Friday Sherlock Links Compendium (September 8 - September 14, 2012)

Better late than never…

Best of Sherlock Holmes notes the imminent auction (September 20, 2012) of a piece called “Mr. Sherlock Holmes to his Friends“ which appeared first in The Strand and later - in slightly modified form - as the Preface to The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. Freeman’s Auctioneers & Appraisers (Philadelphia) are offering this piece along with a few other lots with Sherlockian or Conan Doyle material. 

[Autograph Manuscript Signed. Doyle, Arthur Conan. “Mr. Sherlock Holmes to His Friends.” [London], Jan., 1927. 3pp, 4to; clean and attractive on rectos of 3 sheets. Working ms. with autograph corrections & additions. Written for Strand Magazine, March 1927 as “A Sherlock Holmes Competition - Mr. Sherlock Holmes to His Readers”, pp281-4. Re-edited later that year as the preface to the Case Book of Sherlock Holmes.  Estimate $5,000-8,000.]

Baker Street Babes wrap up their ‘Fandom Summer’ with Episode 31: ‘How Do You Feel About The Violin?’ Meet the Sherlock Fan Orchestra! “Babes Maria, Ardy and Sarah talk to Alicia, Elliot and Matt, who are the masterminds behind the Sherlock Fan Orchestra, a wonderful project that brings the musicians of the Sherlock fandom together to play pieces from the official soundtrack.” 

[Sherlock Holmes - Illustration by Sidney Paget. This particular image borrowed from an interesting article about Holmes and his violen: ‘From Conan Doyle’s Sycamore to Sherlock Holmes’s Violin’.]

Alistair Duncan reflects on “Moffatgate” - ie. Steven Moffat’s earth shattering decision to delete his Twitter account. Did the Doctor Who/Sherlock writer/co-creator (respectively) leave Twitter because of recent reports of abuse being hurled at him or because the micro-blogging site became a “distraction”? I’m sure the truth will leak out soon, but if you are so inclined check out the #Moffatgate tag on Tumblr for a front line perspective.

[Get a room!]

Dan Andriacco, in a brilliant strike of Canonical propaganda, attempts to corner the 4 - 8 year-old demographic by feeding children-adapted versions of Sherlock Holmes stories to  his grandchildren. No word yet on where young Vincent Andriacco falls on various canonical/chronological disputes (yet!). And speaking of Mr Andriacco, be on the look out for his soon-to-be-released The 1895 Murder on MX.

Sherlock Everywhere - new Tumblr blog of I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere - posted a classic Warner Bros cartoon: “The Shropshire Slasher!” with Daffy Duck as Dorlock Holmes and Porky Pig as Watkins in this classic Sherlock Holmes send-up “Deduce, You Say.” Watch Dorlock Holmes ‘deducting’ items from his taxes (eg. “cab fares, to and from murders…”), lives at 221 7/16 Beeker Street, and engages in a plethora of fairly mature, adult-ish humor - with the segment being wrapped up with the joke you see coming from a mile away but is still amusing: 

[Telegram from Warner Bros cartoon “The Shropshire Slasher!” featuring Daffy Duck as Dorlock Holmes and Porky Pig as Watkins.]

Sherlock Peoria’s Brad Keefauver comments on what he calls ‘the new provincialism’: “Where do you find a calcified, men-only Sherlock club, stuck in a mindset that most of us lost forty years ago? Try a big city. Head for Chicago or Boston. Want to find a group who thinks publishing a quarterly print journal is still a workable notion? Look for New York in winter…” Read on to find out where Mr Keefauver believes the new ‘heart’ of Sherlockian culture resides. (Hint: It’s not NYC anymore.) An interesting and provocative piece that should get people talking.

Scotsman in “Time to Take on Sherlock Violin Case” notes the goings-on of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre (which doubles as the Edinburgh Association of Spiritualists) in Palmerston Place, which among other things possesses a “violin made out of wood from a tree that grew in Arthur Conan Doyle’s boyhood home.” The Center offers classes in everything from a Modern Mediumship Masterclass to Baby Yoga, with a focus on a brand of Spiritualism that “is based on seven founding principles and does not adhere to any fixed creed or dogma but celebrates the diversity of opinions of individuals by encouraging them to question our philosophy and way of life” which lends the situation less of a harsh, cult-ish tone and more of a pleasant mellifluous one - all of which can be played on a “violin [that] was made for the 150th anniversary of Conan Doyle’s birth” (May 22, 1859).

Tea at 221B posted this stunning letter from Frederic Dorr Steele to Vincent Starrett featuring one of FDS’s profile drawings of The Great Detective. The original of this is credited as being housed in The Sherlock Holmes Collection at the University of Minnesota Library. The U of M should really think about ‘merchandising’ (but in a classy way) some of their public domain items in order to generate funding for the collection. I would gladly pay to have a nice print of this letter to hang on my wall.

[Letter from Frederic Dorr Steele to Vincent Starrett]

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