I am taking advantage of this open date in the calendar to post an old picture that has been in my family for a long time. It is of a relative of mine, a Dr John H Watson who I am the exact image of. This picture has been verified by myself to become the only true photograph taken at the flat at 221B with the the only true likeness of the Master himself, Sherlock Holmes. Amazingly, he closely resembles the greatest movie actor to play Sherlock Holmes on the movie and TV screen, Mr Peter Cushing, OBE. Enjoy!! I do.
(This picture was verified and converted by that Distinguished Sherlockian Steve Thorpe, who I will ever be in debt to for his kindness and his labor on this project.)
Illustration from History of the Indian mutiny : giving detailed account of the Sepoy insurrection in India, by Charles Ball (1859)
Well, I was never in luck’s way long. Suddenly, without a note of warning, the great mutiny broke upon us. One month India lay as still and peaceful, to all appearance, as Surrey or Kent; the next there were two hundred thousand black devils let loose, and the country was a perfect hell. Of course you know all about it, gentlemen – a deal more than I do, very like, since reading is not in my line. I only know what I saw with my own eyes. Our plantation was at a place called Muttra, near the border of the North-west Provinces. Night after night the whole sky was alight with the burning bungalows and day after day we had small companies of Europeans passing through our estate with their wives and children, on their way to Agra, where were the nearest troops.
Date information provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
Portrait of J M Barrie by Herbert Rose Barraud (1892)
James Matthew Barrie, novelist and playwright, was born May 9, 1860, in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. He met Arthur Conan Doyle in 1891, and the two men co-wrote the play Jane Annie, or The Good Conduct Prize in 1893. The comic opera’s brief run at the Savoy was unsuccessful. George Bernard Shaw called the play “the most unblushing piece of tomfoolery that two respectable citizens could conceivably indulge in public.”
Among the many authors of Sherlock Holmes pastiches, only one had his story included in Arthur Conan Doyle’s autobiography. J M Barrie’s short work, “The Adventure of the Two Collaborators”, is included in Arthur Conan Doyle’s Memories and Adventures. In it, two gentlemen come to call on Holmes and Watson at Baker Street, and Holmes’s first observation is, “They are two collaborators in comic opera, and their play has not been a triumph.”
Before Barrie and Doyle met, Barrie wrote an anonymously-published pastiche called “My Evening with Sherlock Holmes”, in which a Mr Anon persuades Arthur Conan Doyle to take him to meet Holmes. During their conversation, Mr Anon preempts Holmes’s deductions so often that Holmes leaves in a huff. [Is a Huff a new kind of British car? –Chips] [Very punny –Selena Buttons]
Source:A Curious Collection of Dates: Through the Year with Sherlock Holmes by Leah Guinn (JHWS “Amber”) and Jaime N Mahoney (JHWS “Tressa”)
Sir Henry Duncan Littlejohn was born May 8, 1826 in Edinburgh.
He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1847. He was Edinburgh’s first Medical Officer of Health, the city’s Police Surgeon, and co-founder of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. He acted as an expert witness in Scottish criminal cases. He was also a teacher of forensic medicine when Arthur Conan Doyle was studying at the University of Edinburgh.
He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1895.
While many Sherlockians are familiar with the role Dr Joseph Bell played in the creation of Sherlock Holmes, in a 1929 speech, Arthur Conan Doyle also recognized the influence of Dr Bell’s colleague, Henry Duncan Littlejohn.
Source:A Curious Collection of Dates: Through the Year with Sherlock Holmes by Leah Guinn (JHWS “Amber”) and Jaime N Mahoney (JHWS “Tressa”)
May 7, 1902: Holmes confronted Sir Robert Norberton at the crypt. [SHOS]
Illustration by Frank Wiles for The Strand Magazine
Someone was walking in the chapel above. It was the firm, rapid step of one who came with a definite purpose, and knew well the ground upon which he walked. A light streamed down the stairs, and an instant later the man who bore it was framed in the Gothic archway. He was a terrible figure, huge in stature and fierce in manner. A large stable lantern which he held in front of him shone upwards upon a strong, heavily-moustached face and angry eyes, which glared round him into every recess of the vault, finally fixing themselves with a deadly stare upon my companion and myself.
“Who the devil are you?” he thundered. “And what are you doing upon my property?” Then, as Holmes returned no answer, he took a couple of steps forward and raised a heavy stick which he carried. “Do you hear me?” he cried. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” His cudgel quivered in the air.
But, instead of shrinking, Holmes advanced to meet him.
“I also have a question to ask you, Sir Robert,” he said in his sternest tone. “Who is this? And what is it doing here?”
He turned and tore open the coffin lid behind him. In the glare of the lantern I saw a body swathed in a sheet from head to foot, with dreadful, witch-like features, all nose and chin, projecting at one end, the dim glazed eyes staring from a discoloured and crumbling face.
Date information provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
May 6, 1891: An account of Holmes’s death appeared in the Journal de Geneve. [FINA]
I alone know the absolute truth of the matter, and I am satisfied that the time has come when no good purpose is to be served by its suppression. As far as I know, there have been only three accounts in the public Press: that in the Journal de Geneve upon May 6th, 1891 […]
May 6, 1902: Holmes and Watson took the train to Shoscombe Old Place. [SHOS]
by Ben Brooksbank, licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license
Thus it was that on a bright May evening Holmes and I found ourselves alone in a first-class carriage, and bound for the little `halt-on-demand’ station of Shoscombe. The rack above us was covered with a formidable litter of rods, reels, and baskets. On reaching our destination a short drive took us to an old-fashioned tavern, where a sporting host, Josiah Barnes, entered eagerly into our plans for the extirpation of the fish of the neighbourhood.
Date information provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn
Sir Charles lay on his face, his arms out, his fingers dug into the ground, and his features convulsed with some strong emotion to such an extent that I could hardly have sworn to his identity. There was certainly no physical injury of any kind. But one false statement was made by Barrymore at the inquest. He said that there were no traces upon the ground round the body. He did not observe any. But I did – some little distance off, but fresh and clear.”
Detail of Sherlock Holmes statue in Edinburgh
“Footprints?”
“Footprints.”
“A man’s or a woman’s?”
Dr. Mortimer looked strangely at us for an instant, and his voice sank almost to a whisper as he answered: –
“Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!”
May 5, 1902: John Mason found part of a mummy that was dug up from the crypt. (SHOS)
Femur illustration from Gray’s Anatomy
“There is a central heating furnace in the cellar under Lady Beatrice’s room. It’s been off for some time, but Sir Robert complained of cold and had it on again. Harvey runs it – he’s one of my lads. This very morning he came to me with this, which he found raking out the cinders. He didn’t like the look of it.”
“Nor do I,” said Holmes. “What do you make of it, Watson?”
It was burned to a black cinder, but there could be no question as to its anatomical significance.
“It’s the upper condyle of a human femur,” said I.
Dates provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn
Today is a day of great significance in the Canon. We give you these three events:
First…
May 4, 1847: John Ferrier and Lucy were rescued by the Mormons. [STUD]
Illustration by D H Friston
The rescuing party were speedily able to convince the two castaways that their appearance was no delusion. One of them seized the little girl and hoisted her upon his shoulder, while two others supported her gaunt companion, and assisted him towards the wagons.
“My name is John Ferrier,” the wanderer explained; “me and that little un are all that’s left o’ twenty-one people. The rest is all dead o’ thirst and hunger away down in the south.”
“Is she your child?” asked someone.
“I guess she is now,” the other cried, defiantly; “she’s mine ’cause I saved her. No man will take her from me. She’s Lucy Ferrier from this day on. Who are you, though?”
Second…
May 4, 1882: An advertisement seeking Mary Morstan’s address appeared in The Times. [SIGN]
Ann Bell as Mary Morstan (1968)
“I have not yet described to you the most singular part. About six years ago – to be exact, upon the 4th of May, 1882 – an advertisement appeared in The Times asking for the address of Miss Mary Morstan, and stating that it would be to her advantage to come forward. There was no name and address appended. I had at the time just entered the family of Mrs. Cecil Forrester in the capacity of governess. By her advice I published my address in the advertisement column. The same day there arrived through the post a small cardboard box addressed to me, which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. No word of writing was enclosed. Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box, containing a similar pearl, without any clue as to the sender. They have been pronounced by an expert to be of a rare variety and of considerable value. You can see for yourselves that they are very handsome.”
And FINAlly…
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist. -Selena Buttons)
May 4, 1891: Moriarty died in a plunge over the Reichenbach Falls. [FINA]
An examination by experts leaves little doubt that a personal contest between the two men ended, as it could hardly fail to end in such a situation, in their reeling over, locked in each other’s arms. Any attempt at recovering the bodies was absolutely hopeless, and there, deep down in that dreadful cauldron of swirling water and seething foam, will lie for all time the most dangerous criminal and the foremost champion of the law of their generation.
Date provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
May 3, 1891: Holmes and Watson arrived in Meiringen. [FINA]
Drawing by Phil Cornell, JHWS “Parkes”
It was upon the 3rd of May that we reached the little village of Meiringen, where we put up at the Englischer Hof, then kept by Peter Steiler the elder.
Date provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
Illustration by Sidney Paget for the Strand (1891)
May 2, 1883: Elias Openshaw drowned in his own garden. [FIVE]
We found him, when we went to search for him, face downwards in a little green-scummed pool, which lay at the foot of the garden. There was no sign of any violence, and the water was but two feet deep, so that the jury, having regard to his known eccentricity, brought in a verdict of suicide. But I, who knew how he winced from the very thought of death had much ado to persuade myself that he had gone out of his way to meet it.
Date provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
Illustration by George Hutchinson for Ward Lock Bowden (1896)
May 1, 1847: Lucy Ferrier’s mother died. [STUD]
“How is it now?” he answered anxiously, for she was still rubbing the towsy golden curls which covered the back of her head.
“Kiss it and make it well,” she said, with perfect gravity, showing the injured part to him. “That’s what mother used to do. Where’s mother?”
“Mother’s gone. I guess you’ll see her before long.”
“Gone, eh!” said the little girl. “Funny, she didn’t say goodbye; she ‘most always did if she was just goin’ over to auntie’s for tea, and now she’s been away three days. […]”
May 1, 1900: Lord Saltire enrolled in the Priory School [PRIO]
“Holdernesse Hall” (Chatsworth House, Derbyshire)
I must inform you, gentlemen, that the Priory is a preparatory school, of iwhich I am the founder and principal. Huxtable’s Sidelights on Horace may possibly recall my name to your memories. The Priory is, without exception, the best and most select preparatory school in England. Lord Leverstoke, the Earl of Blackwater, Sir Cathcart Soames – they all have entrusted their sons to me. But I felt that my school had reached its zenith when, three weeks ago, the Duke of Holdernesse sent Mr. James Wilder, his secretary, with the intimation that young Lord Saltire, ten years old, his only son and heir, was about to be committed to my charge. Little did I think that this would be the prelude to the most crushing misfortune of my life.
Date provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compil ed and edited by William S Dorn.
Speaking of my old friend and biographer, I would take this opportunity to remark….Watson has some remarkable characteristics of his own, to which in his modesty he has given small attention…
Hello Watsonians,
Today we add to our series of brief biographic interviews with some of the members of JHWS. Our members, like the good Dr. Watson, have some remarkable characteristics of their own, and we would like to give some small attention to them.
Today we travel to England for a quick chat with Watsonian author Molly Carr. Detailed information about Molly’s books can be found at mxpublishing.co.uk.
Thanks,
Margie
JHWS/Mopsy
Name/with bull pup moniker—
Molly Carr/”Brenda”
Current (city,state, country) location—
Hereford, England
How long have you been a devotee of Dr. Watson?
Since my first book “The Sign of Fear” was published in 2010. “In Search of Dr Watson” was published later.
Do you have a favorite canonical story?
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
What is your favorite quote from the canon?
“London has become a singularly uninteresting city since the death of the late lamented Professor Moriarty.”
If you could speak directly to anyone in the canon, who would you choose and why?
Mrs Hudson. It would be interesting to know what she really thinks of her famous lodgers!
Are you fond of any particular canon adaptations—pastiche, radio film?
The film adaptations with Nigel Bruce as Watson
Do you have a local Watsonian/Sherlockian/Holmesian group you meet with on a regular basis?
The Deerstalkers of Welshpool. “The only Sherlock Holmes Society in Wales.”
Do you have any recent Watsonian/Sherlockian/Holmesian projects/events you would like to tell us about?
No events, but working on articles for various magazines, e.g “The Watsonian” etc.
If you could change one thing in the greater Watsonian/Sherlockian/Holmesian world, what would it be?
April 30, 1898: Violet Smith was kidnapped. [SOLI]
Holmes threw the reins into my lap and sprang down from the cart.
You’re the man we want to see. Where is Miss Violet Smith?” he said, in his quick, clear way.
“That’s what I am asking you. You’re in her dogcart. You ought to know where she is.”
“We met the dogcart on the road. There was no one in it. We drove back to help the young lady.”
“Good Lord! Good Lord! What shall I do?” cried the stranger, in an ecstasy of despair. “They’ve got her, that hellhound Woodley and the blackguard parson. Come, man, come, if you really are her friend. Stand by me and we’ll save her, if I have to leave my carcass in Charlington Wood.”
April 30 1898: Bob Carruthers shot Jack Woodley. [SOLI]
His revolver cracked, and I saw the blood spurt from the front of Woodley’s waistcoat. He spun round with a scream and fell upon his back, his hideous red face turning suddenly to a dreadful mottled pallor. The old man, still clad in his surplice, burst into such a string of foul oaths as I have never heard, and pulled out a revolver of his own, but before he could raise it he was looking down the barrel of Holmes’s weapon.
Date information provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
April 29, 1902: Sir Robert Norberton gave away his sister’s pet spaniel. [SHOS]
“Jasper” in Granada’s “Shoscombe Old Place”
“When did Sir Robert give away his sister’s dog?”
“It was just a week ago today. The creature was howling outside the old well-house, and Sir Robert was in one of his tantrums that morning. He caught it up, and I thought he would have killed it. Then he gave it to Sandy Bain, the jockey, and told him to take the dog to old Barnes at the Green Dragon, for he never wished to see it again.”
Date information provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
April 28, 1898: Holmes received a note from Violet Smith saying that she was leaving her job. [SOLI]
The Thursday brought us another letter from our client. “You will not be surprised, Mr. Holmes”, said she, “to hear that I am leaving Mr. Carruthers’ employment. Even the high pay cannot reconcile me to the discomforts of my situation. On Saturday I come up to town, and I do not intend to return. Mr. Carruthers has got a trap, and so the dangers of the lonely road, if there ever were any dangers, are now over.
Date information provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
April 27, 1891: Holmes learned Moriarty had escaped. [FINA]
On the Monday morning Holmes had telegraphed to the London police, and in the evening we found a reply waiting for us at our hotel. Holmes tore it open, and then with a bitter curse hurled it into the grate.
“I might have known it,” he groaned. “He has escaped!”
“Moriarty?”
“They have secured the whole gang with the exception of him. He has given them the slip. Of course, when I had left the country there was no one to cope with him. But I did think that I had put the game in their hands.[…]”
Jared Harris as Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Date provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
April 26, 1887: Holmes found a note fragment in the pocket of Alec Cunningham’s dressing gown. [REIG]
April 26, 1887:Inspector Forrester arrested the two Cunninghams for murdering William Kirwan. [REIG]
Illustration by W H Hyde for Harper’s Weekly (1894)
The two Cunninghams were bending over the prostrate figure of Sherlock Holmes, the younger clutching his throat with both hands, while the elder seemed to be twisting one of his wrists. In an instant the three of us had torn them away from him, and Holmes staggered to his feet, very pale, and evidently greatly exhausted.
“Arrest these men, Inspector!” he gasped.
“On what charge?”
“That of murdering their coachman, William Kirwan!”
Illustration by Sidney Paget for The Strand (1904)
April 26, 1898: Holmes fought with Jack Woodley. [SOLI]
He had a fine flow of language, and his adjectives were very vigorous. He ended a string of abuse by a vicious back-hander which I failed to entirely avoid. The next few minutes were delicious. It was a straight left against a slogging ruffian. I emerged as you see me. Mr. Woodley went home in a cart.
Dates provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
April 25, 1887: William Kirwin was murdered by Alec Cunningham. [REIG]
“Murder!”
The Colonel whistled. “By jove!” said he, “who’s killed, then? The J.P. or his son?”
“Neither, sir. It was William, the coachman. Shot through the heart, sir, and never spoke again.”
“Who shot him, then?”
“The burglar, sir. He was off like a shot and got clean away. He’d just broke in at the pantry window when William came on him and met his end in saving his master’s property.”
Great Market Square
April 25, 1891: Holmes and Watson left for the Continent and arrived in Brussels. [FINA]
We made our way to Brussels that night and spent two days there…
Date information provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
April 24, 1891: Holmes was attacked by Moriarty’s henchmen. [FINA]
Now I have come round to you, and on my way I was attacked by a rough with a bludgeon. I knocked him down, and the police have him in custody; but I can tell you with the most absolute confidence that no possible connection will ever be traced between the gentleman upon whose front teeth I have barked my knuckles and the retiring mathematical coach, who is, I daresay, working out problems upon a blackboard ten miles away.
Date information provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
April 23, 1898: Violet Smith contacted Sherlock Holmes. [SOLI]
My friend, who loved above all things precision and concentration of thought, resented anything which distracted his attention from the matter in hand. And yet without a harshness which was foreign to his nature it was impossible to refuse to listen to the story of the young and beautiful woman, tall, graceful, and queenly, who presented herself at Baker Street late in the evening and implored his assistance and advice. It was vain to urge that his time was already fully occupied, for the young lady had come with the determination to tell her story, and it was evident that nothing short of force could get her out of the room until she had done so. With a resigned air and a somewhat weary smile Holmes begged the beautiful intruder to take a seat and to inform us what it was that was troubling her.
Date information provided by the volume A Day-by-Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, according to Zeisler and Christ, compiled and edited by William S Dorn.
Sir Henry Duncan Littlejohn was born May 8, 1826 in Edinburgh.
