December 2014 Volume 18 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 Contents 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 Paul Churchill Thomas Drucker Timothy J. Johnson, Curator 5 National Press Club. Paul Churchill Warren Randall 612-624-3552 or Wayne was from Nebraska, an elec- Joseph Gillies Michael Kean [email protected] of The Sherlock Photo courtesy 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 In supporting the Sherlock Holmes Collections, many donors have made 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 8 Continued on page 6 contributions either in honor or in memory of special persons. 8 Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections 1 In Honor Of From The Nashville Scholars Donna and Billy Fields of the Three Pipe Problem Richard Kitts Alexian Gregory Sherlock Holmes Owen Laukkanen Julie and Mike McKuras COLLECTIONS Julie McKuras Bill Vande Water Patrick B. Shaw Mary Flo Hatcher “Your merits should be publicly recognized” (STUD) Gary Thaden Tom and Maria Gottwalt Bob and Terry Thomalen Francine and Richard Kitts Contents Echoes of Mr. Holmes by Tim Johnson In Memory Of From Dr. Marvin Aronson Dr. Michael Kean Echoes of Mr. Holmes s you may have read elsewhere, I was absent from the office and Collections 1 for twelve weeks this past summer on a professional development leave. It Nathan Bengis Andrew Fusco was a productive and reenergizing time, one that I’ve recently reflected on in Vinnie Brosnan Joe Eckrich the University’s Archives and Special Collections departmental blog, “Primary Ai Sourcery.” Vinnie Brosnan Robert Hess 100 Years Ago James Duval Ralph Hall 2 Perhaps unknown to many of you was what awaited me at the end of this leave: a two week working trip to the United Kingdom. The trip was originally planned for last Richard Lancelyn Green Andrew Malec spring, but due to a number of factors had to be postponed until the autumn. So, a few Fred Levin Sonia Levin 50 Years Ago days after my leave ended, and just after the Labor Day holiday, I boarded a plane for London. My journey took me to the Cotswolds, into Herefordshire and along the Welsh E.W. McDiarmid Julie and Mike McKuras 3 border, south to the coast and Portsmouth, north to Oxford, east to London, and a final Joseph Moran Susan and Ben Vizoskie roundtrip to York. Along the way, I had the distinct feeling of following in the footsteps of Mr. Holmes. Dorothy Belle Pollack Susan Diamond and Allan Devitt From the President Donald Redmond Cliff Goldfarb “Therefore they gave you a handsome advance on your salary, and ran you off to the Midlands, 5 where they gave you enough work to do to prevent your going to London…” (STOC) Jan Stauber Alexian Gregory P. Christian Steinbrunner Russell Merritt The first part of my trip was unrelated to Mr. Holmes, although there were certainly Musings echoes of his adventures. I landed in the small village of Whittington to investigate an Jerry Wachs Jerry Margolin 5 archive of one of the most significant letterpress printers in the twentieth century and to For any inquiries contact: secure it for the university. “From within came the clanking of the printing-press.” (VALL) Timothy J. Johnson, Curator For the next four days I sifted through papers while enjoying the press’s annual summer 612-624-3552 or show, a village fete, tours in and around an Elizabethan manor house, and a stay at the [email protected] Acquisitions proprietor’s home near the Malvern Hills. While at the proprietor’s Herefordshire home (still identified as a farm), I stayed in an older section of the house. “I should judge it was Sherlock Holmes Collections 5 Suite 111, Elmer L. Andersen Library of all sorts of ages and styles, starting on a half-timbered Elizabethan foundation and end- University of Minnesota ing in a Victorian portico.” (BLAN) All of this was prelude to my true Holmesian adven- 222 21st Ave. S. An Update from ture on the south coast and in an ancient center of learning. Minneapolis, MN 55455 the Collections Telephone: 612-626-9166 “I was despatched, accordingly, in the troopship Orontes, and landed a month later on FAX: 612-625-5525 7 Portsmouth Jetty…” (STUD) Mailing list corrections requested— I arrived in Portsmouth by train, not troopship, and landed at the railway station instead Because of the high cost of returned newsletters, of the jetty.