The Baker Street Irregulars Trust

The 1994 BSI Dinner

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsY1PhX_7gjJTc9J-38jabM2mvQgnVnQsXzkChJmnG8C-MyNRAQh5n8QWHu4mjDFGGRsUlXdoSTwO_I2mDgwP-_yrm4gFSVHFvRMuwcCVqjb_UrcMVQQBa9Ys0YcDyUhyUlCRAhtkkkcy/s1600/bsi-dinner-1994-v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 1994 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsY1PhX_7gjJTc9J-38jabM2mvQgnVnQsXzkChJmnG8C-MyNRAQh5n8QWHu4mjDFGGRsUlXdoSTwO_I2mDgwP-_yrm4gFSVHFvRMuwcCVqjb_UrcMVQQBa9Ys0YcDyUhyUlCRAhtkkkcy/s640/bsi-dinner-1994-v1.jpg" title="Click this 1994 BSI Dinner photo to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
In addition to the 140th anniversary of the Master’s birth, this year marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Baker Street Irregulars by Christopher Morley in 1934. In honor of this signal occasion, the birthday weekend was marked by numerous celebrations. The BSI Dinner agenda featured the usual toasts and traditions and Bruce Montgomery's melodic tribute to his grand-aunt Clara and to his father. It then focused on 60 years of BSI history, including George Fletcher's anecdotal history of The Baker Street Journal, Susan Rice and Mickey Fromkin’s survey of Irregular poetry through the decades, Steve Rothman's discussion of the very early meetings of the BSI, and reminiscences of the annual Dinners by David Weiss (a stalwart attendee for more than 40 years). Bill Schweickert's poetic birthday tribute to the Master ended the program.  Theresa (Mrs. Robert E.) Thomalen was honored as “The Woman.” Twelve Irregulars received their Investitures at the Dinner. 
 
At the following day’s reception for all Sherlockians, Catherine Cooke received an Investiture. Eleanor O’Connor received the Queen Victoria Medal in recognition of her many years of assistance at the BSI annual dinners (see the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/09/the-1969-bsi-dinner.html">1969 BSI Dinner</a> for background on the Medal). There were also Jon Lellenberg and Clint Gould's "March of Time" report on the history of the BSI, a performance by Paul Singleton and Philip Brogdon of an excerpt from Jeremy Paul's play "The Secret of Sherlock Holmes," a warm tribute to Tom Stix delivered by <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/06/robert-thomalen-interview-oral-history.html">Bob Thomalen</a>, and poetic reports by Al Rosenblatt and Marilynne McKay on the events of the previous evening. 
 
This 60th birthday weekend was a fine testament to the reality that, as BSJ editor William Cochran phrased it in his “Editor’s Gas-Lamp” article, “The Irregulars survive because all orders of Sherlockian are as inseparable as Holmes and Watson.” 
 
Dinner Details: January 7, 1994 
24 Fifth Avenue, New York 
 
<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-1994-photo-key.pdf">Key to People in the 1994 BSI Dinner photo</a> (PDF) 
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
Catherine Cooke as "The Book of Life"* 
Peter J. Crupe as The Noble Bachelor 
T. Michelle Fromkin as The Missing Three-Quarter 
Anthony D. Howlett as John Hector McFarlane 
Donald B. Izban as Market Street 
Thomas J. Joyce as A Yellow-Backed Novel 
Bruce Montgomery as The Red Circle 
Geoffrey S. Stavert as The Shingle of Southsea 
Ruthann Stetak as The Camberwell Poisoning Case 
Francine Morris Swift as The Wigmore Street Post Office 
Hirotaka Ueda as Japanese Armour 
Thomas D. Utecht as Arthur Charpentier 
William H. Vande Water as An Enlarged Photograph 
* 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: 
Donald A. Redmond (in absentia) 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Theresa Thomalen 
<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) 
Not listed in the 1994 BSJ report. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
No awards were given from 1981-1995. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Reports on the Dinner</h4>
The Baker Street Journal v44 n1 (March 1994), 49-50 and 54-55 (available in the eBSJ). 
 
Blau, Peter, <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/links.html#news">Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press</a>, (January 1994), 2. 
 
<a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/dinner/bsi-dinner-1994-photo-key.pdf">Key to People in the 1994 BSI Dinner photo</a> (PDF) 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
A recording of portions of the 1994 BSI Dinner is available at Harvard as part of the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive</a>. 
 
 
<h4>
Related Material</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=157">1994 BSI Dinner Menu</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
Two pages. Cover and interior. Sequence 157-158. 
 
Rosenblatt, Albert M., “BSI 1994,” The Baker Street Journal v44 n1 (March 1994), 46-48 (available in the eBSJ). Judge Rosenblatt’s Rhyming Retrospective of the 1994 BSI Festivities, delivered at the January 8, 1994 cocktail reception. 
 
Lellenberg, Jon, “The March of Time.” The Baker Street Journal v44 n1 (March 1994), 40-45 (available in the eBSJ). Performed at the January 8, 1994 cocktail reception by Jon Lellenberg and Clint Gould. 
 
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/05/the-1993-bsi-dinner.html">1993 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/07/the-1995-bsi-dinner.html">1995 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 6/15/2016 by Tamar Zeffren 
Page updated 6/25/2016 by Andrew Solberg. 
This page last updated 1/11/20 by Randall Stock.

The 1994 BSI Dinner

In addition to the 140th anniversary of the Master’s birth, this year marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Baker Street Irr...

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Spring 2016 Newsletter

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<a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/news/trust-newsletter-2016-spring.pdf"><img alt="BSI Trust Spring 2016 Newsletter" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBsfeEiMG7XzrXbWdzcCH01lD5oYDUMnrKekeAyEuSYaRSm0i8MaqPhH0N5WpMIcgh9W0i6pnFvwzZhK3umoRfg6oy7IepsHu5r6jELn_mZPLgZBNFk2mqJYOLORAkStZlrUVgAcSex0a7/s1600/trust-newsletter-2016-spring.jpg" title="Click to view PDF of Spring 2016 newsletter" /></a></div>
 
The Spring 2016 newsletter includes these articles: 
<ul>
<li>All Aboard!  BSI Trust Adds Two New Board Members by Andy Solberg.</li>
<li>Becoming Dr. Watson by Robert S. Katz.</li>
<li>September at Chautauqua.</li>
<li>From the Chair by Andy Solberg.</li>
<li>The Cardinal Points by Marshall S. Berdan.</li>
<li>Gifts to the Treasury.</li>
<li>Added to the Archive.</li>
</ul>
 
<h4>
View or Download the Newsletter:</h4>
<a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/news/trust-newsletter-2016-spring.pdf">Spring 2016 BSI Trust newsletter</a> (PDF - 2.4 MB) 
 
 
<h4>
Prior Newsletters</h4>
You can view or download <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/search/label/Newsletter">all prior issues of the BSI Trust Newsletter</a>. 
 
You can also see <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/search/label/News">other BSI Trust news</a> on the Trust website. 
 
 
<h4>
Contact the Editor of the Newsletter</h4>
See the Contact Us page to <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/contact.html">send email to the editor</a> of the newsletter.

Spring 2016 Newsletter

The Spring 2016 newsletter includes these articles: All Aboard! BSI Trust Adds Two New Board Members by Andy Solberg. Becoming Dr. Wa...

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Douglas Wilmer Interview: Oral History Project

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRDWzHtaCQLqqo3YDH3fp_o02AhGGsYvoHbDNKHh-PJwQAQ8Iv-7lXoHsnmEvpRns-iE3GCCsv4v-nLoJVxqKOYwKnsbxcA-h1iig2zy9lY1cfsPQnWiMmBUskL3ralnPbMHfsl8HjcEh/s1600/douglas-wilmer-as-holmes-1964-v2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes (1964)" border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRDWzHtaCQLqqo3YDH3fp_o02AhGGsYvoHbDNKHh-PJwQAQ8Iv-7lXoHsnmEvpRns-iE3GCCsv4v-nLoJVxqKOYwKnsbxcA-h1iig2zy9lY1cfsPQnWiMmBUskL3ralnPbMHfsl8HjcEh/s400/douglas-wilmer-as-holmes-1964-v2.jpg" title="Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes (1964)" width="400" /></a></div>
Douglas Wilmer (The Lyceum Theatre, 2000) was introduced to Sherlock Holmes by a Swiss landlady in Rugby, England.  She asked him if he had ever read Sherlock Holmes, and she dumped a pile of Holmes books on his bed.  He became “rather enthralled.” Years later (1964-1965), he played Holmes on television, a role for which he is best known.  Douglas Wilmer was born on January 8, 1920 and passed away on March 31, 2016. 
 
Douglas was a talented and prolific actor. He had 99 film and television credits and uncounted stage credits. His acting career spanned from around 1935 to 2014.  His Sherlockian roles include Detective (TV Series, 1964, Sherlock Holmes), Sherlock Holmes (TV Series, 1964-1965, Sherlock Holmes), The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (TV Series, 1973, Prof. Van Dusen), The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (Movie, 1975, Sherlock Holmes), BBC Sherlock (TV Series, 2014, Diogenes Club Member). 
 
In this interview, Douglas recounts the past under Nicholas Utechin’s expert questioning, responding with his typical self-deprecatory humor and candor. 
 
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvMdaBlqhW9QjKLkdBS2rQN1LNlVWRlWPAJTC1_4idbmJpVzgle6vZpBKi6F9bLUFk0RzPlgtrKaol5xTD2JCOBfyZ6i8sZUG6zNpNYU9EpXlXfcnm1C3W-Q9pRWOohS9-8CcsBa4Fygv/s1600/douglas-wilmer-2000-bsi-dinner-v1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Douglas Wilmer at the 2000 BSI Dinner" border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvMdaBlqhW9QjKLkdBS2rQN1LNlVWRlWPAJTC1_4idbmJpVzgle6vZpBKi6F9bLUFk0RzPlgtrKaol5xTD2JCOBfyZ6i8sZUG6zNpNYU9EpXlXfcnm1C3W-Q9pRWOohS9-8CcsBa4Fygv/s200/douglas-wilmer-2000-bsi-dinner-v1.jpg" title="Douglas Wilmer at the 2000 BSI Dinner" width="200" /></a></div>
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Douglas Wilmer at the 2000 BSI Dinner</div>
 
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" height="45" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4401319/height/45/width/250/theme/standard/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/no-cache/true/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="250"></iframe>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Click to play this interview</div>
 
Interviewee: Douglas Wilmer 
Interviewer: Nicholas Utechin 
Date: January 22, 2015 
Location: Woodbridge, Suffolk, England 
Description: Pt.1 MP3, 46.7 MB, 85kbps, 1 hour 17 minutes 
 
<h4>
Interview Topics</h4>
Family 
Living in Shanghai 
English Board School 
Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts 
The War Years 
Acting 
Introduction to Sherlock Holmes 
Playing Sherlock Holmes 
Standing up for Conan Doyle 
El Cid 
Resurrection 
The BSI 
Stage Whispers (his memoirs) 
Thoughts on his Career 
BBC Sherlock 
Jeremy Brett 
On Acting 
A Remarkable Lady 
 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">Explanation of BSI Honours & Other Terms</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Related Materials</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5Xp4Nw6FJGCFlD-iBi2acId5krsR7tZqtINgvMUfjGUOmmtgcCDpXDifSEDBQi0ye4Rz-Y3r2DspSsmH8ik4aMHReLqbwvMJ9F61tokV0HYXjrB6gKW4xhrmhKXuakrv_PWZhdeZOpD1/s1600/douglas-wilmer-in-reichenbach+fall-2014-v1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Douglas Wilmer in BBC Sherlock (2014) wearing the BSI Bowtie" border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5Xp4Nw6FJGCFlD-iBi2acId5krsR7tZqtINgvMUfjGUOmmtgcCDpXDifSEDBQi0ye4Rz-Y3r2DspSsmH8ik4aMHReLqbwvMJ9F61tokV0HYXjrB6gKW4xhrmhKXuakrv_PWZhdeZOpD1/s400/douglas-wilmer-in-reichenbach+fall-2014-v1.jpg" title="Click to see larger version of Douglas Wilmer in BBC Sherlock (2014)" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Douglas Wilmer, wearing the BSI Bowtie, as a member of the Diogenes Club </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
in the BBC Sherlock episode “The Reichenbach Fall”</div>
 
McCafferty, Elaine and Jonathan, eds.,“The Only Actor Who Ever Got It Right - Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes,” The Baker Street Journal 2014 Christmas Annual. 
 
<a href="https://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/conan-doyle/television/douglas-wilmer/" target="_blank">Douglas Wilmer</a> (The Sherlock Holmes Society of London website) 
 
Clark, Andrew, “<a href="https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/a-life-in-the-spotlight-1961902" target="_blank">A life in the spotlight</a>,” (East Anglian Daily Times, April 30, 2009) 
 
Potter, Tom, “<a href="https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/woodbridge-sherlock-of-the-sixties-discusses-famous-holmes-role-2120204" target="_blank">Woodbridge: Sherlock of the sixties discusses famous Holmes role</a>,” (East Anglian Daily Times, January 6, 2014) 
 
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0932811/" target="_blank">Internet Movie Database page on Douglas Wilmer</a> 
 
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Wilmer" target="_blank">Wikipedia page on Douglas Wilmer</a> 
 
 
For an index to all OHP interviews, see our <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/oral-history.html">Oral History Project Summary</a> list. 
 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/search/label/Audio+Oral%20History">Interviews recently added online</a> (sorted by when recording was posted online) 
 
 Material in the BSI Archive 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" style="text-align: center;">BSI Archive</a> page. 
 
Page composed on 5/28/16 by Andrew Solberg 
This page last updated 5/28/16 by Andrew Solberg. 
 
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 </div>

Douglas Wilmer Interview: Oral History Project

Douglas Wilmer (The Lyceum Theatre, 2000) was introduced to Sherlock Holmes by a Swiss landlady in Rugby, England. She asked him if he ha...

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The 1993 BSI Dinner

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfc74ll1CAmqLDM6FphZy2ppfRJtFr_WM785eRvb6AJ5XJeWWSLTCb6z6WX4M2X78MEQC301OISTAgdoxXAJD8ngtDxweCZ1d3acLlwvXURGZCRzbsUfcz4UO-X5dPk85JuZ09up3t1Qqh/s1600/bsi-dinner-1993-v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 1993 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfc74ll1CAmqLDM6FphZy2ppfRJtFr_WM785eRvb6AJ5XJeWWSLTCb6z6WX4M2X78MEQC301OISTAgdoxXAJD8ngtDxweCZ1d3acLlwvXURGZCRzbsUfcz4UO-X5dPk85JuZ09up3t1Qqh/s640/bsi-dinner-1993-v1.jpg" title="Click this 1993 BSI Dinner photo to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
The 139th anniversary of the Master’s birth featured the standard repertoire of toasts and traditions. Steven Rothman toasted the second coming of Watson's first wife, followed by Robert Katz's promise of a rebuttal next year. Attendees were treated to a bevy of diverse presentations, including Ralph Hall's expert discussion of Canonical insects, Joseph Fink's narration of the rise and fall of Professor James Moriarty, and a tribute by Robert Mangler and Robert Hahn to Vincent Starrett. 
 
Mary Ann Bradley was honored as “The Woman.” Six Irregulars received their Shilling. 
 
At the following day’s Sherlockian Cocktail Party, Philip Shreffler received the Queen Victoria Medal (see the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/09/the-1969-bsi-dinner.html">1969 BSI Dinner</a> for background on the Medal) in recognition of his dedication as the Baker Street Journal editor. 
 
Dinner Details: January 8, 1993 
24 Fifth Avenue, New York 
 
 
<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-1993-photo-key.pdf">Key to People in the 1993 BSI Dinner photo</a> (PDF) 
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
Jean-Pierre Cagnat as The Bank of France 
Shirley Dickensheet as Ivy Douglas 
Joseph J. Eckrich as The Stockbroker's Clerk 
Yuichi Hirayama as The Japanese Vase 
Alfred A. Levin as Abe Slaney 
Eve Titus as Young Master Rucastle 
* 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: 
The Two-Shilling Award was not given in 1993. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Mary Ann Bradley 
<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) 
Isaac Asimov (The Remarkable Worm, 1976) 
Amy (Mrs. Owen P.) Frisbie (The Woman, 1977) 
Rollin V. Hadley (Ricoletti of the Club Foot, 1956) 
John R. Hendrickson (The Musgrave Ritual, 1966) 
Herbert H. Middleton (Ionides, of Alexandria, 1985) 
Svend Petersen  (The Mazarin Stone, 1951) 
Wilmer T. Rabe (Colonel Warburton's Madness, 1955) 
Remsen Ten Eyck Schenck (The Tarleton Murders, 1954) 
Bartlett D. Simms (Professor Coram, 1974) 
Eugene Bud Willis (a noted Sherlockian) 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
No awards were given from 1981-1995. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Reports on the Dinner</h4>
The Baker Street Journal v43 n1 (March 1993) pp. 46-47 (available in the eBSJ). 
 
Blau, Peter, <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/links.html#news">Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press</a>, (January 1993), p. 1-2. 
 
<a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/dinner/bsi-dinner-1993-photo-key.pdf">Key to People in the 1993 BSI Dinner photo</a> (PDF) 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
A recording of the 1993 BSI Dinner is available at Harvard as part of the<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html"> BSI Archive</a>. 
 
 
<h4>
Related Material</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=152">1993 BSI Dinner Menu </a>(digitized images at Harvard) 
Two pages. Cover and interior. Sequence 152-153. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=151">Ticket to the Annual Sherlockian Cocktail Party </a>on January 9, 1993 (digitized image at Harvard) 
One page. Sequence 151 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=154">Rosenblatt, Albert, Rhyming Retrospective of the 1993 BSI Festivities</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
Presented at the Saturday Sherlockian Cocktail Party. 
Three pages. Sequence 154-156. 
 
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/05/the-1992-bsi-dinner.html">1992 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/06/the-1994-bsi-dinner.html">1994 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 5/19/2016 by Tamar Zeffren. 
Page updated 5/21/2016 by Andrew Solberg. 
This page last updated 1/11/20 by Randall Stock.

The 1993 BSI Dinner

The 139th anniversary of the Master’s birth featured the standard repertoire of toasts and traditions. Steven Rothman toasted the second ...

+ Read more »

The 1992 BSI Dinner

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSaiWaOkdhmQsfhtN7SsLik-jRPiLUOVeKVrtAh1Sczy7zMBs09gWoDoAQ7BvVs3vwAZtVxBniZq5omwb_dpfDWETgxRtXeLF-9gKFQMswJzdW1o7bzhyphenhyphenTX6HmwaaMJitWf4n4I3xdMbX/s1600/bsi-dinner-1992-v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 1992 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSaiWaOkdhmQsfhtN7SsLik-jRPiLUOVeKVrtAh1Sczy7zMBs09gWoDoAQ7BvVs3vwAZtVxBniZq5omwb_dpfDWETgxRtXeLF-9gKFQMswJzdW1o7bzhyphenhyphenTX6HmwaaMJitWf4n4I3xdMbX/s640/bsi-dinner-1992-v1.jpg" title="Click this 1992 BSI Dinner photo to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
The 138th anniversary of the Master’s birth provided ample evidence—if any were still required at this juncture—of the global appeal of Sherlockiana and Sherlockian scions. Irv Kamil reported on The Asian Travelers, a new Sherlockian society founded the previous year at  the Great Wall of China, and visitors from France (Jean-Pierre Cagnat) and Japan (Yuichi Hirayama and Hirotaka Ueda) were introduced. 
 
This was the first BSI Dinner at which women were in attendance, the BSI having been opened to women by Tom Stix at the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/04/the-1991-bsi-dinner.html">1991 Saturday Sherlockian Cocktail Party</a>. There were fifteen women attending this first co-ed BSI Dinner: Maureen Green, Evelyn Herzog, Karen Johnson, Kate Karlson, Eleanor O'Connor, Marsha Pollak, Susan Rice, Lloyd Rose, Sherry Rose-Bond, Julie Rosenblatt, Marina Stajic, Ruthann Stetak, Francine Swift, Jean Upton, and Delia Vargas. 
 
Steve Rothman showcased a treasure: a rare audio recording of Christopher Morley speaking about Sherlock Holmes and reading from “The Adventure of the Dying Detective.” Ely Liebow discussed the Sherlockian aspects of "The $64,000 Question" (the 1956 television quiz show). The program also included Edward Vatza's discussion of "The Gloria Scott", and Joseph Fink's investigative report on Dr. Watson's marital affairs. Bruce Montgomery led the assembled in singing “Aunt Clara” and followed this with his own “Father’s Folly, or Aunt Clara Revisited.” Dr. Hirayama then rendered the chorus of “Aunt Clara” in his native Japanese; subsequently, Don Yates did the same in Spanish. The Baker Street Journal notes: “This might have gone on, getting really problematical, but it didn’t.” 
 
Margaret Walsh was celebrated as “The Woman.” Five new Irregulars were invested at the Dinner.  Two more received their Irregular Shillings at the Sherlockian Cocktail Party the following day. 
 
At the Sherlockian Cocktail Party on the following day, Theresa Thomalen was awarded the Queen Victoria Medal (see the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/09/the-1969-bsi-dinner.html">1969 BSI Dinner</a> for background on the Medal). <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/10/peter-blau-interview-oral-history.html">Peter Blau</a> expertly presided over the Sherlockiana auction which raised $610 for the BSI’s Dr. John H. Watson Fund, which offers financial assistance to Sherlockians (membership in the BSI or the ASH is not required) who might otherwise be unable to participate in the weekend's festivities. The proceeding also included a raffle which featured a bottle of Madeira (1934 vintage) donated to the Dr. John H. Watson Fund by Patricia Guy. 
 
Dinner Details: January 10, 1992 
24 Fifth Avenue, New York 
 
<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-1992-photo-key.pdf">Revised Key to People in the 1992 BSI Dinner Photo</a> (PDF) 
 
<h4>
 BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
Jeff Decker as Dr. Grimesby Roylott 
Michael W. McClure as Stimson and Co. 
Patricia E. Moran as Patience Moran* 
Shirley A. Purves as The Dog in the Night-Time* 
Mary Ellen Rich as Lady Frances Carfax* 
Sherry Rose-Bond as Violet Hunter 
Bruce E. Southworth as Victor Hatherley 
Maureen Green Van der Flaes as Kitty Winter 
* 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: 
Michael F. Whelan 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Margaret Walsh 
<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) 
Charles Goodman (The Stockbroker's Clerk, 1991) 
Michael Hardwick (The Sign of the Four, 1985) 
Michael Harrison (The Camberwell Poisoning Case, 1964) 
Howard Haycraft (The Devil's Foot, 1992) 
Henry Lauritzen (The Royal Family of Scandinavia, 1961) 
Edward A. Merrill (Palladio, 1972) 
Lenore Glen Offord (The Old Russian Woman, 1958) 
William Passen (The Camberwell Poisoning Case, 1955) 
Milton Perry (Nathan Garrideb, 1992) 
Sylvia Porter (The Woman, 1957) 
Ake Runnquist (Jacob Shafter, 1991) 
Eleanor Sullivan (The Woman, 1990) 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
No awards were given from 1981-1995. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
<h4>
 Reports on the Dinner</h4>
The Baker Street Journal v42 n1 (March 1992) pp. 50, 54 (available in the eBSJ). 
 
Blau, Peter, <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/links.html#news">Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press</a>, (January 1992), p. 3. 
 
List of 1992 BSI Dinner Attendees (not available at this time, but see Key to the Photo, below) 
 
<a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/dinner/bsi-dinner-1992-photo-key.pdf">Revised Key to People in the 1992 BSI Dinner Photo</a> (PDF) 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=149">Original Key to People in the 1992 BSI Dinner photo</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
Two pages. Numbered Photo and Key. Sequence 149-150. 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
A recording of the 1992 BSI Dinner is available at Harvard as part of the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive</a>. 
 
 
<h4>
Related Material</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:16197464">1992 BSI Dinner Menu</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
Two pages. Cover and interior. Sequence 143-144. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=145">Name Tag from the 1992 BSI Dinner </a>(digitized images at Harvard) 
One page. Sequence 145 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=146">Ticket to the Annual Sherlockian Cocktail Party on January 11, 1992</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
One page. Sequence 146 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=147">Rosenblatt, Albert, Rhyming Retrospective of the 1992 BSI Festivities</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
Presented at the Saturday Sherlockian Cocktail Party. 
Two pages. Sequence 147-148. 
 
Rose, Lloyd, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/01/13/to-women-a-mystery-no-more/98b74815-dee9-4c42-8348-28ca32f8445a/">“To Women, A Mystery No More,”</a> The Washington Post (January 13, 1992) 
Lloyd Rose, at the time, the Chief Drama Critic at the Washington Post, wrote about her attendance at the 1992 BSI Dinner. 
<div>
 </div>
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/04/the-1991-bsi-dinner.html">1991 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/05/the-1993-bsi-dinner.html">1993 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 5/3/2016 by Tamar Zeffren 
Page updated 5/15/2016 by Andrew Solberg. 
This page last updated 2/15/2020 by Randall Stock. 
<div>
 
 </div>

The 1992 BSI Dinner

The 138th anniversary of the Master’s birth provided ample evidence—if any were still required at this juncture—of the global appeal of S...

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The 1991 BSI Dinner

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcGoAPm3zXQ68unPqTvp4HMdd9TlkMmM7GktTte6-BqLbUblsgGTHZCaMfw40Gr0vCsEnUQVKSJoFFDIiP4O_waD6OxpmHk_hpsa5KOL0zA88MZURxTtxYP4bOly1mVKOGgMb6oeByX4p/s1600/bsi-dinner-1991-v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 1991 BSI Dinner group photo" border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcGoAPm3zXQ68unPqTvp4HMdd9TlkMmM7GktTte6-BqLbUblsgGTHZCaMfw40Gr0vCsEnUQVKSJoFFDIiP4O_waD6OxpmHk_hpsa5KOL0zA88MZURxTtxYP4bOly1mVKOGgMb6oeByX4p/s640/bsi-dinner-1991-v1.jpg" title="Click this 1991 BSI Dinner photo to see a larger version" width="640" /></a></div>
 
The 137th anniversary of the Master’s birth included all of our traditional rites and ceremonies. Joan [Mrs. Benton] Wood was honored as The Woman. The busy program featured John Bennett Shaw’s paean to the late Commissionaire, Dr. Julian Wolff, read in Mr. Shaw’s absence by Richard Schull. Robert N. Brodie mused on “what ever happened to” a number of well-known Canonical characters. Don Yates proffered two reader’s digested versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles (one sixty seconds long, the other five words long), and Wayne Swift essayed a portion of his ongoing scholarship concerning Silver Blaze. Bill Rabe acquainted members with the shocking results of his investigations into the BSI’s unofficial anthem, “Aunt Clara” (proving that all these years we’ve been singing it to the wrong tune — a Scottish folk song called “Mush Mush”). Norman Davis plunged the “art” of the pun to a new nadir in his survey of Sherlockian horse-racing handicapping. Don Redmond was given The Good Old Index Award honoring his 21 years of indexing of the Baker Street Journal. David Musto gave a lucid account of the founding of the first Sherlockian society in the Soviet Union, The Red-Headed League of Moscow, a long-awaited event in which Mr. Musto lent a gently guiding hand. The report in the BSJ states, “The Baker Street Irregulars wish every good fortune to these new-found Soviet friends.” 
 
However, 1991 will forever be remembered in the annals of BSI history for the Sherlockian Cocktail Party on the following day.  At the Cocktail Party, Tom Stix formally opened the BSI to women in announcing seven additional BSI Investitures, six of whom were women.  His emotional announcement can be heard below.  Two of these Investitures went to Katherine McMahon (one of the original solvers of the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/bsi-history.html">Sherlock Holmes Crossword Puzzle</a>) and Edwin V. King (who had earned the honor in the 1940s).  Next, he bestowed an Investiture on Dame Jean Conan Doyle (Arthur Conan Doyle’s daughter).  Stix then went on to invest Edith Meiser, Julia Carlson Rosenblatt, Evelyn Herzog, and Susan Rice.  He ended his moving presentation by emphasizing that these were genuine Investitures in the Baker Street Irregulars, entitling the women to invitations to the Annual Dinner.  His announcement was interrupted by several standing ovations. History had turned, and the BSI Dinner was now co-ed. 
 
Also at the Sherlockian cocktail party, the Commissionaire’s Award for outstanding contributions to Sherlockiana was conferred upon H. George Fletcher who, in his capacity of Director of Fordham University Press, had served for sixteen years as publisher of the Baker Street Journal and of a number of important Sherlockian books including the first volumes of the <a href="http://www.bakerstreetjournal.com/itemsforsale/bsihistoryseries.html">Baker Street Irregulars’ History Project</a>. (See the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/04/the-1988-bsi-dinner.html">1988 BSI Dinner</a> for background on this award.) 
 
Dinner Details: January 11, 1991 
24 Fifth Avenue, New York 
 
<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-1991-photo-key.pdf">Key to People in the 1991 BSI Dinner photo</a> (PDF) 
 
 
<h4>
BSI Honours List</h4>
Investitures: 
Dame Jean Conan Doyle as A Certain Gracious Lady* 
Henry Enberg as John Garrideb 
Evelyn A. Herzog as The Daintiest Thing Under a Bonnet* 
Roger Johnson as Pall Mall Gazette* 
Edwin V. King as Captain Arthur Morstan* 
Katherine McMahon as Lucy Ferrier* 
Edith Meiser as A Fascinating and Beautiful Woman* 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/12/glen-miranker-interview-oral-history.html">Glen Miranker</a> as The Origin of Tree Worship 
Joseph W. Moran as Sir Augustus Moran, C.B. 
William Nadel as Bartholomew Sholto 
Susan Rice as Beeswing* 
Julia Carlson Rosenblatt as Mrs. Turner* 
CharlesJ. Shields as 17 King Edward Street 
Stephen H. Tolins as John Straker 
* 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: 
Ely M. Liebow 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is a Two-Shilling Award?</a> 
 
The Woman: 
Joan [Mrs. Benton] Wood 
<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) 
Not listed in the 1991 BSJ report. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”</a> 
 
Morley-Montgomery Award: 
No awards were given from 1981-1995. 
<a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/glossary.html">What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?</a> 
 
 
<h4>
Reports on the Dinner </h4>
The Baker Street Journal v41 n1 (March 1991) pp. 45, 49 (available in the eBSJ). 
 
Blau, Peter, <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/links.html#news">Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press</a>, (January 1991), p. 2. 
 
<a href="http://files.bsitrust.org/pdf/dinner/bsi-dinner-1991-photo-key.pdf">List of 1991 BSI Dinner Attendees</a> (PDF, part of Key to Dinner photo) 
 
 
<h4>
Recordings</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_yYJBSliaXiiq9p4NYniU1WwhYOh0IXGyMvObo9DhrcTl1SsvNEqXOkuQ0xt68WmFxi46_mfI8VrXprd_R8TC4NAnBUP9yo-sAItpL2J-C7ncu82wxJb99vRj5fL3342XXAaXzRWp5Yf/s1600/stixbsidinner1992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Thomas L. Stix, BSI" border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_yYJBSliaXiiq9p4NYniU1WwhYOh0IXGyMvObo9DhrcTl1SsvNEqXOkuQ0xt68WmFxi46_mfI8VrXprd_R8TC4NAnBUP9yo-sAItpL2J-C7ncu82wxJb99vRj5fL3342XXAaXzRWp5Yf/s200/stixbsidinner1992.JPG" title="Thomas L. Stix, BSI" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thomas Stix at a BSI Dinner</div>
 
Thomas L. Stix, Jr. (The Norwood Builder) became the head of the BSI (Wiggins) after the 1986 BSI Dinner.  He served in that capacity until 1997.  At the 1991 Sherlockian Cocktail Party on the day after the 1991 BSI Dinner, Stix invested six women into the BSI to great applause.  He said that, henceforth, female BSI would be invited to the Annual Dinner. You can hear his moving presentation in this 12-minute vignette from the 1991 Sherlockian Cocktail Party.  Stix (whose father was also a BSI member) was invested at the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/07/the-1961-bsi-dinner.html">1961 BSI Dinner</a>. 
 
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" height="45" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4317006/height/45/width/250/theme/standard/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/no-cache/true/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="250"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Click to play this recording</div>
 
Recordings of both the 1991 BSI Dinner and Sherlockian Cocktail Reception are available at Harvard as part of the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2015/01/archive.html">BSI Archive</a>. 
 
 
<h4>
Related Material</h4>
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.Hough:16197463">1991 BSI Dinner Menu</a> (digitized images at Harvard) 
Two pages. Cover and interior. Sequence 138-139. 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=140">Ticket to the Annual Sherlockian Cocktail Party on January 12, 1991</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
One page. Sequence 140 
 
<a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:16162476?n=141">Rosenblatt, Albert, Rhyming Retrospective of the 1991 BSI Festivities</a> (digitized image at Harvard) 
Presented at the Saturday Sherlockian Cocktail Party. 
Two pages. Sequence 141-142. 
 
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/ihearofsherlock/episode-89-the-adventuresses#t=57:44">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, Episode 89: The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes</a> 
In this episode of their podcast, W. Scott Monty, BSI and Burt Wolder, BSI interview Evelyn Herzog, ASH, BSI and Susan Rice, ASH, BSI (both among the first women invested in the BSI in 1991) about the events leading up to the admittance of women in the BSI.  This link goes directly to the point in the podcast when they talk about the 1991 Sherlockian Cocktail Party and Tom Stix’s announcement. 
 
Previous dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/04/the-1990-bsi-dinner.html">1990 BSI Dinner</a> 
 
Next dinner: the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/05/the-1992-bsi-dinner.html">1992 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 4/30/2016 by Andrew Solberg. 
This page last updated 4/30/2016 by Andrew Solberg.

The 1991 BSI Dinner

The 137th anniversary of the Master’s birth included all of our traditional rites and ceremonies. Joan [Mrs. Benton] Wood was honored as ...

+ Read more »