Sunday, January 14, 2024

My Musgrave Monograph monomania - second version

This is a second updated version of my post on the Musgrave Monograph series. It includes some extra information and covers of all monographs I've been able to source. The first versino of the post can be found here: https://221bcooee.blogspot.com/2023/10/my-musgrave-monograph-monomania.html


My favorite scion publications come from the Northern Musgraves. Sadly, the Musgraves wound down 15 years before I discovered Sherlockiana. There were two primary periodicals published by the Northern Musgraves. The first was a regular newsletter called "The Ritual", and the second an 'annual' titled "The Musgrave Papers". Both publications contain absolutely outstanding Sherlockian articles, and many issues can easily be purchased on sites such as eBay.

There were a number of other Northern Musgraves publications. My favorites are the "Musgrave Monograph" series. Each publication is a short monograph on a single topic. While visiting New York I was lucky enough to spot a copy of the first Monograph at Otto Penzler's Mysterious Bookshop, and have now added a photograph. Please let me know about errors or other information you might have for this list - I've cobbled the list below together and have not found a complete list anywhere including in Northern Musgraves publications. The Northern Musgraves publications do carry announcements and reviews of the Monographs and I'll add some of that information. 

The Musgrave Monograph Series as currently determined.

Musgrave Monograph Number OnePacing The Musgrave Ritual, Carol Whitlam, 1990. Fifty copies issued.


{No picture of cover found}

Musgrave Monograph Number TwoDiving down into the cellar : uses of photography in the canon, Matthew Booth, 1991. This cover image was provided by Matthew Booth, and is the original artwork by Kathryn White (one of the co-presidents of The Northern Musgraves).


Musgrave Monograph Number Three"Ready when you are, Mr. Rathbone" : a review of the Universal Holmes films, Roger Johnson, 1995.

Musgrave Monograph Number Four'I looked in at Mecca ...': an insight into Sherlock Holmes' visit to Mecca, Anne Jordan, 1993. Reviewed in 'The Ritual' No 12 (Autumn 1993): "Anne divides her monograph into two sections: why Holmes might have wanted to visit Mecca, and, having arrived there, what he would have discovered... maps and illustrations are included in the text".

Musgrave Monograph Number Five140 different varieties : a review of tobacco in the Canon, John Hall, 1994. Reviewed in 'The Ritual' No 14 (Autumn 1994): "John Hall has managed to pull together all references to smoking, tobacco and other related topics in the Canon with consumate skill... there is also background information about the social attitudes to and practice of smoking, along with sections on Holmes the smoker, Matches, Snuff, Transport and Storage. 

Musgrave Monograph Number Six. The Misadventure of the Sherlock Holmes Pilot. An account of the making of the first pilot film for a Sherlock Holmes television series. Richard Launcelyn Green. 

Musgrave Monograph Number Seven. Some knowledge of Baritsu: An investigation of the Japanese system of wrestling used by Sherlock Holmes, Hirayama Yuichi and John Hall, 1996. Reviewed in 'The Ritual' No 19 (Spring 1997): "Two leading Sherlockian writers.... review the various fighting techniques of jujitsu, bujutsu, aikido, sumo, bartitsu, and judo, and the influence of Japanese wrestling in Victorian London.... The monograph begins with a consideration of the possibility that Holmes may have visited Japan".

Musgrave Monograph Number Eight. Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle and the British Empire : an investigation into Conan Doyle's links with the British Empire as expressed through his Sherlockian and other literature, Jeffrey Richards, 1997.


Musgrave Monograph Number Nine. 221 BBC : writing for the world's first complete dramatised canon : (with some observations upon previous radio appearances of Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson), Bert Coules, 1998. Reviewed in 'The Ritual' No 23 (Spring 1999): "His account begins with a thoughtful analysis of the radio careers of Holmes and Watson both in Britain and America up to the time of his own involvement. This began in 1987... Coules proceeds to give us a revealing and instructive insight into the making of radio plays."


Musgrave Monograph Number TenThe somnambulist and the detective : Vincent Starrett and Sherlock Holmes, Susan Rice, 2000. Reviewed in 'The Ritual' No 27 (Spring 2001): "Rice has provided a fine overview of {Starrett's} five major Sherlockian works.... there are also assessments of Starrett's involvement in Chicago scions.... the monograph is rounded off by a comprehensive, if not exhaustive, Starrett bibliography".



NOT A MONOGRAPH

I'll also add a few publications here from Musgrave Monographs that are also chapbooks, but turn out to be one-off publications, rather than part of the 'Musgrave Monograph' series.



Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow of the Wolf. Ron Weighell, 1992. This is a pastiche, rather than a Sherlockian study. From Wikipedia: "In 1992, the Northern Musgraves... invited Weighell to produce a story for their ‘Aspects of Holmes’ weekend. The positive reception of The Shadow of the Wolf, read out at the society's annual dinner."

{No picture of cover found}

Guilty of several monographs : the published writings of Mr. Sherlock Holmes. John Hall, 1996. Given that other number is accounted for, it is possible this title was not part of the Monograph series.


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