The Baker Street Irregulars Trust

The 1950 BSI Dinner

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzE0t-Xrjv5JcO-t_z6T-XPjhRrEkMNGl8NpmoAo0rnIQWunB2QeRkUPzq0v4mFdxBESfnOCaWdf-3yAeY3kH3tDyMtwsk_Bb6hxc-EM5kJ5wfTlKMoe_rAtOw_8_QfeR0AC9Bt01nOJ2C/s1600/bsi-dinner-1950-v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 1950 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzE0t-Xrjv5JcO-t_z6T-XPjhRrEkMNGl8NpmoAo0rnIQWunB2QeRkUPzq0v4mFdxBESfnOCaWdf-3yAeY3kH3tDyMtwsk_Bb6hxc-EM5kJ5wfTlKMoe_rAtOw_8_QfeR0AC9Bt01nOJ2C/s1600/bsi-dinner-1950-v1.jpg" title="Click this 1950 BSI Dinner photo to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
The 96th anniversary of the Master’s birth opened with the “traditional preliminary” of oysters, cocktails, and sherry.  The proceedings were promptly called to order at 7:00pm.  Canonical toasts were proposed by Robert Keith Leavitt, James Montgomery, and Frank A. Waters.  The senior chaplain, Rev. Leslie Marshall, delivered the Sherlock prayer; and the Junior Chaplain, Rev. Harold Clemens, delivered the antiphony of the Musgrave Ritual. At the conclusion of the Irregular anthem, Charles Honce proposed a silent toast to Harvey Officer, who had first offered this at the 1942 meeting. 
 
Toasts, messages of regret from those absent, papers, and disputations were concluded with James Montgomery’s “brilliant and always-clamored-for” rendition of Irene Adler’s recording and his own arrangement of the Irregular Song. Eight members received their Investitures. Christopher Morley, as Gasogene-cum-Tantalus, announced that the Irregulars’ official colors are purple, gray, and mouse, “as symbolic of the deterioration of the Master’s dressing-gown,” and that the BSI had secured the American distribution rights for The London Mystery Magazine. The evening closed out with Edgar W. Smith, Buttons-cum-Commissionaire, presenting on his India trip with the title “You Have Not Been in Afghanistan, I Perceive.” 
 
Dinner Details: January 6, 1950 
Racquet and Tennis Club, New York, NY 
 
<h4>
Dinner Photo Information</h4>
Click on the above photo to see a larger version of it, and maximize your browser window to see the most detail. 
 
<a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/dinner/bsi-dinner-1950-photo-key.pdf">Revised Key to People in the 1950 BSI Dinner Photo</a> (PDF) 
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
Clifton R. Andrew as Shoscombe Old Place 
Nathan L. Bengis as The Lion's Mane 
Frederic Dannay as The Dying Detective 
Owen P. Frisbie as The Musgrave Ritual 
Charles Goodman as The Stockbroker's Clerk 
Howard Haycraft as The Devil's Foot 
Fulton Oursler as The Abbey Grange 
Jerry Neal Williamson as The Illustrious Client 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is an Investiture?</a> 
 
 
Two-Shilling Award: 
Not awarded until 1962. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Not identified; possibly none. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is The Woman honour?</a> 
 
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..." 
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing) 
None this year. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
Not awarded until 1959. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Reports on the Dinner</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=129">1950 BSI Dinner Minutes</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
Note: the minutes repeat some past investitures from 1944 and 1945. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=129">List of 1950 BSI Dinner Attendees</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
<a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/dinner/bsi-dinner-1950-photo-key.pdf">Revised Key to People in the 1950 BSI Dinner Photo</a> (PDF) 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354173?n=34">Original Key to People in the 1950 BSI Dinner Photo</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
The Baker Street Irregulars, Irregular Crises of the Late ‘Forties, ed. Jon L. Lellenberg, (New York: The Baker Street Irregulars, 1999) 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
None available online at this time. 
 
 
<h4>
Related Materials</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:11370672">1950 BSI Dinner Menu</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
Cover and interior.  Sequence 32-33. 
 
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1949-bsi-dinner.html">1949 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/04/the-1951-bsi-dinner.html">1951 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
For an index to all BSI Dinners and photos, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/dinner-summary.html">BSI Dinner Summary</a> list. 
 
 
The BSI Archive is located at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Archival material may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the Library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive at Harvard</a> page. 
 
Page composed on 12/30/14 by Tamar Zeffren. 
Page updated 3/21/15 by Andy Solberg. 
This page last updated 10/9/19 by Randall Stock. 
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The 1950 BSI Dinner

The 96th anniversary of the Master’s birth opened with the “traditional preliminary” of oysters, cocktails, and sherry. The proceedings ...

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Starrett letter to Smith 1937 re: his absence

Edgar W. Smith, having read Vincent Starrett's book The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, wrote to Starrett on October 15, 1936 offering some insightful comments on the work and asking for advice on a book Smith was working on.  That book appeared as Appointment in Baker Street in 1939.  Starrett did not reply to Smith for nearly a year and in this 1937 letter he explains why. 
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSrUlxkKGy-s5Yky55MIZC2Wl_y73AmCeuozawvRd_iQvfiEpCXlO5GG6FwO-tmjgnRfmvLpWeQpujU_3lBDmJ7v6zprc8kYD2ujgWbdnx_e3E8GdK04vqbPjr5Q5hjHo8Ox17eNsYnTA/s1600/letter-starrett-smith-1937-08-16.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Letter, Vincent Starrett to Edgar W. Smith, August 16, 1937" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSrUlxkKGy-s5Yky55MIZC2Wl_y73AmCeuozawvRd_iQvfiEpCXlO5GG6FwO-tmjgnRfmvLpWeQpujU_3lBDmJ7v6zprc8kYD2ujgWbdnx_e3E8GdK04vqbPjr5Q5hjHo8Ox17eNsYnTA/s1600/letter-starrett-smith-1937-08-16.jpg" title="Click this 1937 letter from Vincent Starrett to see a larger version" width="365" /></a></div>
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Letter, Vincent Starrett to Edgar W. Smith, August 16, 1937</div>
 
Click on the above photo to see a larger version of it, and maximize your browser window to see the most detail.</div>
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Glen S. Miranker donated this letter to the BSI Trust in 2005. 
 
<h4>
Related Materials</h4>
"A Gift to the Archives" by Glen S. Miranker, For the Sake of the Trust, Vol 1. No.1 (Fall 2005), pp. 1-7. 
The <a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/news/trust-newsletter-2005-fall.pdf">Fall 2005 Newsletter</a> (4 MB PDF) includes a transcription of this letter and related information. 
 
See all the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/search/label/Correspondence">BSI Correspondence</a> on our website. 
 
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The BSI Archive is located at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Archival material may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the Library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive at Harvard</a> page. 
 
Page composed in 2004 by Glen S. Miranker. 
This page last updated 1/15/15 by Randall Stock. 
 
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Starrett letter to Smith 1937 re: his absence

Edgar W. Smith, having read Vincent Starrett's book The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes , wrote to Starrett on October 15, 1936 offering...

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The 1949 BSI Dinner

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4_squLgveymuQeHgO2IRu4yWnWZEucLYKsKP06v_PpkUp_zS6rJtQkk-knFP_y4dJfWGQEIW0UWKOlCgLnkHrVkukzw7-oLt_lpO3Xlwwhz_gQp1O-4EDZPjrbvwBhRyUZfAMPuK2Cbu/s1600/bsi-dinner-1949-v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 1949 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4_squLgveymuQeHgO2IRu4yWnWZEucLYKsKP06v_PpkUp_zS6rJtQkk-knFP_y4dJfWGQEIW0UWKOlCgLnkHrVkukzw7-oLt_lpO3Xlwwhz_gQp1O-4EDZPjrbvwBhRyUZfAMPuK2Cbu/s1600/bsi-dinner-1949-v1.jpg" title="Click this 1949 BSI Dinner photo to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
The 95th anniversary of the Master’s birth was greeted with a resumption of Baker Street Irregular rituals at its annual dinner. Among the letters of regret from absent attendees read aloud that evening were dispatches from the 33rd U.S. President, Harry S. Truman, and British Ambassador Sir Oliver Franks, whose missive wished “it were in my power to send you a big quantity of London fog and some hansom cabs…ready to dash away with the members on the next exciting adventure.” 
 
Richard W. Clarke, a member of this year’s class of new Investitures, announced that the Five Orange Pips Award for the best piece in the 1947 Baker Street Journal was being bestowed upon Miss Helene Yuhasova (“The Woman” in 1946) for her contribution, “The Solitary Cyclist Rides Again.” The evening’s festivities were replete with songs, toasts, a performance of “The Blue Carbuncle” by radio artists John Stanley and Peter Greig, readings (including Christopher Morley’s recent Journal contribution, “Tail-Light on Horace”), and the spirited auctioning, by Robert Keith Leavitt, of the BSI’s No. 221B edition of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. Nathan Bengis was the fortunate winner. 
 
John Dickson Carr closed out the proceedings by speaking “intimately and feelingly and well” about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the subject of the biography in which Carr was assiduously immersed. 
 
Dinner Details: January 7, 1949 
Racquet and Tennis Club, 370 Park Avenue, New York, NY 
 
<h4>
Dinner Photo Information</h4>
Click on the above photo to see a larger version of it, and maximize your browser window to see the most detail. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354173?n=31">Key to People in the 1949 BSI Dinner Photo</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
Ben Abramson as The Beryl Coronet 
Anthony Boucher as The Valley of Fear* 
Jay Finley Christ as The Final Problem 
Richard W. Clarke as The Copper Beeches 
Elmer Davis as A Case of Identity 
Robert Keith Leavitt as The Cardboard Box 
Leslie Marshall as A Scandal in Bohemia 
Russell McLauchlin as The Naval Treaty 
James Montgomery as The Red Circle 
Fletcher Pratt as The Dancing Men 
Allen Robertson as The Reigate Squires 
Rex Stout as The Boscombe Valley Mystery 
* received Investiture at another event during the year 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is an Investiture?</a> 
 
 
Two-Shilling Award: 
Not awarded until 1962. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Not identified; possibly none. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is The Woman honour?</a> 
 
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..." 
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing) 
None this year. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
Not awarded until 1959. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Reports on the Dinner</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=123">1949 BSI Dinner Minutes</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
Note: the minutes repeat some past investitures from 1944 and 1945. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=123">List of 1949 BSI Dinner Attendees</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
The Baker Street Irregulars, Irregular Crises of the Late ‘Forties, ed. Jon L. Lellenberg, (New York: The Baker Street Irregulars, 1999) 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
None available online at this time. 
 
 
<h4>
Related Materials</h4>
The Trust does not have a 1949 Dinner Menu.  If you have a copy, or even a scan of one, please <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/contact.html">contact us</a>. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:11370671">1949 BSI Dinner Announcement</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1948-bsi-dinner.html">1948 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1950-bsi-dinner.html">1950 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
For an index to all BSI Dinners and photos, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/dinner-summary.html">BSI Dinner Summary</a> list. 
 
 
The BSI Archive is located at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Archival material may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the Library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive at Harvard</a> page. 
 
 
Page composed on 11/30/14 by Tamar Zeffren. 
This page last updated 3/21/15 by Andy Solberg. 
 
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 </div>

The 1949 BSI Dinner

The 95th anniversary of the Master’s birth was greeted with a resumption of Baker Street Irregular rituals at its annual dinner. Among th...

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The 1948 BSI Dinner

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVR2XRuADowcjQMMLbI8eUBm7T2MyXuOh0UESO5rJo8WFIkGNJSPKatORvKmZHLl_awYWBbyiHTCzu2uA3eLzyH_jCk8Qncwp35EQlf5RWAjTlS8OI8oZxM5Z03NA11LhLYzP6IU3-aObf/s1600/bsi-dinner-1948-menu-v1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Interior page of the 1948 BSI Dinner menu" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVR2XRuADowcjQMMLbI8eUBm7T2MyXuOh0UESO5rJo8WFIkGNJSPKatORvKmZHLl_awYWBbyiHTCzu2uA3eLzyH_jCk8Qncwp35EQlf5RWAjTlS8OI8oZxM5Z03NA11LhLYzP6IU3-aObf/s1600/bsi-dinner-1948-menu-v1.jpg" title="Click this photo of the 1948 BSI Dinner menu to see a larger version" width="227" /></a></div>
 
The 94th anniversary of the Master’s birth was marked by the convocation of a Select Committee in Camera of Irregulars, which, as Edgar W. Smith’s report in the April 1948 Baker Street Journal relates, “took counsel on matters of high import relating to the organization’s future.” Thus, many of the customary features of the Irregulars’ meetings were afforded only “passing notice.” 
 
Four Canonical toasts, including Rex Stout’s tribute to “The Woman,” were proffered. James W. Montgomery sang the songs of Birdie Edwards and Irene Adler’s rendering. For the first time since the Irregulars’ inception, Christopher Morley, Gasogene-cum-Tantalus, was not present. In his absence, Robert K. Leavitt and Mr. Stout oversaw the proceedings. Near the evening’s close, Mr. Leavitt presented his rendition of “The Preposterously Paired Performances of the Preacher’s Portrait.”  
 
Dinner Details: January 9, 1948 
Racquet and Tennis Club, New York, NY 
 
<h4>
Dinner Photo Information</h4>As far as we know, no group photo was taken of the January 9, 1948 BSI Dinner.<div> </div><div>The <a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:11370670">1948 BSI Dinner menu</a> photo above is from the digitized BSI Trust collection at Houghton Library, Harvard University. Click on it to see a larger version.  
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
None recorded. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is an Investiture?</a> 
 
 
Two-Shilling Award: 
Not awarded until 1962. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Not identified; possibly none. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is The Woman honour?</a> 
 
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..." 
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing) 
None this year. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
Not awarded until 1959. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Reports on the Dinner</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=119">1948 BSI Dinner Minutes</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=119">List of 1948 BSI Dinner Attendees</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
The Baker Street Irregulars, Irregular Crises of the Late ‘Forties, ed. Jon L. Lellenberg, (New York: The Baker Street Irregulars, 1999) 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
None available online at this time. 
 
 
<h4>
Related Materials</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:11370670">1948 BSI Dinner Menu</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
Cover, interior, and back.  Sequence 10-12. 
 
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1947-bsi-dinner.html">1947 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1949-bsi-dinner.html">1949 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
For an index to all BSI Dinners and photos, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/dinner-summary.html">BSI Dinner Summary</a> list. 
 
 
The BSI Archive is located at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Archival material may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the Library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive at Harvard</a> page. 
 
Page composed on 11/23/14 by Tamar Zeffren. 
This page last updated 3/21/15 by Andy Solberg. 
 
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 </div>
</div>

The 1948 BSI Dinner

The 94th anniversary of the Master’s birth was marked by the convocation of a Select Committee in Camera of Irregulars, which, as Edgar W...

+ Read more »

The 1947 BSI Dinner

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz61O2wKjKyW75m9oyEifBVhrIUKhhDM5OqEXqSzATMtP7Y9sIZUodB_sahl_FRZmWeup7mlzZUNzfMo3ENbzlOHYh5GoqHAeV4YIPrML1YanT7OQpuofFLOYHPYoZfvaz41KFmm5mWrsQ/s1600/bsi-dinner-1947-v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 1947 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz61O2wKjKyW75m9oyEifBVhrIUKhhDM5OqEXqSzATMtP7Y9sIZUodB_sahl_FRZmWeup7mlzZUNzfMo3ENbzlOHYh5GoqHAeV4YIPrML1YanT7OQpuofFLOYHPYoZfvaz41KFmm5mWrsQ/s1600/bsi-dinner-1947-v1.jpg" title="Click this photo of the 1947 BSI Dinner to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
Seventy members and guests, including delegations from Boston, Providence, Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Westchester, attended the 1947 Dinner. Adrian and Denis P.S. Conan Doyle were unable to attend the Dinner, and they sent cablegrams. The latter’s read, “Dear me, Mr. Morley, dear me!” Several attendees delivered scholarly remarks, including Prof. Theo. B. Hunt, Rolfe Boswell, Elmer Davis, and Rex Stout, who expounded upon “The Love-Life of Mr. Moriarty,” in which the evening’s host, the Murray Hill Hotel, as well as 100 maidens, were prominently featured. 
 
Richard W. Clarke, for the Five Orange Pips of Westchester County, presented the Quiz-of-the-Year. It ended in a tie, with Rolfe Boswell and R. G. Harris as victors. C. B. H. Vaill came in second place. Fred Dannay presented those present with copies of the February issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. At the evening’s conclusion, a fifth, uncanonical toast was proposed: “To the Murray Hill Hotel!” 
 
Dinner Details: January 3, 1947 
Murray Hill Hotel, 112 Park Avenue at East 40th Street, New York, NY 
 
<h4>
Dinner Photo Information</h4>
Click on the above photo to see a larger version of it, and maximize your browser window to see the most detail. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354173?n=25">Key to People in the 1947 BSI Dinner photo</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
None recorded. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is an Investiture?</a> 
 
 
Two-Shilling Award: 
Not awarded until 1962. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Mrs. Morris L. Kaplan (Carolyn A. Davis, daughter of Elmer Davis) 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is The Woman honour?</a> 
 
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..." 
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing) 
None this year. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
Not awarded until 1959. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Reports on the Dinner</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=108">1947 BSI Dinner Minutes</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=108">List of 1947 BSI Dinner Attendees</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
The Baker Street Irregulars, Irregular Proceedings of the Mid ‘Forties, ed. Jon L. Lellenberg, (New York: Fordham University Press, 1995) 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
None available online at this time. 
 
 
<h4>
Related Materials</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:11370669">1947 BSI Dinner Menu Cover</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
Cover, interior, and back.  Sequence 20-22. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354173?n=23">Five Orange Pips Quiz</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
Quiz given at dinner.  2 pages.  Sequence 23-24. 
 
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1946-bsi-dinner.html">1946 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1948-bsi-dinner.html">1948 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
For an index to all BSI Dinners and photos, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/dinner-summary.html">BSI Dinner Summary</a> list. 
 
 
The BSI Archive is located at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Archival material may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the Library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive at Harvard</a> page. 
 
Page composed on 11/11/14 by Tamar Zeffren. 
This page last updated 3/21/15 by Andy Solberg.

The 1947 BSI Dinner

Seventy members and guests, including delegations from Boston, Providence, Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Westchester, attended th...

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The 1946 BSI Dinner

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVuwllaDnxXn6wUet4rPYMB4vpl3IaBKZiccvF9hoe1dY6PeAyR6kXDx-0lvJeVjPP0_SH3MOO61dtU8jaC4IgZFRVWo0py1o9UXRVDEPs6WL8N5Nov_VILr7pjp4rgZoynaFDWdH9vzy/s1600/bsi-dinner-1946-v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 1946 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVuwllaDnxXn6wUet4rPYMB4vpl3IaBKZiccvF9hoe1dY6PeAyR6kXDx-0lvJeVjPP0_SH3MOO61dtU8jaC4IgZFRVWo0py1o9UXRVDEPs6WL8N5Nov_VILr7pjp4rgZoynaFDWdH9vzy/s1600/bsi-dinner-1946-v1.jpg" title="Click this 1946 BSI Dinner photo to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
In 1946, the BSI Dinner witnessed the notable acceptance of membership in the Society, honoris causa, by President Harry S. Truman. “I commend your good sense in seeking escape from this troubled world into the happier and calmer world of Baker Street,” Edgar W. Smith’s minutes quotes from the 33rd President's note. “I had read all of the Holmes novels before...I was twelve years old.” 
 
Sixty personages attended the Dinner, including Anthony Boucher, James Keddie, Jr., and Christopher Morley, Sr. and Jr. Mr. C.R. Andrew of the Scandalous Bohemians of Akron, Ohio presented the Dinner attendees with a quiz which required them to identify 15 canonical characters with their associated story. Mr. Benjamin Clark of the Five Orange Pips of Westchester County took first place in the contest, winning a rare edition of S.C. Roberts' pamphlet Doctor Watson. Professor Herbert W. Starr of Lafayette College in Easton, PA took second place, becoming the owner of a framed portrait of Sherlock Holmes drawn by the late, famed illustrator Fredric Dorr Steele. The quiz is subsequently reproduced in the April 1946 Baker Street Journal. Six scholarly addresses were presented, including “John and James” by Giles Playfair, which plumbed new facets of the issue of the two Watsons. 
 
Dinner Details: January 11, 1946 
Murray Hill Hotel, 112 Park Avenue at East 40th Street, New York, NY 
 
<h4>
Dinner Photo Information</h4>
Click on the above photo to see a larger version of it, and maximize your browser window to see the most detail. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354173?n=19">Key to People in the 1946 BSI Dinner Photo</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
None recorded. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is an Investiture?</a> 
 
 
Two-Shilling Award: 
Not awarded until 1962. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Helene Yuhasova 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is The Woman honour?</a> 
 
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..." 
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing) 
None this year. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
Not awarded until 1959. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Reports on the Dinner</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=99">1946 BSI Dinner Minutes</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:11354171?n=99">List of 1946 BSI Dinner Attendees</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
 
The Baker Street Irregulars, Irregular Proceedings of the Mid ‘Forties, ed. Jon L. Lellenberg, (New York: Fordham University Press, 1995) 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
None available online at this time. 
 
 
<h4>
Related Materials</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:11370668">1946 BSI Dinner Menu</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
Cover, interior, and back.  Sequence 16-18. 
 
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1945-bsi-dinner.html">1945 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/03/the-1947-bsi-dinner.html">1947 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
For an index to all BSI Dinners and photos, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/dinner-summary.html">BSI Dinner Summary</a> list. 
 
 
The BSI Archive is located at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Archival material may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the Library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive at Harvard</a> page. 
 
Page composed on 11/4/14 by Tamar Zeffren. 
This page last updated 3/21/15 by Andy Solberg.

The 1946 BSI Dinner

In 1946, the BSI Dinner witnessed the notable acceptance of membership in the Society, honoris causa , by President Harry S. Truman. “I c...

+ Read more »