Well we made it, or first complete online meeting.

Not with out a couple of problems in our first attempt.

I think because we posted it on our facebook page we had a couple of really nasty and inappropriate people who showed up, who had nothing better to do with their time than cause problems.

Our host quickly cancelled our meeting and regrouped and sent out one by invitation only.

We had ten people at the 'meeting' about 3GAR.

I am looking forward to the next one.

Browsing the Web. The Harpooners of the Sea Unicron

I came across this image.

Many years ago the Harpooners helped and supported an actor, Darryl Maximillian Robinson pull of a production of  The Final Problem.

He put the production on at our local pub as a preview to the stage production.

Darryl Maximillian Robinson could pull off one of the best British accents we had ever heard.

Usually when someone did something of a Sherlockian nature with the HSU; make a presentation, help with logistics, etc., we would make them and honorary member. Jeremy Brett recieved one.

Back then the Harpooners had many fun awards. Since their name came from a seafaring Sherlockian tale, all the awards were whales or something nautical.

Great fun.

Jeremy Brett in St Louis

In 1991 Jeremy Brett made an appearance in St Louis to promote Masterpiece and the new episodes of Sherlock Holmes.
The Harpooners of the Sea Unicorn helped host the event and provide a good display of Sherlock Holmes stuff. For many of us it was a chance to meet Mr. Brett.
Here are some photos we stuck together to show the crowd in attendance.

Jeremy is in the black suit to the right in this photo at the table.
The Harpooners display is on the left in both photos, in front of the Union Jack.

Here is a photo of him with us at the display.
As I have posted before, the young man with Brett correspond with him up until Brett's death.

Harpooners of the Sea Unicorn #328 - FINA

Attended the latest meeting of the Harpooners of the Sea Unicorn (HSU), who have now been at it for 28 years. Most of them good years.

I believe two records were set at this meeting.
The first was the attempt (successful attempt) to live broadcast the meeting on Facebook.

Ten members were present.

While a few technical issues need to be worked out, it seemed to be a success in that a few comments were made during the meeting from other states.















The second record set I believe was in the number of presentations or papers on FINA.
We had four very different presentations made on things to be found in FINA.
The gamut running from gaming matrix to how many times things happened in three's in the story.
BSI member Bill Cochran was present and as usual gave a very good paper.

Discussed was how much Holmes had planned out the trip that concluded the Final Problem and how much was left to chance.
While first reading FINA we are lead to believe that Holmes' death was just the end result of this continental chase. But after further reading, as suggested by Bill, the entire process was well planned out by Holmes to bring about the result that happened.
I will post Bill's (and the others) paper here once it comes out in the newsletter.

When reading these tales over again for each meeting I always try to spot something that I had not noticed before, something I think could make a good topic of discussion.

There probably is not much that has not been covered in FINA, as would also be the case with the other 59 stories.
But I came across something I had not heard discussed before ( which may just mean I had not come across some one's thoughts on the subject ).
Several paragraphs in, when Holmes is telling Watson about Moriarty this information is given;
'. . . where he set up as an army coach."
We have heard a lot about the papers Moriarty contributed to science. And that he had been a professor of Mathematics at some smaller university.

But I have never read or heard any discussion of him being an army coach.
Now I doubt that that meant we would have seen him coaching the football team at an earlier Army/Navy match.

But I can imagine several teaching positions in the army that would require mathematics skills;
artillery, codes/intelligence, weather, etc.
While the military at this time was not as advanced technically as we are now, mathematics would still have played a large role.
Are connections while teaching for the army how Moriarty and Moran came together?

It was a very good meeting and made me want to go back and read once again FINA.

Something we would know little about over here in the Colonies.

Panto villain David Leonard to switch sides to play Sherlock Holmes in The Hound Of The Baskervilles

YORK Theatre Royal pantomime villain David Leonard is to be seen in a new guise this summer, as the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes in The Hound Of The Baskervilles.

Billed as the Theatre Royal’s summer blockbuster, this fast paced family-friendly romp will be directed by artistic director Damian Cruden, whose cast of up to six actor-musicians will be announced in full within the next few weeks.

Together with the director, they will part-devise the show during a playful five-week rehearsal period, creating a Victorian troupe of storytellers. who will  take on multiple roles to tell Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s adventure.

Damian Cruden says: ‘We plan to use every theatrical trick in the book, using our new staging following the theatre's renovation. Expect music, mayhem and lightning-fast action from a very talented team of actors. David Leonard will make a superb Holmes, he’s made for the role and our York audience will love seeing a different side to him."

In addition to his celebrated panto villain, Leonard has appeared on the Theatre Royal stage as Elyot Chase in Noel Coward's Private Lives in 1991, Shakespeare's Richard III in 1994 and Vic, a crook turned TV megastar, in Alan Ayckbourn's Man Of The Moment in 1998.

The Hound Of The Baskervilles will run in York Theatre Royal's main auditorium from July 29 to August 27. Tickets can be booked on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Source

Ah, . . . the roar of the grease paint, the smell of the crowds. Wait, wrong venue. . .

Broadway-Bound Sherlock Holmes Sets Director

BY ADAM HETRICK

MAY 11, 2016

Tony nominee Daniel Evans will direct the Broadway premiere of the play that promises to bring a new edge to the classic tale. 

Daniel Evans, who directed the London revival of Show Boat and was seen on Broadway in the revival of Sunday in the Park With George, will direct a new Broadway-aimed production of Sherlock Holmes that promises to bring “thrills and dynamic energies” to the classic mystery series.

Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel have written the play that will have its U.K. premiere in summer 2017 prior to a Broadway arrival. Specific dates of a Broadway premiere have not been determined. Antonio R. Marion is lead producer.

The creative team will also include Tony and Olivier Award-winning scenic designer Christopher Oram, Tony and Olivier-winning lighting designer Hugh Vanstone and six-time Tony-winning costume designer William Ivey Long.

“We have worked long and hard to assemble a creative team that will not only bring a compelling new edge to the beloved characters of Sherlock Holmes, but will also bring to life a dark, Victorian underworld, where everyone, including Holmes, has something to hide,” Marion said in a statement. “With one of London’s hottest young directors, and a pedigree design team, audiences will experience the thrills and dynamic energies of Sherlock Holmes in a way that has never been rendered on stage.”

“Staged as a mystery within a mystery, the case presented to Holmes forces him to confront his murky past,” press notes state. “But is the unravelling of his childhood just a dangerous diversion? Sherlock Holmes is an original tale which will offer a new and deeply theatrical exploration of the mind of the famous detective, while remaining faithful to the mysterious world created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.” 

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It's offical . . .

Daughter received her first official investiture into a Sherlock Holmes society this past Friday.
She is now a member of that august group The Chester Baskerville society.

Always a fun night when we go to one of their events. As much social as Sherlockian.

She made sure we framed her certificate the next morning.

Maybe she will beat me to the BSI?

Wax on, wax off. . . . . .

Madame Tussauds is swapping its famous waxworks for real-life actors to recreate the Victorian London of Sherlock Holmes.  

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective is being brought to life a stone’s throw from Holmes’s 221B Baker Street address after the venue, one of London’s biggest tourist attractions, teamed up with immersive theatre group Les Enfants Terribles.

The team, whose critically acclaimed Alice’s Adventures Underground took place in the vaults under Waterloo station, are creating a permanent Sherlock Holmes experience and a limited run of evening shows called The Game’s Afoot where the audience becomes the detective to solve a crime.

Producer Emma Brunjes said the venue had given them “a blank canvas” to recreate the Victorian London of Holmes and his sidekick Watson, complete with lamp-lit streets and the misty moor sheltering the Hound of the Baskervilles. She said: “The idea of The Game’s Afoot is that in groups of 40 you are locked in the space for an hour and you are asked to solve the crime.

“You are given key facts and then you can roam through the space, meet different actors, interrogate them, get given clues. It is a sort of human-sized Cluedo.

“Immersive theatre is a really good way for new audiences to get into theatre for the first time.

“The key thing for us is we are putting the audience at the heart of the story. We’re not saying this is Sherlock, this is what he looks like — we’re saying you’re Sherlock, you solve this crime and then maybe you’ll get to meet the man later.”

Madame Tussauds general manager Edward Fuller said: “Sherlock Holmes: The Experience will be the first in Madame Tussauds’ history to tap in to the increasing demand for immersive theatrical adventures.” The rise of this kind of theatre has seen venues set up in unlikely locations including tower blocks, pubs, churches and disused warehouses. 

One current show, called Virtually Dead, sees the audience meet at a secret east London location, to be taken in a blacked-out van to a “military facility” where they fight zombies. Secret Cinema’s recent version of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later sees the audience wearing medical scrubs and lying in hospital beds. Other shows have trapped audiences in laboratories full of man-eating plants or got them caught up in an old-school crime caper. 

Source

SHIN -It is really the holiday season now! BRAD in the news with pictures!

For Sherlock Holmes fans, appeal is elementary

Braley Dodson
Journal Star reporter 

Follow @@braleydodson

Posted Dec. 19, 2015 at 7:09 PM
Updated Dec 19, 2015 at 7:12 PM 

PEORIA — For a fictional detective who lived in the 1800s, Sherlock Holmes still is very much alive. To his fans, anyway.

“Every generation has their Sherlock Holmes,” said Bradley Keefauver, creator of the blog Sherlock Peoria.

A small, adult crowd gathered Saturday afternoon for the Peoria Public Library’s Baker Street Bash to listen to Keefauver talk and answer questions on Sherlock Holmes lore, answer trivia questions and go on a scavenger hunt, among other activities.

“He is someone you can almost see existing,” said Keefauver, who wore a T-shirt advertising “Sure-lock and Watts-on Security and Electrical Consulting,” which depicted Holmes as a lock and his sidekick, John Watson, as a light bulb.

He said with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters in the public domain, a new novel starring the detective is released nearly every week. With multiple television shows, movies, novels and fanfictions, everyone has a different entry point into the Holmes universe.

“Each remake inspires new interest,” said Jamie Jones, branch manager of the McClure Branch.

“It keeps being brought back.”

The event was planned to tie in to the upcoming Christmas special of the BBC’s “Sherlock,” a contemporary interpretation.

Standing on a low stage, Jones asked the crowd for the address of Holmes and Watson. A quiet chorus of “221B Baker St.,” answered her, followed by a whispered, “that’s easy.” But her questions got harder until the crowd was partially stumped when she asked what Irene Adler’s measurements were from an episode of “Sherlock.” Finally, she awarded a newly released book on Mycroft Holmes to Curt Bier of East Peoria, who won the trivia contest.

Bier remembers becoming a fan after reading “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in junior high school.

“I’m glad they had an event like this,” he said, his new book, which he had previously planned to check out from the library, on his lap.

Jones said another Baker Street Bash, which could include a murder mystery, might be held when the new season of “Sherlock” is released.

Braley Dodson can be reached at 686-3196 and bdodson@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @BraleyDodson.

Source 

Popeye of the Baskervilles. . .

Had the pleasure this last Friday of attending a meeting with the Chester Baskerville Society in Chester Ill.
The meeting was held at the McClure Museum and was very well attended and was conducted by very gracious hosts.
The discussions for the evening were 3GAR and 3GAB with interesting papers on both.

I am not a big fan of 3GAB but found very much of interest in 3GAR.

Once again we must question Holmes logic in allowing Nathan to go on  a wild goose chase while Holmes and Watson set a trap for 'Killer Evans'. Especially when we see the results of such goose chase.

HOUN and a couple of others should have taught him a lesson.

Lots of discussion in 3GAB centers around how Holmes' treated Dixie. I did not find it offensive or out of place when taken in context.

I don't know if I will make all the meetings of the Chester Baskerville Society because it is a rather long drive for me, but I know I will attend whenever I can.

If you remember from an earlier post, it was Mike McClures son who Jeremy Brett became rather fond of while in St Louis. Even called the young boy while a meeting of the CBS was going on. How would you love to have your meeting interrupted by Jeremy Brett.

Never saw this one coming!

David Arquette to star as Sherlock Holmes in Chicago

He is known as a great actor, right?




Source and credit and story.

This just in from Doyleockain - SHIN - Are we going to lose this Sherlockian Icon?

Simpson's-in-the-Strand restaurant could disappear after 187 years

Simpson's-in-the-Strand restaurant could disappear from London's established culinary circuit after it emerged that its new operator will not be required to keep the name.

One of London's oldest restaurants could disappear from the capital's social scene after its owner announced it is seeking a new tenant for Simpson's–in–the–Strand.

The search for a new operator to "reinvigorate" the favoured haunt of the great and good since the days of Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan–Doyle and George Bernard Shaw, is said to be in its early stages with no preferred bidder yet.

It is understood that the Savoy Hotel, which owns Simpson's lease, will not insist on the new operator keeping the current name.

The Savoy's agents are believed to be courting an upmarket franchise or a renowned chef to take over the famous restaurant, which is next to the Savoy buildings.

Brian Clivaz, a restaurateur, has previously been associated with Simpson's but is not thought to be in contention to run its new incarnation.

"I don't think it will be Wetherspoons or All Bar One," said a spokesman for Davis Coffer Lyons, the commercial property agent conducting a worldwide search for a new tenant. "But at the moment it's one of these rather hush–hush things."

The spokesman added: "It is true we've been appointed to find someone to operate the restaurant as a chef or to go in with their own operation and brand and go from there. At the moment we've been appointed to find a tenant to go in and operate it for the Savoy. We're in the very early stages of finding an operator or the next person."

The spokesman insisted: "There is also potentially the opportunity that they [the new operator] could keep the Simpson'sin–the–Strand name with it and possibly roll it out further. That may be an option.

^{Prince Charles leaves Simpson's In The Strand in 1993 (Rex)}

"It may not be the end of Simpson'sin–the–Strand or it may be — it all depends on which operation decides to go in."

Since opening in 1828, the restaurant, which was founded as the Grand Divan chess club and coffee house, has established itself as a dining institution. In 1848, the name "Simpson's" was added after a deal with caterer John Simpson.

Conan Doyle was a devotee and even references Simpson's in The Dying Detective and The Illustrious Client. Charles Dickens was also a regular diner. Howard Staunton, the 1840s English chess champion, frequented the premises. International chess elites flocked to Simpson's to witness Adolf Anderssen take on Lionel Kieseritsky in 1851.

^{Peter O'Toole at Oldie of the Year Awards at Simpsons in the Strand (Rex)}

While games of chess have become less of a feature of the staunchly traditional establishment, Simpson's popular carvery trolleys have remained.

Roast meats continue to be carved at patron's tables, just as they were in Victorian times.

Kiaran MacDonald, the Savoy's managing director, confirmed that a search for a new tenant to "reinvigorate" the restaurant is under way.

By Gregory Walton

6:00AM GMT 26 Jan 201
5

SHIN - More on Mark

'I Am Basically Drawn to Anything Vaguely Odd': Sherlock and Game of Thrones Star Mark Gatiss

by Rishi Alwani, December 22, 2014

A vanity van parked in one corner of an extremely noisy exhibition centre hosting the Mumbai Film and Comic Con is as weird a place as any to interview anyone, particularly when all that separates you from a horde of fans is a makeshift wooden wall. It's in this setting that NDTV Gadgets caught up with Mark Gatiss - the writer and actor extraordinaire who is most recognisable for playing the Braavosi banker Tycho Nestoris in the HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones, and Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft on the BBC adaptation of Sherlock.

Gatiss also has writing credits for Sherlock and Doctor Who, making him a bit of a legend in geek circles. The man himself cuts a figure that's as interesting as any of the characters he's written, and he's managed both acting and writing very successfully. But which one of these hats does he prefer and why?

"I like both hats, it's hard to wear two hats, so I have one hat divided down the middle," he jokes. "I've always done both and I love doing both and it keeps everything very varied and interesting and I did a lot of filming this year, I've written three scripts but I've done an awful lot of shooting and it's been very enjoyable. Equally I like sitting at home and writing half year and acting the rest of it."

That's probably why so much of Gatiss' work is so beloved in geek circles - he comes across as someone who really enjoys what he does. Gatiss is one of the rare few who finds himself in arguably three of the biggest TV shows - Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Game of Thrones. Each of them are diverse universes ranging from the modern day to sci-fi to gritty fantasy. But which one does Gatiss hold dearest?

"I'm a tiny part of Game of Thrones, it's a very violent world. Sherlock's world is kind of our world - so probably Doctor Who because you can go anywhere," he says. And while Gatiss admits to being a big fan of grimness in stories like Game of Thrones, if you're familiar with Doctor Who and Sherlock, you know that as a writer, Gatiss is drawn to whimsy and humor even in straight, serious pieces.

"I'm a big fan of grimness, but I think for my own stuff it always tends to be a bit funnier, lighter but also... I'm basically drawn to anything vaguely odd," he says.

Gatiss is no stranger to dealing with odd scenarios. He tells us that straight-laced stories aren't for him.

"Many years ago I was asked to write a police series and I just couldn't do it. I didn't even try. After two meetings I said there's no monsters in it or no kind of strange crimes I just can't do it. It would be awful, it would be too straightforward for me," he explains.

Instead, he ended up working on what is probably the most famous set of stories about detectives and investigations - Sherlock Holmes. We're all the better for it what with Sherlock turning out the way it did. He reminiscences as to when he and his writing partner Steven Moffat had an inkling that they had a hit on their hands.

"When we were filming the pilot, Benedict and Martin were in the back of the taxi when Sherlock does that deduction about his phone," he says. "It was an enormous thing. The first time Benedict did it I got quite teary. That's based on a famous deduction with Watson's watch (in The Sign of Four) and I thought this is our version - there they are - it's our Sherlock and Dr. Watson."

The duo of Cumberbatch and Freeman exuded a kind of chemistry that had Gatiss confident about the show's success. Cumberbatch was the only actor who read for the role of Sherlock before Moffat and Gatiss made up their mind, Gatiss tells us.

"Benedict was the only person that we saw, we did have a very very long list but we didn't pay any attention," he says. "We all came to the same conclusion at the same time. I knew him. He played Stephen Hawking and he was in a film called Atonement. He came in and read. That was it. He was perfect. We saw six people for Dr. Watson and as soon as he and Martin read, we knew that was the show."

Of course, both actors careers have bloomed since Sherlock came around - both are now appearing in big blockbuster movies but Gatiss tells us that the actors' presence has not overshadowed their characters.

"People would pay to see them as John and Sherlock all the time," says Gatiss. "The only problem is its harder to get everyone back together to make more. Not because they're not willing but it is about trying to get diaries to align."

Part of the challenge lies in the format of Sherlock - it's not a continuing series with dozens of new episodes each year - even HBO shows get 10 episodes each season to develop the narrative. Sherlock gets three episodes each season. That's why, for instance, the creators wanted to make sure that fans weren't left wondering about Sherlock's death; Gatiss says he would rather leave cliffhangers to the show itself.

"We knew we were going to do some more," he says. "By doing three movie length stories every season, everything was sort of telescoped. We brought in Moriarty and Mycroft quicker than what we would have done if it had been a longer series. If we did 12 one hour episodes it would have been a slower build and so with the the Reichenbach Fall we sort of had five minutes with him definitely dead."

"Also it was the best cliffhanger that you could imagine," Gatiss continues. "I remember the day I told Steven we should be in the graveyard and the very last shot is Sherlock looking at his own grave. But yes, we had no idea it would become as huge as it was. It was an international talking point for two years." On the topic of Gatiss and Moffat, we wondered how the writing duties for a show as nuanced as Sherlock are divided. Gatiss tells us it's as per their interests

"In series two Steven was very drawn to the kind of messed up, upside down love story of A Scandal in Belgravia," he says. "I was originally going to write The Reichenbach Fall but he said, 'every time you talk about the Hound of The Baskervilles your eyes light up.' Because it was a gothic horror story and I was trying to write a modern version in which the ghostly bits were sort of became about conspiracy theories and stuff like that, it was very interesting. We're drawn to our own particular enthusiasms."

The enthusiasm could lead Gatiss to adaptations beyond Sherlock as well. There's a spark in his eye when we ask him what his wishlist of literary masterpieces are that he'd like to bring into the modern day.

"There's a lot of big books I'd like to do," he says. "There's a particular one which I can't talk about which I might be doing. But its very exciting. I'd like to do some HG Wells." However when pressed further, he remains tight-lipped signing off with, "those big science fiction romances are rather nice but nothing imminent."

Source

Broadway bound!

---

Broadway to Welcome Return of Sherlock Holmes in New Play

By Carey Purcell
18 Dec 2014 

Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doylewho has been featured in stage, film and written works, will return to Broadway in 2017, producers announced Dec. 18.

Produced by Antonio R. Marion and Kimberly Much, Sherlock Holmes, by British writing team Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel, will explore Holmes' personal history as he solves a new mystery.
"Staged as a mystery within a mystery, the case presented to Holmes forces him to confront his murky past," press notes state. "But is the unravelling of his childhood just a dangerous diversion? Sherlock Holmes is an original tale which will offer a new and deeply theatrical exploration of the mind of the famous detective, while remaining faithful to the mysterious world created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."
"The character of Sherlock Holmes has inspired storytellers of all mediums to weave thrilling tales for more than a century. What we are most excited about is the opportunity to draw on such rich source material, and present it in a totally fresh way by using the kind of magic you can only find in live theater," producer Marion said in a statement. "Our version of Sherlock Holmes will have all the elements that fans want and expect, but with new twists and turns and plenty of surprises, which will take these amazingly complex and beloved characters to places they've never been."
Abel and Wagstaff collaborated on the radio drama When I Lost You. His writing also includes the novel "The Way Home" and the story "A Good Son." Wagstaff's stage works include Birdsong, The Soldier, Night Sky and Full Time, among others.

The famed detective was first introduced in Doyle's 1887 novel "A Study in Scarlet." He was featured in three more novels and 56 short stories and first appeared on Broadway in 1899. Recent incarnations of Holmes include the Guy Ritchie films, featuring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law; the BBC series "Sherlock," with Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role; and CBS' "Elementary" starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu.
The detective has also been portrayed on stage and screen by John Barrymore, John Gielgud, George C. Scott, Roger Moore, Leonard Nimoy, John Cleese, Christopher Plummer, Peter O'Toole, Sir Michael Caine, Frank Langella, Charlton Heston,Rupert Everett and Jonathan Pryce.
Casting, creative team and a theatre will be announced at a later date.


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St Louis as gone all out to . . . . .

Here is Holmes' image on the side of the Science Centers planetarium, which in itself is a local icon.

Source

We had our local societies event there on Friday night and it was good to see old faces from local groups.

Special night for St Louis local Sherlockians who can make it.

With the International Sherlock Holmes Exhibition in town, some of our local Sherlockians have arranged a fun night for all those who can make it.

Post in comments if you need more info.

Hi all,

Here is the latest from the Sherlock Holmes Exhibit.

As you know, I have been working to get a 'local Sherlockian' presence at the November 7th "First Friday' event at the Science Center.  I have copied below my previous text on that night.  Anyway, I can now report that WE HAVE A ROOM at the Science Center that night.  The Conference of Sherlockians will begin at 9:00 pm in the A-B Meeting room downstairs at the Science Center.  This will give you time to view and participate in the exhibit (you'll need a good couple of hours), then meet together to discuss the exhibit, then finally attend the viewing of the final BBC 'Sherlock' episode in the Omnimax theater at 10 pm.  So it will be a COMPLETE evening of Sherlock Holmes.

There will also be a table display for local Sherlockian scions which is being created by the Center (free of charge) with some help from me.  So those in attendance can take shifts manning the table and discussing aspects of our meetings that might attract new-comers.

We need at least 10 Sherlockians to get the Group Rate of $12.00 per person.  This will pay for your admission into the exhibit.  The room and the Omnimax are courtesy of the Science Center.  

So let's get this together for the common Game of all scions!  Please either send me $12 to reserve your spot or RSVP on email and PROMISE and SWEAR on the lives of all the Violets in the Canon that you will pay me back and I will pick up our tickets.  Unfortunately, I cannot be there due to a contractual commitment with my band that night.  But I will arrange this and have the tickets available for all of you at the ticket counter in the Science Center.

Schedule for November 7:

ARRIVAL 6:30-7:00 PM

EXHIBITION Immediately following

CONFERENCE OF SHERLOCKIANS 9:00 PM in Meeting Room A-B downstairs

SHERLOCK Viewing in the Omnimax 10:00 PM

On the exhibit, it is VERY impressive!  I know some of you have already been there to check it out.  They could use more volunteers, especially if you have period clothing.  They like that so much they hired actors to wear Victorian attire in the exhibit.  It's all very cool!

The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes - St Louis Science Center

As St Louis Sherlockains we are lucky that our Science Center is one of the host cities for The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes.
I am luck enough to have a little time off of work and was able to attend it yesterday.

 Unlike Holmes, I can not start a 'case' without a good breakfast.
So, since we were in the area we hit a St Louis landmark, 'Courtesy Cafe' . . .

 But, like Holmes, I do need a good assistant.

 Several blocks around the Science Center had banners and signs advertising the exhibit.
And since this is right along Hwy 70 it should get peoples attention.

 Sign along the side walk.

 Waiting in line to use the phone.

 Inside advertisement.
A little hokey but okay.

 After handing over your tickets, you walk into the gallery. The first, as should be, is devoted to Doyle, Victorian medicine and the creation of Holmes. For the older Sherlockains amongst us, there could have been a little bit more about Doyle, but what they had was a good introduction.

Poe is also give some credit for being an early founder of the form.

 Early medicine and its tools.

We were not allowed to use flash, so I could not get the photos I really would have liked.
This display shows Bells teaching gown and some of his letters. There was a very good nod to Dr. Bell. And a very good painting of him.

 The displays were very well done and very well lit.
Some were just around to set the theme, while others were relevant to the display.

Here is assistant with London street window, which on the other side was part of Baker St.

 After the displays about Doyle and Bell, we came to a section on the manuscripts and how they appeared in publication.

There were many first additions and rare letter and art work.

To the true Sherlockain of early work this was indeed a treat.

Very good labeling and numbering described each piece.

First edition Hound and letters from Doyle.

 Strand and other magazines on display.


















After the historical displays about Doyle and Holmes the next section was devoted to understanding forensic science of the time. The displays were set up to help you understand the mystery you could be solving later in the exhibition. Each station would be relevant later in the show. The lighting was not good enough for me to get many pictures of this part, but the displays were fun and educational. Aimed at the younger participants.

 They also had period hosts wondering around to help and answer any questions.
Hear is one posing with daughter.

 Next you came to several displays set up to represent 221b Baker St.  It was broken up into four sections instead of one room. But, although broken up, to aid with the mystery people were working on, they were still very well done.


Here is the seats around the fireplace.

 By the window and the wax statue of Holmes.

Each room had several things in them that visitors needed to find as sort of a scavenger hunt.

 Seats by the fireplace again.

Although the items needing to be found were very Canonical, there was no explanation for the non-Sherlockian on how they appeared in the stories.

 Holmes' chemical desk.

 Pipe and tea cup.

 Watson writing desk.


















After viewing the rooms at 221b you went into a section where the below room was set up as a crime scene. You were to observe numbered items in the room as clues and then go to station where four examples or explanations of the clues were shown. You had to pick the one that you thought best matched the crime scene. It was a little confusing, but very fun. (Or maybe I am just not a good detective.)
Again the lighting was not good enough for my camera to get good photos of the stations.

 The crime scene.

 After solving (or not) the mystery you entered the gallery that displayed items that have used Sherlocks representation of the years.

Here you can see 'Young Sherlock Holmes' and other movie stuff.

 Games and toys that have used his likeness.

 Some of my favorite things were all the art work by Paget and Steele.

Covers, sketches, prints, etc.

 I love these two.

Steele's work on early covers.

 More toys/

 'Peanuts'.

 Lots of movie props from some of the latest works.

Here is Blackwood's coffin from the first RDJ movie.

 Other props from that movie.

 And again.

 The lock wall from 'Elementary'.

 One of Lucy Liu's outfits from 'Elementary'.

 Miller's outfit from 'Elementary'.

 Do you recognize these from 'Sherlock'?

This last gallery was a great experience for anyone in to the movie or TV world of Holmes.












Over all the exhibition was very well done, with things to be found for die hard Sherlockians or casual fan. Most of it pertained to the Canonical Holmes more than the movie or modern Holmes, with just enough of that for those interested.
It was mostly aimed for a family experience but I saw a lot of adult Sherlockians taking it in.
The science center asked for volunteers to help at things like this and we spotted several local Sherlockians we knew.
If it come near you, you should go. I plan on trying to volunteer at least a few times.
We enjoyed it very much.