So here's an update on an interesting goal I've been working towards. I adore the Calabash Press titles, and decided to "catch 'em all", to use a Pokemonian phrase. I also recognized that my NUMBER ONE GOAL of collecting all books published by the Baker Street Irregulars Press was a little naive and may not ever be achievable (more on how that is going in a future post). This is an update to my original post on Calabash Press which can be found here.
The first Calabash books that really caught my attention were the 'Case Files of Sherlock Holmes' series - four of which were published, each with a collection of essays on a Sherlock story. I am also an avid follower of David Stuart Davies' work, and after reading 'The Tangled Skein' I made the connection that these wonderful books were being published by the same place (though am embarrassed to admit I'm not into vampire stories).
As I looked into other Calabash titles, I found it difficult to find more information. Based on the books published, Calabash published from around 1996-2004, were "Publishers of fine books on matters related to Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle", and it was run by Christopher & Barbara Roden. I worked through library catalogs such as Toronto and Minnesota to build a list of all published titles, and expanded that (though not shown here) to attempt to identify which were published in hardcover, which in softcover, and which in both.
Sourcing the books in the list has of course not been straightforward. Some could be purchased immediately, but at great cost, but I've been searching patiently for reasonable prices, and am close to having a complete set. I did buy one book at a high price (well, for me it was high!) - believing I'd never see it again - and of course the lesson was that someone else was selling a much cheaper copy a week later. I'm very thankful to Chris Roden for helping me source some volumes.
My collection is not complete! There is still one volume that I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting to purchase when an affordable copy is available, and being the completist that I am doomed to be, there are publications where I do not yet have both the HC and SC copies. But I'm almost there!
Below is a list of titles I've identified published by Calabash, and I'd appreciate any suggestions relating to errors. I've divided the list for convenience into Sherlockian titles, and Pastiche titles. I have to confess to having little patience for pastiches (though there are a few exceptions to that rule), but nevertheless I'm gathering all of them. I've divided this description into two sections - one for the serious studies, and one for the fiction.
Calabash Press - the Sherlockian and Doylean titles
The Case Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Musgrave Ritual, Roden, Christopher & Barbara, 1996: Collected essays on various aspects of the Holmes short story.
The Great Shadow: Arthur Conan Doyle, Brigadier Gerard, and Napoleon, Clifford S. Goldfarb, 1997: It is the argument of Goldfarb that during the great hiatus Doyle created his second most memorable character, Brigadier Etienne Gerard. A faithful adherent to Napoleon Bonaparte, and a man as gallant in the boudoir as on the battlefield, Gerard appears in 15 short stories in the Strand Magazine, later gathered in two collections, The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard (1896) and The Adventures of Gerard (1903).
Canonical quizzes from the bootbox : twenty-five years of puzzles from the Bootmakers of Toronto, Gibson, Brian Neil. ; Roden, Barbara. ; Sanders, David. ; Wrigglesworth, Doug., 1997: The quizzes range from multiple choice through to crossword puzzles and word-searches, and are a fun way to find out how much you really do know about Sherlock Holmes and his adventures.
The Baker Street File, Cox, Michael, 1997 (reprinted in 2002): A guide to the appearance and habits of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson specially prepared for the Granada Television series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
The Case Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band, Roden, Christopher & Barbara, 1997: Collected essays on various aspects of the Holmes short story.
Sidelights on Holmes, Hall, John, 1998: A collection of Sherlockian essays.
The Case Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Dying Detective, Roden, Christopher & Barbara, 1998: Collected essays on various aspects of the Holmes short story.
The Canonical Compendium, Clarkson, Stephen, 1999: Comprising a Topical Index of places, people, events, and items appearing in the Sherlockian Canon, in 80 categories and 144 subcategories, together with sixty different Story Indexes, one for each of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
The Case Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Carbuncle, Roden, Christopher & Barbara, 1999: Collected essays on various aspects of the Holmes short story.
Hot on the scent : a visitor's guide to the London of Sherlock Holmes, Alexander, Arthur M., 1999: A guide book to Sherlockian locations in London.
The Transcendent Holmes, Montgomery, John Warwick., 2000: A collection of Sherlockian essays.
Out of the shadows : the untold story of Arthur Conan Doyle's first family, Doyle, Georgina, 2004: Drawing on a storehouse of letters and diaries left by John Doyle, the author provides a detailed account of the period of ACD's life with his first wife Louise Conan Doyle and their children.
Violets & Vitriol: Essays About Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle, S. E. Dahlinger, 2004: The first collection of Sherlockian (and Doylean) essays penned entirely by women.
'I am inclined to think...' : musings on Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle, Roden, Barbara, 2004: A collection of nine articles about Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, and that wondrous world where it is always 1895.
The Horror Of The Heights: A Facsimile Of The Author's Holograph Manuscript With Commentary, Arthur Conan Doyle and Phil Bergem, 2004: As the title suggests, this facsimile copy of the non-Sherlock short story is accompanied by a transcription and commentary.
Calabash Press - the Pastiche and related fiction titles
Absolute discretion, Eustace, Grant, 1997: At Langston Park House, the home of the Earl of Warminster, a visitor is expected — this particular visitor is a young Oxford student who calls himself Vernet, who has been asked to make some delicate inquiries about the Earl's family. Vernet's arrival, which coincides with a search in the area for an Army deserter, proves to be the catalyst for a chain of events which solves mysteries and uncovers secrets — but also leads several people to their deaths.
Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes, Smith, Denis O., 1997: Holmes pastiches by "one of the finest modern practitioners of the Sherlock Holmes story."
Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes - Volume 2, Smith, Denis O., 1998: Holmes pastiches by "one of the finest modern practitioners of the Sherlock Holmes story."
The scroll of the dead : a Sherlock Holmes adventure, David Stuart Davies, 1998: Holmes attends a seance to unmask an impostor posing as a medium, Sebastian Melmoth, a man hell-bent on obtaining immortality after the discovery of an ancient Egyptian papyrus. It is up to Holmes and Watson to stop him and avert disaster.
The tangled skein, David Stuart Davies, 1998: Holmes receives a potentially lethal package, the first strand in the tangled skein. A threat to Holmes' life, murders on Hampstead Heath, and a strange phantom lady lead Holmes and Watson into the most dangerous investigation they have ever undertaken - an encounter which brings them face to face with Count Dracula.
The abominable wife and other unrecorded cases of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Hall, John, 1998: Holmes pastiches.
As it might have been : a collection of Sherlockian parodies from unlikely sources, Adey, Robert., 1998: The thirty-eight short stories in this collection originally appeared in various, mostly obscure, papers and magazines dating back to 1893.
The shadow of the rat : a Sherlock Holmes adventure, David Stuart Davies, 1999: Detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr Watson face one of their most challenging cases to stopping the Great Rat of Sumatra from spreading plague throughout Britain.
Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes - Volume Three, 1999: Holmes pastiches by "one of the finest modern practitioners of the Sherlock Holmes story."
A notable interlude, Capes, Bernard, 1999: Sherlockian short story first published by Capes (1854-1918) in 1907, republished to celebrate the birthday of Mr Sherlock Holmes. Introduction by Jack Adrian.
Sherlock Holmes-- the last act!, David Stuart Davies, 1999: Script of a one-man play that premiered in 1999 at Salisbury. It is 1914 and Holmes has just returned to Baker Street from Watson’s funeral and he feels compelled to tell his absent friend all that he should have told him when he was alive.
Knight errant : the singular adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Rubino, Jane, 2000: A collection of new Sherlock Holmes mystery cases reveals the mysterious tidbits of information that Dr. Watson never disclosed.
The irregular casebook of Sherlock Holmes, Weighell, Ron, 2000: In THE IRREGULAR CASEBOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, we encounter five cases which test Holmes's powers to the limit; strange and bizarre cases involving forces that are not of this world.
A Julian Symons Sherlockian Duet, Symons, Julian, 2000: Two short stories written by the author and former ACD Society President.
Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes - Volume Four, Smith, Denis O., 2002: Holmes pastiches by "one of the finest modern practitioners of the Sherlock Holmes story."
The questionable parentage of Basil Grant, Broster, D. K, 2004: First published in 1905. As detectives Lang and Logan try to discover the family history of their twin-brother clients, an uexpected visitor, the sister of Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes, provides the necessary but startling facts they need.
So what don't I have?
Well, first it might be clear from the photograph above that I'm collecting both softcover and hardcover editions of all Calabash publications, where relevant. So there's an element of filling gaps in the collecting task.
I still need to find hardcover editions of the first two Smith pastiche volumes and Ron Weighell's irregular casebook.
The volume I still need to find is Barbara Roden's collection of Sherlockian essays.
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