; perhaps some- “Your merits should be publicly recognized” (STUD) retired as Commissionaire sooner than he day we will be able to look forward to did if Bill Starr had not died at a some- a third volume. what early age in 1976 and had been C o n t e n t s around in the early ’80s to take over.” John Bergquist, BSI Francine and Wayne Swift By Peter E. Blau, ASH, BSI Leaves from The Copper Beeches was par- Francine and Wayne Swift tially financed by contributions from Illustration by H.W. Starr, captioned “The appeal t has been said that marriages between two Sherlockians are the most permanent. members of the Sons, who are listed in for the Publication Fund,” printed in Jon 1 Many Sherlockians have found it easy enough to persuade a spouse to enjoy the Lellenberg’s Irregular Crises of the Late ’Forties the acknowledgments. In his memoir of Sherlockian world, but when two people who already are Sherlockians marry they (New York, 1999) 100 Years Ago I will sooner or later merge their collections, as well as their lives. And there is no custody battle, whether over the car, the house, the pets, or the children, that can possi- 2 bly match the difficulty of dividing a collection that has no duplicates. Remembrances So for two Sherlockians it’s a matter only of the better, and never the worse. That cer- 50 Years Ago tainly was true of Wayne B. Swift and Francine Morris, who were Sherlockians when 3 they met for the first time. Francine started her Sherlockian life in Texas, where she was Remembrances a librarian; she founded The Sub-Librarians Scion of the Baker Street Irregulars in the From the President American Library Association, and In supporting the Sherlock Holmes Collections, many donors have made 4 was one of the founders of The contributions either in honor or in memory of special persons. Practical, But Limited, Geologists at an informal luncheon in the Zodiac In Honor Of From Musings Room at Nieman Marcus in Dallas. Peter Blau Arthur E.F. Wiese Jr. 4 When she moved to Washington she Fred Levin Cliff Goldfarb quickly became a member of The Red Circle, and was one of the ring- In Memory Of From An Update from leaders in planning the society’s full- Paul Churchill John Baesch and Evelyn Herzog For any inquiries contact: the Collections fledged costume party at the In supporting the Sherlock Holmes Collections, many donors have made contributions either in honor or in memory Paul Churchill Thomas Drucker Timothy J. Johnson, Curator National Press Club. 5 Paul Churchill Warren Randall 612-624-3552 or Wayne was from Nebraska, an elec- Joseph Gillies Michael Kean [email protected] Photo courtesy of The Sherlock Holmes Collections Allen Mackler Patricia Nelson Recent Acquisitions Wayne and Francine Swift trical engineer and a teacher, and an Allen Mackler Once Upon A Crime Mystery Bookstore Sherlock Holmes Collections 5 early convert to the world of com- Allen Mackler Philip Swiggum Suite 111, Elmer L. Andersen Library puters. When he moved to Washington he decided to take an adult-education course in Beatrice McCaffrie John Lockwood University of Minnesota Sherlock Holmes at a local community college and soon attended his first Sherlockian E.W. McDiarmid Michael Brahmey 222 21st Ave. S. To the Editor function, a running of The Silver Blaze (Southern Division) at Pimlico Race Track in E.W. McDiarmid Jim DeLeo Minneapolis, MN 55455 6 Maryland, where he and Francine quickly discovered they shared more than an interest E.W. McDiarmid Jeffrey Klaus Telephone: 612-626-9166 in Sherlock Holmes. They courted , and wed, and had many happy years together, shar- E. W. McDiarmid Peter Klaus FAX: 612-625-5525 ing a multitude of interests, Sherlockian and otherwise. Robert Pattrick Vincent Brosnan A Beacon of the Future Mailing list corrections requested— Wayne became a member of The Baker Street Irregulars in 1978 (as “The Giant Rat of Jan Stauber Alexian Gregory Because of the high cost of returned newsletters, 6 Jan Stauber Francine and Richard Kitts we would appreciate being informed of changes Sumatra”). Francine became a member of The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes in Tom Stix Karen Anderson of address or other corrections. 1977 (as “Hatty Doran”) and was honored by the BSI as The Woman in 1983, and Dr. Richard Sturtz William Sturtz Remembrances awarded her Irregular Shilling and Investiture in 1994 (as “The Wigmore Street Post Timothy J. Johnson, Curator of special persons. 8 Continued on page 6 8 Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections 1 In Honor Of From Vincent Brosnan Robert Hess Tom Francis Andy Solberg Francine Kitts Alexian Gregory Julie McKuras Richard and Ellen Caplan Sherlock Holmes Katy Morgan Stella Herzig COLLECTION S Patrick Shaw Mary Flo Hatcher Sherlockian Friends Sandy Kozinn “Your merits should be publicly recognized” (STUD) In Memory Of From June Berg Stanton Berg Vince Flynn Gary Schulze and Pat Frovarp C o n t e n t s The International Exhibition of Richard Lancelyn Green Andrew Malec Charles E. Henry Ray Betzner Sherlock Holmes Joseph and Eleanore Margolin Jerry Margolin The International By Julie McKuras, ASH, BSI Dr. Alvin Rodin Jack Key Exhibition of Sherlock Ted Schulz Vincent Brosnan Holmes was fortunate to attend the Ted Schulz Michael Kean opening of The International Ted Schulz Marsha Pollak 1 Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes Ted Schulz Randall Stock 100 Years Ago at the Oregon Museum of Sci- Mary Ann Smerk George Smerk I ence and Industry (OMSI) on October 9, 2013. Having heard the Jan Stauber Alexian Gregory 2 proposal and seen the designs from an P. Christian Steinbrunner Russell Merritt On Corresponding with early stage in the project, I was pre- Henry Swiggum Anne Swiggum John Bennett Shaw pared for it to be good. I wasn’t ready Edward Van Liere, MD Andrew Fusco for just how good it really is. Jerry Wachs Francine and Richard Kitts 2 Jerry Wachs Mike and Julie McKuras 50 Years Ago Over three years ago, Jon Lellen- Jerry Wachs Marsha Pollak berg received a communication 3 from Geoffrey Curley, of Geoffrey Jerry Wachs Warren Randall M. Curley and Associates. Geoff The Case of the Clean Air had consulted on a number of Gun Target exhibits for science museums, such 5 as “MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition,” and wrote that he had From the President an idea for an exhibition about Sherlock Holmes and the forensic 6 sciences. His plan involved working For any inquiries contact: Acquisitions with EDG (Exhibits Design Group), Timothy J. Johnson, Curator located in St. Paul Minnesota. Jon’s 612-624-3552 or 6 response to that statement was “I [email protected] have some good news for you: the Musings biggest Sherlock Holmes Collec- Sherlock Holmes Collections 6 tions in the world are just across Suite 111, Elmer L. Andersen Library the river at the University of Min- University of Minnesota An Update from the nesota.” Photo by Julie McKuras 222 21st Ave. S. Collections Sidney Paget illustration Minneapolis, MN 55455 It didn’t take long for EDG and Geoffrey 7 to contact E.W. McDiarmid Curator for the Sherlock Holmes Collections Timothy John- Telephone: 612-626-9166 son about their proposed exhibit. From the first meeting in November 2010, Tim was FAX: 612-625-5525 Using the Collections enthusiastic about the idea and anxious for the Holmes Collections to play a part in the 7 exhibition. Over an almost two year period, Tim met with Geoffrey and Amy Noble Seitz, Mailing list corrections requested— the Founder and CEO of Exhibits Development Group as well as various staff members. Because of the high cost of returned newsletters, A Letter to the Editor Initially, their series of conversations focused on data gathering as Tim helped them ascer- we would appreciate being informed of changes of address or other corrections. 8 Continued on page 9 Remembrancees Timothy J. Johnson, Curator 12 12 Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections 1 John Bennett Shaw at 100 The International Exhibition Continued from Page 10 100 Years Ago...Continued from Page 2 John Bennett Shaw was born October 10,1913 in Tulsa Oklahoma, so it’s fitting we 100 Years Ago Continued from Page 2 celebratemobile what for would “journalistic have been purposes.” his 100th birthday.table of contents for this 224 page attachedhealth to it, during having and only after a couplethe pregnan- of RussellThe Merritt, Orphanage BSI, wrote “So much Catling was active in the Institute of illustrated book includes works by lenderscy.