Notes, News and Comments (ACD Journal vol. 2 No. 1)
Notes, News and Comments [Vol. 2 No. 1] is an article published in the A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (Vol. 2 No. 1, spring 1991).
This article is collecting Society news, Conan Doyle-related announcements, publishing updates, museum reports, events, subscriptions, and obituaries.
Article
Fire Damages Conan Doyle Pub in Edinburgh
The recently refurbished Conan Doyle public house in York Place, Edinburgh, suffered serious water damage following a fire which destroyed a four-storey tenement in mid-March. We understand that the pub has been closed until further notice
A Tale of Two Museums
The Arthur Conan Doyle Society and The Northern Musgraves (The Sherlock Holmes Society of the North of England) have recently supplied expertise to The Danson & Milne Partnership, the team of design consultants engaged on the installation of a Sherlock Holmes Museum for Granada Studios Tour in Manchester.
Christopher Roden, David Stuart Davies and Kathryn White were originally engaged to offer suggestions for the Museum's content but, as the project progressed, their involvement developed into selecting material for the showcases and writing the text for the exhibition.
The Museum, part of the new Sherlock Holmes Experience deals with Holmes — from creation to demise, and subsequent return — and has presented an ideal opportunity to highlight Conan Doyle as the creator and author of many other works.
Naturally, there have been budgetary constraints which dictated, to some extent, the final content of the Museum, but we believe that Granada now has an exhibit of which they can be justifiably proud and which will bring the real Sherlock Holmes, as opposed to the television image, before the visiting public. Granada has estimated that between 600,000 and 800,000 people visit the Studios Tour in any year, and the life span of the Museum is estimated at between seven and ten years. We suspect that they may be in for something of a surprise.
In any event, The Sherlock Holmes Museum in Manchester is the first of its kind in Britain and Granada are to be congratulated for taking the initiative.
A Tale of Two Museums (continued)... And now for something completely different...
Readers of this Journal may recall a report of a proposed Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker Street, which appeared in Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 72. It would appear that the proprietor of that particular establishment, Mr. John Aidiniantz, is making something of a name for himself in the Sherlockian world. So much so, in fact, that the latest edition of Baker Street Miscellanea (no. 63) contains a seven-page expose of the Sherlock Holmes Museum, complete with photographs, by Jean Upton.
"... Aidiniantz's lack of knowledge about Holmes and related subjects is immense, and his ferocious if very recent sense of proprietorship concerning Holmes and 221B is equally overwhelming. Entirely unaware of the existence of The Baker Street Journal, Baker Street Miscellanea, the Baker Street Irregulars, or the most basic and essential Sherlockian reference books, he nonetheless gives the impression of considering himself the undisputed authority on the subject of Sherlock Holmes and his domicile."
"Aidiniantz feels that all mail addressed to Holmes should be delivered to him, to be answered by the Museum, and he has gone so far as to have a rubber stamp made of Holmes' signature, reproduced from William S. Baring-Gould's book Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street, remarking slyly that he didn't think "the copyright people" would bother him."
The latter remark reminded me of a telephone call that I had from Mr. Aidiniantz one evening last winter: "Could I," he asked, "help him by providing the address of W. S. Baring-Gould, the author of the Annotated Sherlock Holmes?" I confess that I had some difficulty holding back the suggestion that A.C.D. himself might be better placed to answer that one!
What is disturbing is the report that Mr. Aidiniantz recently charged a group of Japanese businessmen some £9,000 for one of Sherlock Holmes' chairs. Caveat emptor!
Jean Upton concludes:
"London-bound Sherlockians will find far more satisfaction from a trip to the Sherlock Holmes Pub; there, the exhibit is free, and one can have a drink in a congenial atmosphere. If Victorian houses are of interest, the Dickens House is worth a visit, is only £150 for the tour, (the Baker Street Museum is £5 and reputed to be rising fast!) and has original manuscripts. In the long run, the "Sherlock Holmes Museum" is strictly for the die-hard Sherlockian who wants to say he's been everywhere, seen everything, and overheard everyone — no matter how cheapening and distasteful the experience."
Now, at least, Sherlockians have a choice and, with the added attraction that the Granada Sherlock Holmes Experience also includes the set of the T.V. series, it seems likely that many may prefer the visit to Manchester.
A Warm Welcome
I'm delighted to be able to report that John Mortimer, author, playwright and poet, creator of no less a character than the remarkable Horace Rumpole, has joined The Arthur Conan Doyle Society. Mr. Mortimer tells me: "I have the greatest admiration for Conan Doyle's life and works."
Followers of Mr. Mortimer's works will recall that he included mention of the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Copper Beeches within his own novel Summer's Lease. He has also featured the Oscar Slater case, with which Conan Doyle became involved, in his collection Famous Trials.
We warmly welcome Mr. Mortimer as a member and hope that his association with the Society will be a long and happy one.
Members of this Society, who are also Rumpole enthusiasts, may like to know that there is a Rumpole Society. For further information contact Bill Sears, 3187 Greenoak Court, San Mateo, CA 94403, U.S.A.
Conan Doyle Day
Sandra Dempsey of Granada Studios Tour, has advised us that Granada intends to hold a special celebration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday on May 22 this year.
The only information on planned activities to hand at the moment is that there will be a presentation of David Stuart Davies' one-act play Fixed Point - The Life and Death of Sherlock Holmes at some time during the late afternoon.
Should you require further information, please telephone 061-833-0880, and ask for Sandra.
Major Publishing Event
In the last issue of The Parish Magazine, we were able to report the exciting news that two original manuscripts had been deposited with Marylebone Library's Sherlock Holmes Collection.
I can now tell you that The Arthur Conan Doyle Society is joining with The City of Westminster, Marylebone Library to produce a facsimile of one of the manuscripts The Dying Detective.
Our Society's President, Mr. Julian Symons, has kindly agreed to write an introduction for this special edition which, it is hoped, will be launched in July this year.
There will be a de luxe edition, limited to one hundred copies and, in addition, a general edition is proposed. The Limited Edition will be dealt with strictly as orders are received.
For full details of the various editions, please see the publicity leaflet which is enclosed with this Journal.
Scottish Book Collector
Members may be interested to learn of Scottish Book Collector, an A4 magazine, published six times a year. Articles are oriented principally towards Scottish authors and books, and a future issue will include an article dealing with Arthur Conan Doyle. Subscription rates are £7 within the U.K., £12 for U.S. and Canada, £12.50 for Australasia. Subscribers are able to take advantage of the magazine's For Sale and Wanted columns free of charge. For further information, contact the Editor, Jennie Renton, at 11a Forth Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3LE.
Subscriptions 1991/92
Once again, it is time to remind members that subscriptions to The Arthur Conan Doyle Society fall due for renewal on 1 June 1991.
The quality which we aim for in our Journal is, inevitably, a drain on resources and various initiatives are underway which, it is hoped, will help to ensure that some of the costs of producing the Journal may be met from sources other than members' subscriptions.
A renewal reminder is enclosed with this copy of the Journal and, in order to keep postage costs and administrative time to a minimum, it would be appreciated if members would remit their subscriptions on this first reminder.
Valete
Anna Conan Doyle
It is with regret that we report the death in Geneva of Anna Conan Doyle, widow of Adrian Conan Doyle. Few details are available, but we wish to extend our sympathies to the family.
Sheila Redfern
Sheila died in early February following a short illness. She was the founder of The Priory Scholars — The Sherlock Holmes Society of Leicester, and will be remembered for her enthusiasm.
Michael Hardwick
A one-time enthusiastic Sherlockian, Michael Hardwick will be remembered for his many dramatisations for radio of the Sherlock Holmes stories. In addition, he produced Sherlockian reference books, notably The Sherlock Holmes Companion, later to be revised and reissued as The Complete Guide to Sherlock Holmes. Hardwick also wrote a number of Sherlockian pastiches, including Sherlock Holmes: My Life and Crimes, Prisoner of the Devil and The Revenge of The Hound. His potted biography of A.C.D. The Man who was Sherlock Holmes was a light biographical sketch which provided a useful short introduction to its subject and which also formed the basis for a radio documentary. Mr. Hardwick died on 4 March 1991.
Graham Greene
As this Journal is being prepared, we have learnt of the death of one of Britain's greatest modern writers, Graham Greene. The connection between Greene and Conan Doyle may not, immediately, be an obvious one; but it was Greene who provided an enlightening foreword for Green and Gibson's A Bibliography of A. Conan Doyle. He wrote:
- "I am not one of those who regard Doyle only as a detective writer. In some moods I prefer Brigadier Gerard to Holmes, and that dynamic figure Professor Challenger of The Lost World and The Poison Belt. His historic novels did not please me as a boy, but I appreciate them better now: Micah Clarke with the memorable portrait of the Duke of Monmouth and its anticipation in one scene of The Hound of the Baskervilles: The White Company and Sir Nigel and even The Refugees..."
Greene also contributed an introduction for the last John Murray edition of The Sign of Four.
- Article courtesy Christopher Roden, founder of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (1989-2003).
