May 3rd 1891: Holmes and Watson arrived in Meiringen. (FINA)
A New Phonebook Moment!
A few days ago, some very special parcels started making their way to the mailboxes of JHWS members, and Greg Ruby, “Robin”, wrote from Maryland yesterday to say:
Hello all!
I am pleased to report that The Watsonian plus two other pamphlets arrived in today’s post.
The video in the attached link mimics my reaction at the mailbox –
Hope everyone has a great day.
Greg aka Robin
As that movie just happened to be a favourite of our dear Buttons, that clip is extremely apropos.
We on the West Coast tend to get everything a few days after folks out East, so I’m still eagerly waiting!
Weekly Forum 2015: #17
Today’s topic is from our fellow JHWS member “Gwen.” Thank you!
What is a moment that you find particularly funny in the Canon? Quote it to share with us.
New Publications from the John H Watson Society
Hello Everyone!
As we are nearing the end of April, you may be wondering if the Spring edition of The Watsonian will be delayed. The circumstances were certainly not ideal for us and there were some surprises along the way… but I’m very happy to say that the latest Watsonian is being mailed out just as you’re reading this!
I think everyone is in for quite a treat. Our dear Buttons was very ambitious this volume and I believe the hard work and warmth he put into this edition can truly be felt. It’s over 200 pages of content and filled with fascinating contributions from our fellow John H Watson Society members.
This volume features a heartfelt memorial from Don Yates “Pal” concerning our friend and mentor beyond the terrace. I really believe that Button’s influence can be found throughout the book and it is all of the more lovely as a result.
I could tell you more about its contents, but I’d rather you experience reading it for yourself. You’ll find this special package in the mail in the course of the next few weeks, depending on the post. I hope it will arrive safely and in good speed.
However, that isn’t going to be the only book to enjoy. We are also sending our members the first volume of a series that Buttons had inspired and cultivated over the course of the past year. The first installment of The Fiction Series will be a pastiche that draws a great deal from Italian art and history: “The Adventure of the Duke’s Study” by Luca Sartori “Victor”
Our dear “Victor” put a great deal of thought and effort into his tale and his hard work shows. His mentor, Alessandra Calanchi “Bianca”, asked for me to convey this message to everyone:
“I am overwhelmed with emotion since I wish I could thank Don for this gift he has made to my student and myself. I do miss him… I would like everyone know my gratitude. Thanks a lot to everybody and congratulations for the wonderful work you all make.”
Also, you will find one more volume in the package once it arrives. Due to the difficult challenges we’ve had to face this past month, this particular book had not gone out nearly as early as originally intended and for that I apologize deeply. However, I think this work is well worth the wait, as it is a very carefully thought-out piece and an absolutely wonderful read. I’m speaking, of course, of the latest edition of our Monograph Series: “Some Observations Upon the Early Writing of John H Watson, MD, 1887-1894” by James C O’Leary “Pippin”
If you are intrigued by the title of this Monograph, you will be even more interested to know that our friend James “Pippin” shall be the new Editor-in-Chief of the Watsonian. We have assembled a talented editorial team around him composed of (but not limited to): Stephan “Dalton,” Elinor “Misty,” and Harrison “Dash,” in addition to helpful advisers such as Bob “Willow,” Andrea “Asta,” and Joanne “Sandy.” (I will continue to do design and layout for all JHWS publications.)
I would like to thank “Pippin” and the new JHWS Editorial team for their willingness to take up such a momentous task. Also, if anyone has ideas to contribute for the next Watsonian (coming this October!), then please contact our new Editor-in-Chief at pippin[at]johnhwatsonsociety.com
Now you may have noticed that I said the Monograph is one more volume in the package heading your way. Yes, that’s a total of three books! Although the Monograph Series is meant to be sold and distributed separately, we have been blessed with an incredibly generous gift for this one very special occasion. For this one time, all current members will receive a free copy of the latest volume in the Monograph Series.
In a sense, this is the final gift from our good friend Don “Buttons” as well as a heartfelt act of generosity from the lovely Andrea “Asta.”
I don’t have words powerful enough to express the full extent of my gratitude to you, “Asta,” but I hope you understand how much this amazing gift means to me. I hope my fellow members will join me in thanking you for going above and beyond to ensure the prosperity and happiness of the John H Watson Society.
I hope all of you will enjoy the new publications!
Weekly Forum 2015: #16
Today’s topic is from our fellow JHWS member “Willow.” Thank you!
If you wish to offer an idea for a Weekly Forum topic, please contact me at carla@johnhwatsonsociety.com
Enjoying the Canon
Weekly Forum 2015: #15
Today’s topic is a thought offered by our fellow JHWS member “Dash.” Thank you!
If you wish to offer an idea for a Weekly Forum topic, please contact me at carla@johnhwatsonsociety.com
Doctor Watson’s Descriptive Words
“Cut out the poetry, Watson,” Holmes famously declared in RETI.
What are your favorite examples of Watson’s descriptive writing?
Weekly Forum 2015: #14
Another one of our members was kind enough to contact me and anonymously offer an interesting topic for us to discuss. If you wish to offer an idea for a Weekly Forum topic, please contact me at carla@johnhwatsonsociety.com
The Detective’s Capacity for Love
In SCAN, Watson notes of Holmes:
“It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen; but, as a lover, he would have placed himself in a false position” (emphasis added).
Yet, one or two years later (depending upon which chronologist you consult), Watson seems to have hopes that Holmes will find a match in Violet Hunter of COPP. The good doctor notices how Holmes is “favourably impressed by the manner and speech of his new client.” Watson also notes that Holmes calls Miss Hunter an “exceptional woman.” Then, at the story’s end, the good doctor says:
“As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no further interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one of his problems…” (emphasis added)
According to Klinger, TWIS, IDEN, BLUE, FIVE, BOSC, STOC, NAVA, ENGR, HOUN, CROO, and REDH occur between SCAN and COPP. Is there something about Holmes that Watson observed or discovered during these cases that would cause him to change his mind about the Great Detective’s capacity for love or, at the very least, his ability to find and keep a suitable mate? Or, are the good doctor’s musings in COPP merely a reflection of his hopeful character and perhaps his misguided wishes for his friend’s marital happiness? What evidence (or lack thereof) leads you to your conclusions?
The Saga of Holmes and Watson Endures
(“Chips’s Tid Bits” returns with a very special message from our dear friend, Chips. – Carla Buttons)
Hello to my fellow Society members,
The passage of our beloved Don hit me hard as it did all of us. As I am want to do in times of turmoil I submerge my self in rereading the Canon and the Scholarship about those tales. I found a passage that reminded me of Don. In the words of Christopher Morley:
“What other body of modern literature is esteemed as much for its errors as its felicities? The saga of Holmes and Watson endures as a unique portrait of a friendship and of a civilization. It is not strange that in our recent years of turmoil and dismay there has been so keen a nostalgia for the shape of things gone by. The Victorian age had many cruel faults yet in some phases it reached the highest accomplishment and assurance human beings have known. When Watson is talking we know where we are. Right is right and wrong is wrong; an aristocrat always looks like an aristocrat; he has a high beaky nose, wide-open haughty gaze, and sags a little at the knees. Mrs. Hudson’s joint of cold beef is on the sideboard (no one dreamed of an icebox in those days), and Holmes is smoking the cherrywood pipe which he reserves for disputatious mood. Let us enter the argument. So, in Vincent Starrett’s phrase, we revisit a world ‘where it is always 1895.'”
I can see Don with Holmes and Watson sitting and discussing the Case.
I miss him so much.
“Chips” aka Ron in Denver
221B Con
It is just one week until 221B Con, the “Fan Con for all things Sherlock Holmes” in Atlanta, Georgia. I’ll be attending for the first time, and I’ll be part of the panel for the session on ASH, BSI, and Other Sherlockian Organizations. That panel is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, 11 April, in Salon C. (NB: The schedule is subject to change.)
I’ll also have 150 of these:
Will you be there? Saturday the 11th is also the Society’s second birthday, so I propose a lunchtime Consultation immediately following the panel. Hope to see you there!
Weekly Forum 2015: #13
Today’s topic is a thought offered by our fellow JHWS member “Dash.” Thank you!
If you wish to offer an idea for a Weekly Forum topic, please contact me at carla@johnhwatsonsociety.com
Holmes ruminates about God more than once in the Canon. Does Watson express any thoughts about religion? What does that tell us?
The 29th Running of The Silver Blaze
This news will be of interest to our East Coast Watsonians. Here is an announcement from fellow Watsonian, Greg Ruby “Robin”:
The Silver Blaze (Southern Division) that was held annually from 1972 to 1998 is returning to Pimlico on Saturday, May 23rd.
You can find out more about this upcoming event at: http://fourthgarrideb.com/silver-blaze/
Weekly Forum 2015: #12
Today is a return to one of our favorite past times: The Weekly Forum. One of our members was kind enough to contact me and anonymously offer a clever topic for us to discuss:
BBC Sherlock & the Victorian Age
Considering the popularity of BBC’s Sherlock…is the historical setting of Watson’s stories necessary? What does the Victorian Age add to them? When they are reset in the present age, is something about these stories lost? Is something gained?
On the BBC website, Steven Moffat (executive producer and head writer of Sherlock) is quoted as saying,
“Conan Doyle’s stories were never about frock coats and gas light; they’re about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes—and frankly, to hell with the crinoline. Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures, and that’s what matters.”
However, news recently broke that there will be a Sherlock special set in Victorian England, so perhaps, Mr. Moffat has noticed something missing… Thoughts?
The Legacy of the Boy in Buttons
A Word from “Asta”
Andrea Stewart (“Asta”) left this as a comment on March 17th. I’m copying it here to share with all of you.
Dear, Dear Watsonian friends,
Thank you so much for all your warm and beautiful comments about our “Buttons”. He was an extraordinary man and he loved this society more than I could possibly tell you. The three days he was in the intensive care unit he always had me get out my notebook and take down my assignments regarding things going on with the Watson Society. I am going to do whatever I can, with a great deal of help from the membership, to assure a smooth transition and continuation of this most marvelous endeavor. If any of you travel down Florida way, please contact me. My love and thanks to you all.
Upon the Terrace
Dear Friends,
We are greatly saddened to advise you of the passing of our beloved “Buttons”, Donald Libey. Don was a wonderful friend and a great Sherlockian. We send our love and best wishes to Andrea.
We will notify our membership of the disposition of society business via this website in a few days. We ask that all provide their support and cooperation at this difficult time.
Condolences can be sent to Andrea via the comments section of this post.
Society News
“Buttons” is taking a brief hiatus from Society administrative duties for personal reasons. As ever, this site is the place to check for updates.
The production of the April issue of The Watsonian is ongoing. And don’t forget to check out our Forum page for this week’s discussion topic.
Best wishes to all.
Weekly Forum 2015: #11
This week’s Forum asks you to compare the personality, qualities and attitudes of the original literary Dr Watson and the personalities, qualities and attitudes of the various present day screen and TV Dr Watsons. How are they different from the Victorian original, or are they?
Membership Renewals: A Reminder
Membership Renewals
On January 15, 2015 we sent an email to all 125 Members who are due to renew their memberships in this renewal cycle. To refresh memories: if you joined before December 31, 2013, you were due to renew in January of 2015. If you joined after January 1, 2014, you are due to renew in January of 2016. You can visit the Members Page and see the headings stating when you are due to renew if you are unsure.
To date, we have Members who have not renewed. We believe this is because they did not read the email or it went to their Junk Mail file because they have not listed the Society as an authorized email sender.
It’s simple to renew. Just visit the Membership Page and click on the pull-down menu and select either U.S. or International membership. This will take you to PayPal where you may pay using PayPal transfer or by credit card. If you prefer, you can send a check. Email to buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com for the mailing address for sending checks.
We need all of you to continue to be a stable and active publishing Society. All of our membership revenues (and then some) go to publishing The Watsonian and The Monograph Series and The Fiction Series. You are important to what we do and we need your continued support. Please renew today.
Thank you.
Weekly Quiz Posted
March 6th Events . . .
March 6, 1881: Holmes tested some pills on the landlady’s dying dog. Or, was it Watson’s bull pup mentioned in the conversation that they had about each other and their habits before they moved in at 221B, as some Sherlockian scholars have noted?
March 6, 1881: Jefferson Hope was captured. It seems strange to me that Hope would not recognize the 221B address as one that was in the ad for the ring.
“Chips”