Some historical points related to Watson's Tin Box

I've been going through a few activities to capture some documents and history from the early years of Watson's Tin Box of Ellicott City MD. I'm currently Gasogene, but that will come to an end in the New Year after about 2 years. 

As I mentioned in my summary of our August meeting, that I would ask our wonderful speaker Kem if he would record his talk. 

Kem White received his first copy of "The Complete Sherlock Holmes" as a 16th birthday present during the first Nixon administration. He has been an avid Sherlockian ever since. Kem was Gasogene I of Watson's Tin Box and is one of the scion's founding members along with Paul Churchill, Steve and Mary Clarkson, and Rod McCaslin. He is Napoleon 187 in the Six Napoleons of Baltimore. Kem has participated in many "Saturdays with Sherlock Holmes" at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library, including the very first in 1980. Kem has lived in Howard County for more than 45 years and recently retired from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory where, to the best of his knowledge, he was the only Sherlockian on staff.

Kem's talk was titled "The Early Years of Watson's Tin Box." Kem describes the origins of how WTB was founded, how Kem came to be the first Gasogene (they drew straws!), found the right venue, why we meet on Mondays (it was the quietest night at restaurants), and so much more.

You can access Kem's presentation at this link:

https://youtu.be/Eresx9Gw48w?si=FuX6nYMMSc5lx-zl

A particularly touching moment in the talk was this quote from Steve Clarkson - there is no lesser Sherlockian - I love this quote. 

In the video following Kem's talk, I read out a document I recently scanned. It's a letter sent from Paul Churchill (Vernet) to Steve Clarkson as the new scion was formulated. The letter is folded with a wax seal.

THE GAME'S AFOOT

Persons intrigued by and devoted to the Sherlock Holmes canon who may be interested in the formation of a club of like-minded individuals are encouraged to write to Vernet, c/o Churchill, 9211 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21234. The club, as yet unnamed, would be open to adult applicants regardless of gender, race, creed or national or-igin. Although members are sought primarily from the Central Maryland region, all potential applicants are encouraged to write and state their interests, intentions, and preferences for monthly meeting times and dates.

Meețings will consist of a social gathering and dinner, followed by a spirited discussion of one of the sixty sacred writings which will have been previously announced. The era of gaslamps, Victorian London, hansom cabs, and steam power will live again.

- Emile Horace Vernet

And this response from Ateve Clarkson is included:

August 2, 1989

M. Vernet: I write in haste to advise that notice of our conspiracy has been duly mailed to The Times, The Courier, The Post-Dispatch, and the Howard County Sun. Be advised that our clique (cabal?) henceforth is known as a 'society', not 'club'. More follows, in Porlock's code. P.S. advise when annotated is at hand. Your humble servant, Morse Hudson.

A search at sites like newspapers.com have not yet revealed any examples of advertisements yet - but I'll keep searching! 

I've also been working with quite a few past members to create a list of presentations given at WTB meetings since inceptions. To achieve this, I looked through the Gasogene email list (which goes back to around 2014 with quite a few gaps), and also asked all prior living Gasogenes whether they had records or memory of the presentations during their tenure. Special thanks for former Gasogenes and members with records to date - Dana Richards, Jaime Mahoney, Andy Solberg, Pat Ruth, Evelyn Herzog, Karen Wilson and Brent Morris. Peter Blau also has some records so the list may expand.

The talks: Over time, programming and announcements for WTB meetings varied. In the first decade or so, meeting announcements were sent by physical mail, and upcoming presentations were rarely announced for each month’s meeting, and in many cases the presentations on record were sourced from meeting summaries following the meeting ("thanks to X for presenting on Y"). By the year 2000, many members received an email announcement, and upcoming presentations were more regularly announced, but there remain a number of gaps in the records. 

About 449 meetings have taken place since the first official meeting in March 1990. Kem White confirmed to me that a scholarly talk was not a routine part of meeting agendas in the early years, so the number of meetings with talks may be quite a bit lower. So far, we've collected almost 200 talks!! I have some work to do with other papers, and the search will continue!

Of the subset of data I have to date, the three most regular speakers are: 
Andrew Solberg — 12
Deborah Clark — 12
Dana Richards — 10

I a confident these numbers will evolve as extra presentations are identified!

Across the years, talks have covered an impressively broad range of Sherlockian scholarship, from readings of individual Canon stories, characters, textual commentary, and Conan Doyle himself to explorations of Victorian history, culture, science, crime, fashion, food, music, and social customs. There is also a strong tradition of looking at Holmes beyond the Canon, including films, television, novels & pastiches, food, games, podcasts, and even connections to subjects such as Star Trek.

Finally, I've been trying to identify other records that can be digitized for posterity, and for members to see.

Early quizes and Mycroft quizes up till around 2010 had been collected in a folder by Beth Austin, which Greg Ruby now has. Greg has lent the folder to me, and I'm scanning all the materials, which I hope will be online some day. Along with the quizzes are some other material from the annual Mycroft day such as menus and meeting reports:

One fun item I found came from the meeting report for the SECOND Mycroft meeting in 1992, giving us a little insight into Paul's active development of evidence boxes:

Gasogene II Paul Churchill is still at work putting together a poor-man's version of a museum. To date he has acquired a gasogene, a tantalus, an 1881 copy of the Times, Inverness cape and deerstalker, some Swan vestas, various hats, a violin, an 1878 Scott revolver, a couple of period syringes, some coins and stamps of the time, the brass box from the Five Orange pips, several letters from the cases, the silver cigarette case and the note to Watson, the actual blue carbuncle and the tag from the goose, the box with the sliding lid cmoplete with parchment ritual, wooden peg, twine, brass key and discoloured metal discs, a Persian slipper, coal scuttle, a tarnished cylinder with the handwritten account of the Gloria Scott, a snuff box with a giant amethyst in the centre of the lid, a signet ring with brilliant, a yellow cardboard box of honeydew tobacco filled with rock salt and two disgusting objects, a piece of cardboard on which is written V.V. 341 (hard to read because of some severe staining), the note Jabez Wilson found affixed to the door, and a bottle marked Radix Pedis Diaboli. He also has three leaves from a copper beech tree. 

Delightful.

Watson's Tin Box meeting summary - August 17, 2026

On the third Monday of each month, the Watson's Tin Box of Ellicott City scion meets at Union Jack's in Columbia MD and we gathered August 17 for another great gathering of members - THIRTY ONE in total (a record post COVID I believe). As always I took a census of where people were attending from FIVE states/districts: Frederick MD won the competition for most attendees with five people - we also had visitors from places includgin: Southern PA, Gambrils, Bowie, Columbia, Bellcamp, Fort Meade, Ellicott City, Silver Spring, Frederick, Washington DC, Gaithersburg, Woodstock, Fort Meade, Bear DE, Sandy Spring, Baltimore, and Fairfax VA. 

We welcomed another first-time visitor, Heather Dertsbaugh! We also welcomed back member Debbie Belchis after a long hiatus (pre-COVID, we think).

Our server was Michaela, who (as tradition dictates) was presented with a volume of Sherlock Holmes stories. The story of the meeting was 'The Devil's Foot'.... but we always start with toasts. I offered up a toast to 'The Woman', and Tom Fahres brought an 'extra' Haiku for 'The Woman':

Brenda Tregennis
Will always be “The Woman”
To Doctor Sterndale

Liane Luini offered her 'traditional second toast'. This time, she sourced it from The Sherlock Holmes Scrapbook edited by Peter Haining (1974) - and it was a very appropriate one:

I present to you one Dr. Sterndale,
Whose adventures were storied and many;
Called Leon, his friends would regale – 
Or would, shall we say, had he any. 

For he lived in a manner most solit’ry 
Hunting lions abroad all his life, 
Returning to Cornwall occasion’ly 
To the woman he wished was his wife. 

But sweet Brenda was slain by her brother. 
Roundhay’s wire reached Sterndale in time. 
Abiding his own law – no other – 
He enacted a vengeance sublime. 

The Devil’s Foot Root provided, they say, 
The revenge for which his soul cried. 
The Great Explorer cornered his prey, 
And Tregennis: “My God! How he died!” 

I’ll not recount this whole terrible tale, 
A tragedy steeped in Cornish gore. 
The details – the Horrors – would leave you all pale, 
And possibly you may have heard it before. 

So a toast now to Leon Sterndale 
Who dealt Justice, I’m sure you’ll agree; 
Whom Watson and Holmes would not denounce, 
And nor, I imagine, would we. 

Tom Fahres then delivered his traditional Haiku for the story - this month for Abbey Grange:

Devil’s Foot did in

Tregennises: Tregenni?

Holmes, Watson survived

Next came Announcements

• Liane Luini reminded everyone that we are now accepting submissions for the 2027 Irene's Cabinet. Copies of Irene's Cabinet are selling for $10 - and we mail.
• The DC Whiskey and Sodality meeting will again take place on Sunday, September 13th, 2 pm at Shelly's Back Room, 1331 F Street NW. Contact Terry McCammon for details.
• Andy Solberg announced that the 47th Annual "Saturday With Sherlock Holmes" at the Pratt Library will be held Saturday, November 14th from 10:30 to 1:00. 
• Olivia Millunzi shared that the play 'Clue' (based on the movie) will be performed at the Hipodrome, Baltimore on January 23 & 24.
• Michelle march presented to Tom Fahres on behalf of the Maryland Unit of the 221st Southumberland Waffleers a new guidon she created. I want to be fully transparent - I didn't know what a guidon is - it's a small swallow-tailed or rectangular flag carried by military units to show their specific branch and unit identity. So I guess the Waffleers are arming up!
  
• Tom Fahres shared a save-the-date for  Friday Oct 23 for the MoCo Maryland Mullusk Masticaters SPODE. Details to follow. 
• The next meeting of the Red Circle of Washington DC will be held on Saturday, October 3 at J. Hollinger's in Silver Spring. The speaker will be Julie McKuras coming from Minnesota, and details can be found at www.redcircledc.org
• Peter Blau has also announced that tickets are now on sale for Mark Shanahan's popular play "A Sherlock Carol" at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg.  There will be a  do-it-yourself theater party and Red Circle meeting on Sunday, December 6.  Purchase your own tickets, and the group will then gather somewhere nearby for drinks afterwards. You can purchase your tickets at the Arts Barn web-site.
  
• Greg Ruby shared details of the upcoming Six Napoleons of Baltimore 80th Anniversary dinner, and other events taking place on the same weekend. The dinner is ​​Friday, September 25, 2026 at the Baltimore Club. The next day there will be Breakfast at Dooby's, Sherlockians of Baltimore luncheon, and The Black Pearls of the Borgias SPODE dinner. A big weekend in Baltimore! All the details here or contact Greg Ruby.
• I announced that Watson's Tin Box will be displaying the Six Napoleons Evidence Box at the dinner, to add to the occasion.
• I also announced that we are working hard to compile a list of all presentations at Watsons Tin Box meetings. Members (including many living past Gasogenes) have been helpful in diving into their archives. Dana Richards brought along a huge folder of records for me to work through. The list of talks to date can be found here.
• Finally, Evy Herzog brought along gifts - some Edgar Allen Poe items she and her husband John Baesch collected over the years. These Edgars (and ravens) have new homes.

Debbie Clark presented the evidence box for Devil's Foot to an attentive audience:

The evidence display on the evening, and some examples of the evidence:

Left: Pictured is a newspaper account concerning the Tregennis family disaster. The article states there is absolutely no explanation of what the horror can be which has frightened a woman to death and two strong men out of their senses. Right: Pictured is the telegram from Holmes to Watson, suggesting he write up and publish the story of the Cornish horror.

Of course, pictured is the envelope marked POISON containing Radis Pedis Diaboli powder.

Left: Pictured is Cornish for Beginners and Etymology of Cornish Surnames, used by Holmes as part of his study of the Cornish Language. Right: Pictured is the lamp which sat on the table where the Tregennis were playing cards. The talc shield is not shown here - but is in the photo on the table below.

Members checking out the evidence during a break in the meeting.

Our discussion of the story was highly enjoyable. Lorraine Clarke described how she leveraged her doctoral expertise in botany to investigate the likely plant that was the source of Devil's Foot. We wondered how lion-hunting could be a career. It was pointed out that this is the second story in a row where Holmes took the law into his own hands. In this case, Holmes had given the police access to all the clues he had to solve it themself. 

Our very special esteemed presenter for this meeting was Kem White, with a talk titled "The Early Years of Watson's Tin Box." Kem received his first copy of "The Complete Sherlock Holmes" as a 16th birthday present during the first Nixon administration and has been an avid Sherlockian ever since. Kem was Gasogene I of Watson's Tin Box and is one of the scion's founding members, is Napoleon 187 in the Six Napoleons of Baltimore, and presented at the very first "Saturdays with Sherlock Holmes" at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library in 1980.

Kem kept the audience entranced as they had an opportunity to hear about the origins of how WTB was founded, how Kem came to be the first Gasogene (they drew straws!), found the right venue, why we meet on Mondays (it was the quietest night at restaurants), and so much more. I'm going to record Kem presenting the slides for posterity and post on Youtube.

And so, we moved to the final traditions of the evening - collecting payment for our meals, and trivia. Michelle March created two wonderful t-shirt stencil designs for quiz prizes based on the story of the evening. This design was very popular - ''Tregennis Heating and Ventilation".

Olivia Millunzi again created a wonderful trivia quiz.... and here 'tis. Our quiz winners (dead tie) were Tom Hill and ??.

What a great meeting!!

Visiting The Strand.... Arcade and other Sydney miscellania

I've been to Sydney twice during this American summer of 2026, and picked up some tit-bits to share. They aren't necessarily all Sherlockian, but are close....

When one hears the phrase "The Strand 1891", the mind immediately leaps to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. In Sydney, walk along the first road in Sydney - George Street - and look up and you'll read exactly that:

This delightful Victorian facade sits above the entrance to the beautiful Strand Arcade - walk through the arcade to Pitt Street at the other end and a similar view awaits: 

 

To walk through the Strand Arcade today is to step into 1895. It even has some of the stores one might expect in 1895 - a hat store, jeweler, watch and clock store, a cobbler, and more. The Strand Arcade was named after the famous London street - "London's smartest theatre, hotel and shopping street".

So next time you are in Sydney, step into The Strand of 1891. 

 

Here's an interesting advert placed in The Daily Telegraph in Sydney on Mon 30 May1898. The advertisement can be found at least five times in papers:

 

And here is another from The Sydney Morning Herald  on Sat 25 Jun 1898:

It would be wonderful to know who this private detective was. A mystery, but one that means Sherlock Holmes had a mailing address here at Sydney's General Post Office in Martin Place:

The University of Sydney's Chau Chak Wing Museum brings together treasures from a number of collections, including its archaeological collection.

Among items in display is a stele discovered at an Egyptian site. A stele is an upright stone, taller than it is wide, used in the ancient world as a monument, grave marker, or legal notice.

The item description notes that the object was discovered by Sir Max Mallowan. What the description does not state - but I think it should - is that Max is better known as the husband of the far more accomplished golden age mystery author Agatha Christie. Was Agatha with Max when this stele was discovered?

"This stele was discovered in the throne room of King Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud. Its cuneiform inscription glorifies the king's conquests and public works. It is one of four tablets, carved with the same inscription and hidden within the palace walls. Why hide such fine stele? He probably hoped they would be discovered  when future rulers came to renovate the palace, and so glorify his name forever. Sir Max Mallowan discovered this stele in 1950. It was sent to the Australian Institute of Archaeology in Melbourne, who part-sponsored the dig...."

Speaking of 1895, the R.M. Williams store has been making footwear and clothing (usually associated with horse-riding and farming) since 1932. Among the women's boot range is the Moriarty. 

This one is just a great story - with a tiny connection Doylean connection (there's always one).... Doyle commented on the spiritualist connection to the death of Lord Carnarvon following the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb, and Bertram Fletcher Robinson's earlier death that was also associated with Egyptology. It also connects through Lord Carnarvon to the very popular Downton Abbey.

But really it's just a great story and could be used in a mystery novel plot....

Shabti and model-coffin, for Senseneb, mother of Tetiky

The reason the University of Sydney has these items makes for a great tale. This is the transcript from the item description (and you can read a longer article about it here):

From Highclere to Sydney

In the decades before the sensational discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, Lord Carnarvon had funded many other excavations in Egypt's Theban Valley. The shabti, a figurine magically charged with assisting the deceased in the afterlife, had been discovered in 1908 when Carnarvon excavated a tomb dated to the reign of Ahmose (c1550-1525 BC), the first Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. The lavishly decorated chambers revealed the name of the owner, Tetiky, an important administrator. At the entrance to the central burial shaft, four nices contained eight mummiform shabti with golden faces, each with their own model coffin....

Lord Carnarvon died days after the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1923, of a septic mosquito bite rather than of the 'Mummy's Curse' as claimed by the press of the day. His successor, the 6th Earl did not share his father's passion for Egypt nor the many objects taken back to the grand family estate, Highclere Castle (the setting of Downton Abbey). The ambivalence might explain how some of the precious artefacts, including this shabti, were accidentally left in a cupboard sold at auction in London around 1926. The purchaser, Maximillian Preston, alerted the auction house to the forgotten trove, and was rewarded for his honesty with a gift of this shabti. Preston's descendants migrated to Australia, and the tale of this remarkable shabti has been passed down through the family, who took care of the item for nearly 100 years, before donating it to the Nicholson Collection in 2021.

 

Spotted at a bookstore in Newtown - going to need this set at some stage: