Sherlock Holmes's topics - tribe.net

Happy Birthday Holmes!

2008-01-08T03:21:41Z

Happy 154th birthday to the World's Greatest Detective!

I hope Mrs. Hudson has something special in order for supper. We'll be opening a nice bottle of claret here and toasting... to your health!

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 1 reply

Canes, Bartitsu, and Sherlock Holmes

2008-01-01T02:56:43Z

Does anyone here have an interest in collecting walking sticks, gadget canes, or similar ephemera from the Victorian Era? It seems that every gentleman worth his salt carried a cane, more as an accessory than as an ambulatory aid. Many of these canes were 'system canes' or 'gadget canes', which contained secret compartments to house the implements of the cane owner's trade. Doctor's canes had pills and syringes inside of them. A horse fancier's cane had a special measurement ruler and a level to help him determine the height of a horse.

Of course, the Victorian era was also witness to an unprecedented crime wave. This caused the middle class to arm themselves against the predation of common street thugs. Canes were of course handy for this, considered 'the Gentleman's weapon' against the knives and clubs of the lower classes. Many Canes were designed to carry hidden weapons, such as Sword sticks or 'Sword Canes', dagger canes, as well as 'Flick sticks' which caused a spike to come out of the top of the cane when mechanically activated. The cudgel-like Irish Shillelaghs also proved a formidable weapon.

The Victorian crime wave was such that the Police of that era were overwhelmed by it. Efforts were undertaken by Professors of Martial arts to come up with effective systems to help combat the problem. One of these Professors was a British Engineer by the name of Barton-Wright. Having come back from Japan, Barton-Wright witnessed a system of fighting which allowed a smaller man to overcome a much larger man by means of leverage and physics. This system of fighting was called 'jiu-jitsu', which was incorrectly translated as meaning 'to a finish.' Barton-Wright imported this style of fighting back to London.

Barton-Wright had also been a student of the Swiss fencing professor, Monsieur Vigny. Professor Vigny taught fencing to the cadet-officers of the French Military college. Vigny had adopted his fencing style so that it could be used by someone armed with a walking stick or cane. With his assistant Miss Sanderson, Vigny was able to defeat four thugs armed with knives, while Vigny himself had only a cane and Miss Sanderson her parasol. Vigny learned much of the 'dirty tricks' of the street thugs of Paris, who called themselves 'Les Savages' and imitated the dress and manners of the North American aboringinals. Vigny incorportated these 'tricks' into a fighting style of his own, which he called 'Savate'.

Barton-Wright adopted the cane-fencing style of Vigny, but kept the Jiu-Jitsu he had learned about in Japan. He created a synthesis of the two, which he called 'Bartitsu'. This is a very Victorian martial art. Barton-Wright began to publish his fighting techniques in Sandow's Magazine. An example of this can be seen online under the title 'Self-defence with a walking stick.'

Barton-Wright also ventured into other directions, such as the creation of a salon to heal rheumatism and gout with the (unsuccessful) use of electricity. Eventually, Barton-Wright became bankrupt. The doors of his salon and his Bartitsu club were closed and he died pennyless.

Bartitsu might have been forgotten along with it's creator, if it hadn't been mentioned as the martial art of that great Detective, Sherlock Holmes. In fact, the great detective was noted to be quite an excellent 'single-stick fighter'. The Bartitsu system is misspelled in the Doyle text to read 'Baritsu', but we can be certain that it is the same system. Sherlock Holmes used his knowledge of Bartitsu to fight against his adversary the nefarious Professor Moriarity at Reichenbach Falls.

For those that are interested in the 'physical culture' of the Victorian Era, for those with an interest in Sherlock Holmes, stick-fighting, or Martial arts, there is an excellent book by Tony Wolfe entitled "The Bartitsu Compendium, Volume one." The illustrations are original drawings and photographs demonstrating the techniques of cane-fencing as well as jiu-jitsu at the turn of the century. There is an interesting section about the 'Jiu-Jitsu Suffragets', who learned Jiu-Jitsu and used this knowledge to protect themselves at rallies where the Police wouldn't. An amusing but informative photo-sequence shows how 'Ms. Quinn' uses her knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu for 'Husband taming.'

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 7 replies

To Mr. Henry Baker:

2007-12-25T20:01:10Z

Season's Greetings.

Enjoy your goose, and may shillings be more plentiful for you in the coming year!

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Stanford re-publishing Sherlock Holmes Stories

2005-11-18T17:07:29Z

A couple of years ago Stanford ran a cool program where they published a Dickens book in its original form - with monthly installments sent to your mailbox for FREE!

For 2006 they will follow the same model for Sherlock Holmes stories as
they appeared in The Strand Magazine. All you have to do is sign up at
the following website <http://sherlockholmes.stanford.edu> and you can either get each issue sent to you, or have a reminder sent and receive the PDF.

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 0 replies

A visit to London

2005-03-13T15:24:28Z

I am going to be visiting London for a few days in June, and was wonder if anyone who has made the trip could suggest a few places a Sherlock Holmes fan really should check out?

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CSI and the morphine solution

2005-01-11T16:48:41Z

Did anyone happen to catch the last episode of CSI? A group of re-enactors representing Prof. Moriarty, Irene Adler and Dr. Watson are suspects in the murder of 'Sherlock Holmes.' While the idea of dressing in Victorian style doesn't much appeal to me, I do see how it would be fun to get together with a group to talk over classic unsolved murders and the Holmes ambience would certainly help. Most importantly, the crime was pretty well planned and would have worked very well in the 1880s.

And the morphine solution? The killer substituted a 7% solution of morphine for the victim's usual cocaine mix.

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 2 replies

seven percent solution

2004-12-08T00:24:55Z

hey

Has anyone read The Seven Percent Solution? It is by Nicholas Myer. He pretends to find a lost manuscript of Watson. It involes Holmes meeting Sigmund Freud and an adventure they both go through. There is way more to the story but I don't want to wreck it for those who haven't read it.

So if you have, let me know. I am dying to discuss it.
Smiles.

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 3 replies

Secret of the Silver Earring

2004-10-14T13:25:27Z

Anyone play this game yet? It is a Sherlock Holmes video game that just came out. I haven't played it yet, but have it on order.

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The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes...

2004-10-04T20:44:40Z

will be available from W.W. Norton & Co. as of this November. The Washington Post Book World describes it as "lavishly illustrated [and] copiously footnoted." The description below is from Publishers Weekly:

Sherlockians and more casual Holmes fans alike will delight in this comprehensive edition of the 56 original short adventures featuring the world's first private consulting detective. Modeling his efforts on William S. Baring-Gould's 1968 Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Klinger (The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library) packs as many extras into these two volumes as a special director's cut DVD: detailed essays on subjects as diverse as the Boer War and the history of rugby, illuminating citations to early drafts of Doyle's original manuscripts,and full discussions of the numerous theories developed over more than a century concerning ambiguities, contradictions and unresolved issues in the stories. Those new to such scholarship will be fascinated by the sophisticated multidisciplined approach, much of it based on close readings and historical research similar to Bible study. The synthesis of the commentaries will engage veteran Sherlockians, who will be able to compare hypotheses concerning, for example, the true identity of the king of Bohemia or Holmes's actual whereabouts during the Great Hiatus. First-time readers might want to skip Klinger's brief intros to each tale, as they presume familiarity with the plot and often hint strongly at the solutions. Many will prefer this to the Oxford University Press uniform edition of a decade ago.

The crurent price is $51 (discounted from $75) from amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393059162/qid=1096922495/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-5726884-2164840?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

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Holmes on tv

2004-10-04T02:06:38Z

I'm not certain what stage of production these are in but both Rupert Everett and Stephen Fry are to play Holmes for tv.
Everett is playing the part for the BBC (I don't know which story/stories will be adapted) while there was a brief mention in an interview with Fry that he would be playing Holmes but no mention of where/when/why.
Everett I like, I think he could make a good Holmes but I don't see Fry in the part, he seems too agreeable and cosy for my tastes!

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 1 reply

found them!

2004-09-08T03:19:13Z

I have found both volumes of my complete set of Sherlock! now i can read all this good stuff! YAY!

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Conan Doyle auction: NYTimes article

2004-05-20T14:59:43Z

maybe of interest to some....

an article from NYTimes website --more than 3,000 items belonging to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be auctioned in London.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/18/books/18CND-DOYL.html

if the link doesn't work, it's under the "Books" section with the headline "Lost Conan Doyle Papers to Be Auctioned in London"

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 2 replies

Sayers

2004-04-21T05:48:46Z

Somewhat off-topic... but...

I picked up a first edition of "Murder Must Advertise" recently and was curious if anyone here is a fan of DLS.

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Favorite Holmes story?

2004-04-21T05:46:03Z

I like The Adventure of the Speckled Band and The Sussex Vampire in particular. What about you?

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 10 replies

Personal Mysteries

2004-03-04T09:40:54Z

What current personal mystery are you in need of solving? [anything is game, if anyone is game to share it]

Let's see if this smart group can deduce a worthy solution...

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 1 reply

Professor Moriarty

2004-03-02T13:49:03Z

Spotted some books by Michael Kurland (infernal device, death by gaslight) with Prof. Moriarty as the central figure at the Mechanics Institute Library.
has anyone read these?
Verdict?

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 4 replies

Your Favorite Holmes?

2004-02-17T20:07:53Z

Many men have assumed the role of Sherlock Holmes, including Michael Caine and Peter Cushing. Basil Rathbone was the superlative Holmes for his day, the 1940s, until Granada Television's production of a Sherlock Holmes TV series with Jeremy Brett as Holmes blew it away.

I'd have to say Brett's accurate expression of Holmes's manic depression - wild bursts of energy and an embossed-in-the-leather-archair lethargy - finally gave us the character most true to Arthur Conan Doyle's stories.

Who's your fave Holmes and why?

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 5 replies

Whats's in a name?

2004-01-20T12:26:21Z

No offense to the great character, but I have always wondered what mother in her right mind would name a child "Sherlock"? I have no idea of the origin of the name, but it would be interesting to learn. MAybe its etymology would make it seem a little less ugly a name...

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 6 replies

Book recommendation

2003-12-22T21:28:10Z

If you have never read this book, you may want to check it out:

"List of 7" by Mark Frost

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 3 replies

Gillette Castle

2003-12-22T21:15:49Z

If you ever get to East Haddam, CT, stop by Gillette Castle.

http://dep.state.ct.us/stateparks/parks/gillettecastle.htm

William Gillette played Holmes onstage in the early 20th century. http://www.sherylfranklin.com/sh-gillette.html

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 3 replies

ST:NG episodes about Sherlock Holmes

2003-12-21T16:03:36Z

If anyone knows the titles of the Star Trek episodes that were centered around Sherlock Holmes, I would be interested in the titles, seasons and maybe plot synopses. I am sure I didnt see them all.

posted in Sherlock Holmes - 0 replies

Houndstooth manskirt?

2003-11-19T00:26:21Z

I am thinking houndstooth (and tweed) are the fashion staples for the new punk.

Anyone have a good resource for thick, houndstooth fabric? I am wary of buying from London or Scotland, and I'm sure there are some great fabric shops in SF, LA or NYC that could do the trick but I'm loathe to buy fabric w/o holding it in my hands.

I want to commission a houndstooth manskirt (utili-kilt), so if you're in SF and can sew, you might have a small gig if you feel like a collaboration.

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Jeremy Brett - Interviews

2003-11-19T00:18:21Z

Here's a good one from the Anglophile newsletter:

http://charon.ucsd.edu/kli/HolmesEG/anglofile.html

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Good Tea & Scones?

2003-11-19T00:03:08Z

In SF, try Tal-Y-Tara (http://www.talytara.com) out in the Avenues.

Run by an Irish lady and a British gent, with scores of imported teas and a secret, century-old recipe for Motorloaf, a dark, sweet bread that nestles their finger sandwiches. Perfect spot for a rainy SF day, or in the outdoor garden for a sunny one.

All served up in SF's only true equestrian shop, replete with high leather boots, riding crops and a host of horsey items for sale.

Ask them about the origin of Lapsang Souchong, or some historical tidbits about tea...they're fun to chat with.

Favorite tea spots in your town?

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Is Doyle a Killer?

2003-11-12T00:03:07Z

Fascinating (but unlikely) premise that Arthur Conan Doyle (hereafter noted as ACD) stole "The Hound of the Baskervilles" story from a man whom his wife was having an affair with, then asked his wife to poison the man...

http://www.cnn.com/2000/books/news/09/11/uk.conandoyle/

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