A Lauriston Garden of Verses, and Will Ransom, and random book luck

I've been updating my recent post on Edgar W. Smith's ouvre and the products of his 'Pamphlet House' press. 

In looking into this I picked up a copy of 'A Laurison Garden of Verses' by Helene Yuhasova. Summit, N.J.: The Pamphlet House, 1946, but printed at the Thorneycroft Press of Summit, NJ. p. [15]. Limited to 250 copies. 

Bruce Harris provided the images shown on that blog post and it's in great condition. My copy looks like it was dragged through a garden. Nevertheless, it was being sold at a scientist-friendly price. 

When I glanced at the inside rear wrapper, I spied a small private library stamp: Will Ransom Library Record. No. 3347, From E.W. Smith. Rec'd 10/27/48.

Who is Will Ransom? 

Will Ransom (1878-1955) was a designer of typefaces and other graphic, but also well known as a collector and bibliographer of private presses - a historian of printing. Ransom's notebooks and correspondence were organized prior to his death and donated to the Newberry Library - an independent research library in Chicago. The library has several of Smith's publications in its holdings. So as the operator of a private press, Smith was likely in touch with Ransom, and perhaps correspondence between them exists in the Ransom collection at Newberry.

What a nice find.

----------

A kind of neat circular feature of Smith's book 'Baker Street Inventory' is that he includes in the list of published bibliographies, the very book in which it is published: "The present bibliography". I've never seen that before - talk about being up-to-date at the time of printing!

------- 

As a side-note, Smith has been on my mind, and yesterday my mind led me to Second Story books in Rockville. There in the little Sherlock section they have, I picked up a non-Sherlockian book by Doyle - 'Rodney Stone'.

Opening it up, what do I see find...... 

-----------

And finally, in non-Smith book luck, I recently purchased one of Arthur Morrison's stories on the detective Martin Hewitt - 'The Red Triangle'. Beautiful cover, but on opening this cheap book I was thrilled to find Vincent Starrett's owner's signature inside!

'

Watson's Tin Box meeting summary - September 15, 2025

Each third Monday of the month, the Watson's Tin Box of Ellicott City scion meets - and we gathered on Monday September 15 for another great gathering of members - 22 in total. This included several first-time attendees, and some who haven't visited in a long time.

The story of the meeting was The Adventure of the Golden Pince Nez.

After introductions (we AGAIN had more attendees from Frederick MD than anywhere else, and visitors from THREE states/districts including PENNSYLVANIA), we moved to the toasts. 

After a traditional toast to The Woman, Liane Luini shared a wonderful poem on 'brain fever' - in the form of a toast. This was published in Irene's Cabinet Volume 8, 2010 - which of course like all issues is available digitized at our site.

'A Medical Minute, circa 1895'
April Curnow, Gasogene XXI

Whenever someone’s found to be 
Showing signs of lunacy, 
The sufferer’s most probably 
Afflicted with brain-fever.

Delirium or sudden rage, 
Bad nerves, an incoherent stage, 
Disorder nothing can assuage –
These all point to brain-fever.

And if the patient’s sore oppressed 
He’ll lie abed six weeks at best, 
For nothing else but calm and rest 
Will serve to treat brain-fever.

’Twas Alice Rucastle’s sad plight. 
Her father plagued her day and night 
To sign away her legal rights, 
Until she got brain-fever.

When Percy Phelps went half insane 
With fits and raging, cries of pain, 
To one and all his case was plain:
He suffered from brain-fever.

This ailment’s so imprecise
Most any symptom will suffice.
On Harley Street they don’t think twice – 
“Poor devil’s got brain-fever.”

The doctors have the final word. 
Disputing them would be absurd. 
The diagnosis most preferred 
Is certainly brain-fever.

This toast was followed by the traditional Haiku for the story was delivered by Tom Fahres:

    French Titled story
    Of dysfunctional Russians
    Playing hide and seek.

We then moved on to Announcements. It was agreed that I would try and capture meeting announcements in my blog summary.... so here we go! By the way, if you're looking for things to do - you can keep track of all Sherlockian events at.... http://www.sherlockiancalendar.com/ 

• Save the date, Thursday Oct 23 - the Maryland SPODE to meet for Happy Hour in Montgomery County. Location and time TBA.
• The Red Circle of Washtington DC has announced its 75th Anniversary celebrations, featuring the U.S. Premiere of three restored Eille Norwood "Silent Sherlock" films and a Celebration Dinner. Keep track on the Red Circle web site for more details.
• The Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes (ASH) will hold their fall (autumn) luncheon in New York City on Saturday, November 8.
• There is lots of info at https://www.sherlockbaltimore.com/ about the upcoming weekend of activities in Baltimore on the weekend of September 26/27. This includes the Six Napoleons of Baltimore dinner on Friday 26th at the Maryland Club (Steve Doyle will be the guest speaker) ; the Sherlockians of Baltimore luncheon will be held on Saturday, September 27 at Sabatino's restaurant in Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood ; and the Black Pearls of the Borgias SPODE dinner will be held Saturday, September 27th. 
• Coming in November is the 46th Annual 'Sherlock Holmes at the Pratt Free Library' - more information will be coming soon, and it will include presentations from several members of WTB.
• The new series of the Rosenbach Library (Philadelphia) 'Biblioventures' has been announced - returning on September 27 is the Sherlock Monthly series. It's free to register, and the first story will be... 'Golden Pince Nez'. 

Following announcements, we stood on the terrace for Ken McQuage BSI .Ewy Herzog spoke about Ken, and her attendance at his memorial. Ken was an occasional attendee at WTB meetings, as well as the Six Napoleons (Baltimore) and the Red Circle (DC). M. Kenneth McQuage was invested into the BSI as "The Plumstead Marshes" in 1989, published Sherlockian articles, was an attendee at the annual dinner at the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, and even created a Sherlockian weathervane!

Ken McQuage BSI

Jacquelynn Morris then presented the Evidence Box on behalf of Debbie Clark, and moved us toward our discussion on the story of the evening - the Golden Pinze Nez. The items were laid out. A reminder that you can browse the Evidence Box items at our website, but here are some photos of the laid-out evidence. What do you recognize from the story?

 

I'll let you think about the lemon..... and I am glad i managed a photo of the eponymous eyewear!

The discussion of the story was wide-ranging. The story opens with the wonderful description of 'three massive volumes' for 1894 - very 'Tin-Boxian', and mentions of so many stories I wish I could read. I have to say, I do love a story with a MAP, so this one always pleases, even if the truth is that the design of the home leaves a lot to be desired. And does anyone have coconut matting on their hallways? And what is the difference between a vial and a phial?

We wondered why pince nez aren't around any more, and it was suggested that they cause stigmatism. We discussed what Russian events led to the nihilists being jailed as they were, what gulag were they in, and when exactly would all this have taken place in the past (we know the story occurred in 1894). If the wife you sold out turned up in your bedroom having murdered your secretary, would you hide her? And can you really smoke 4 cigarettes an hour, for 18 hours a day, every day, and be alive? All this was discussed. Last but most certainly not least we discussed a chapter written by Jacquelynn Morris in the BSI Manuscript Series book on this story - in which  Jacquelynn analyzed the possible poison used by Anna and discovered that she may well have not died!

We then moved on to our guest for the evening. Travis Shick, of the White Rose Irregulars of PA drove all the way from Reading PA for the evening to deliver his talk entitled "The sign of ... FORE! The intersection of Sherlock Holmes and Golf.". Travis delivered a tour-de-force, educating us on golf and the explosion of its popularity in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Doyle's own exploits on the gold course, and discussed the two mentions of gold in the canon. As we entered the back nine, Travis discussed the difference between a golf club and a golf club, and then showed a range of vintage clubs of the period, and a gold ball (at the time they were 'reverse dimpled'). 

To thank Travis as a guest speaker, he was presented with an EXCLUSIVE AND RARE Watson's Tin Box tote bag, that you too can own for the basement price of $15, along with a WTB pin. Travis understands he needs to visit us again to achieve full membership (cheaper than joining a golf club!). THANK YOU TRAVIS for the visit and talk ; please tell your family you didn't embarrass them.

We ended the evening with a 'shout out' quick from Olivia Millunzi, freshly returned from a vacation to Scotland (always somewhere!!!). And with that, members dispersed.... until October !!

As always, please get in touch through the Watson's Tin Box website if you'd like to know more. (And if you have corrections for this blog post - please get in touch).

Edgar W. Smith's output

I've recently been thinking about Edgar W. Smith. He was so central to early Sherlockian activities and publications - including the Baker Street Journal, but also so much more.

I realised that there isn't a biography of Smith, and I couldn't find a bibliography. There is an excellent overview of Smith's Sherlockian publishing activity written by Glen Miranker, in Irregular Records of the Early ‘Forties.

So I drove down to Second Story books and grabbed two different copies of Ronald de Waal's 'World Bibliography' of all things Sherlock, and started looking at what I have on my shelves. 

In putting together this list, I'm avoiding the Baker Street Journal, as that is well-indexed and well-recognized

A few things make this list tricky. Smith was an editor, an author, an illustrator, and a publisher. What am I to include on this list? I decided to focus on things he wrote, edited, or published. I'm not including here books that have a foreword by Smith - there are lots of those. That challenge tracking publishing is that he had two: 'The Pamphlet House' which Smith operated as a private press, and he was also responsible for the 'Baker Street Irregulars' publications (it was not the 'BSI Press' at this stage). So I'm going to include here a couple of things that  

There are two companion posts to this list (i.e. I've already written about them) for

• The first generation of BSJ Christmas editions
• The BSI 'incunabular' series of editions organized by Edgar W. Smith (I need to write a new article on that)

I invite comments and feedback ; I'll edit this post as it is improved by the feedback of others. And until I can think of a better way to organize these, I'm going with chronological order!

Smith, Edgar W.  Appointment in Baker Street. New York: The Pamphlet House. [1938] Limited to 250 numbered copies. I do not have this. Many thanks to Bruce Harris for sharing the images.

Smith, Edgar W.  The Long Road from Maiwand. pamphlet [1940] 4 p. 

Baker Street and Beyond. Edgar W. Smith. New York: The Pamphlet House, 1940. 300 copies published, first 100 in deluxe binding.

Letters from Baker Street. Edited by Edgar W. Smith. New York: The Pamphlet House, 1942. 60 p. 400 copies published, first 200 in deluxe binding. This copy is the 'deluxe' binding. It may be deluxe, but it's also very delicate with age, and I should track down a copy of the 'other' regular type, which is in simple blue wrappers.

 

Harvey Officer, A Baker Street Song Book. New York: The Pamphlet House, 1943. p. 14. The image for this cover was kindly provided by Harrison “Terry” Hunt.

The Field Bazaar: A Sherlock Holmes Pastiche. Summit, NJ: The Pamphlet House, 1947. 15 p. Includes an introduction by Edgar W. Smith. Limited to 250 copies. This is a beautiful slim volume. It is published by Smith's 'Pamphlet House'.

 

Smith, Edgar W. ed. A BakerStreet Four-Wheeler: Sixteen Pieces of Sherlockiana. [Maplewood, NJ, and New York: The Pamphlet House, 1944] 77 p. Many thanks to Jens Byskov Jensen BSI for sharing the image of this book.

Smith, Edgar W.  Baker Street Inventory. [New York: The Pamphlet House, 1944 typewritten, then 1945 publication]. Jens Byskov Jensen has shared images of three diffierent printings of this book. Jens indicates that “Baker Street Inventory" began life as typewritten sheets in a binder before publication.

 

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. A Baker Street Folio: Five Letters About Sherlock Holmes from Franklin Delano Roosevelt. [Compiled and with a prefatory note by Edgar W. Smith.] Summit, N.J.: The Pamphlet House, 1945. [8] p. The image for this cover was kindly provided by Harrison “Terry” Hunt, showing the copy held at the FDR library (photo taken 2018).

Andrew C.R. and Page Heldenbrand, Two Baker Street Akronisms. Summit, N.J.: The Pamphlet House for the Sherlock Holmes Society of Akron, Ohio, 1945. 11 p. The image for this cover was kindly provided by Harrison “Terry” Hunt.

A Lauriston Garden of Verses, by Helene Yuhasova. Summit, N.J.: The Pamphlet House, 1946, but printed at the Thorneycroft Press of Summit, NJ. p. [15]. Limited to 250 copies. Bruce Harris provided the images shown for this book.

Smith, Edgar W.  A Baker Street Quartette: Four Sherlockian Tales in Verse. New York: The Baker Street Irregulars. [1950] 44 p. illus. Limited to 221 numbered copies. This was 'printed at the Thorneycroft Press of Summit, NJ'. My copy is signed by Smith, but not numbered.

Smith, Edgar W. The Napoleon of Crime; Prolegomena to a Memoir of Professor James Moriarty, Sc.D. [Baker Street Irregulars, and Summit, NJ: The Pamphlet House, 1953]. Limited to 221 copies. This is with paper wrappers. This shows the cross-over between BSI and Pamphlet House. The Pamphlet House is clearly listed as the publisher on the title page, but the BSI are listed as publisher on the cover, and inside it states 'done for the Baker Street Irregulars'.

Other books from 'Pamphlet House' that I need to follow up on:

Sherlockian Bibliography. Summit. N.J.: The Pamphlet House. 1945. 81 p.

An Irregular Guide to Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street. [Introduction by Edgar W. Smith.] New York: Argus Books; Summit, N.J.: The Pamphlet House. 1947. 118 p.

Annette Conan Doyle

I'm working on a new project ; actually I've been working on it for a long time and just picked it up again.

In reviewing some newspaper articles, I came across the first reference to 'CONAN DOYLE' in Australian newspapers, and it turns out to be the first reference to that name in British newspapers also.

The Ballarat Star (Vic)  Mon 28 Jun 1875
In the University of Edinburgh, Miss Flora Masson has passed the examinations for University certificates in Arts for women, with honors of the first class in English Literature; and Miss Annette Conan Doyle has passed the ordinary examinations in English Literature, Chemistry, and Mathematics.

It is remarkable that the first Conan Doyle mentioned in Australia’s papers - and in Ballarat no less!! - is not Arthur, but his sister Anne Mary Frances Conan Doyle (known as Annette, 1856-1890). The identical text was published in the UK a month prior in the Liverpool Express, and several Australian papers reprinted it. 

If Annette matriculated at Edinburgh University, then she was truly a pioneer. The first group of female students to matriculate (essentially, to enroll) at any British university were seven women at Edinburgh in 1869. Women weren’t allowed to receive degrees till 1894.

Annette went on to be a governess in Portugal where she died young. Arthur said of her "My noble sister Annette, who died just as the sunshine of better days came into our lives, went out at a very early age as a governess to Portugal and sent all her salary home."

I'm not sure how to rationalize this - Arthur was matriculating at Edinburgh at the exact time these results were published. Was there a reason Arthur did not mention his sister's academic ability? 

EDIT: Thanks to Charles Prepolec for pointing to Lycett's biography of Conan Doyle which recognizes Annette's time at Edinburgh University:

"In 1872 the university relented so far as to give a 'certificate in Arts' to any woman who attended the Association's classes and passed in three subjects. The following year Annette Doyle, an alumna of Newington Academy, was awarded a bursary of £30 by the {Edinburgh Ladies Educational Association} to study English literature, mathematics and chemistry in this manner. (She was known there as Annette Conan Doyle. Since she had not been baptised thus, it suggests that the childless Michael Conan had again sought recognition for his family name, possibly by making another financial contribution to the Doyle children's education.)"

Those questions remain - why didn't Doyle acknowledge such an amazing accomplishment for this sister?

Observe the Messenger Boy, how he runs

I was looking for advertisements for "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in Australia, and came across this reference to a delightful American advertisement.

 The Queenslander - Sat 19 Jul 1902

LITERARY ADVERTISING IN " THE STATES."
This is how Messrs. M'Clure, Phillips, and Co., of New York, advertise the American edition of "The Hound of the Baskervilles":—

Observe the Messenger Boy, how he runs !

Is not this Unusual?

It is positively Abnormal.

And its Cause ?

He Goes in a Hurry for a Man.

To fetch a Doctor ?

No,—to Fetch a Book.

What Book ?

"The Hound, of the Baskervilles"

How Surprised and Gratified the Man will be to Get his Book so Soon !

He will not.

Why so?

The Messenger Boy has Heartl of that Book.

Well ?
He will Dip Into it.
Yes ?

And see the Name of Sherlock Holmes.

And then ?

He will Seat himself on the Mossy Curb, and he will Read, and Read, and Read.

But the Man :— What of Him ?

He will Tear his Hair and Cuss.

Is that All ?

No ; he will Rake up another Dollar, and a half and will Hustle to the Bookstore himself.

Wise Man !

Happy Messenger Boy!

Beautiful. This advertisement first appeared in three New York newspapers on the same date (Saturday, May 3, 1902): The New York Times, The Sun, and The Brooklyn Eagle. From there it appeared in a wide range of papers. 

And I love the detail of the messenger running at the top, and sitting on the mossy curb reading at the bottom:

Note: The messenger boy's hat appears to state 'A.D.T. 13'. An ADT messenger boy was an employee of the American District Telegraph company (ADT) in the early 20th century. The delivered messages and ran errands. These messenger boys would use call boxes to be requested by customers to take messages to places like Western Union.

------

While I'm drifting towards America, here's a lovely version of the man on the torr as part of the Hound story being run in the  Omaha World-Herald (Sun, Sep 21, 1902 ·Page 21).

Watson's Tin Box meeting brief report - 18 August 2025

Each third Monday of the month, the Watson's Tin Box of Ellicott City scion meets - and after a virtual meeting in July we gathered on Monday August 18 for our LARGEST MEETING since COVID. It was wonderful to see so many people attend, especially on the back of over forty people the month before for our Zoom meeting.

The story of the meeting was The Empty House, or, as we called it - "Part 2". 

After introductions (we again had more attendees from Frederick MD than anywhere else, and visitors from FOUR states/districts including TEXAS), we moved to the toasts. 

After a traditional toast to The Woman, Liane Luini reprised a toast to Pietro Venucci. The toast was written by Paul Churchill, published in the 2008 issue of Irene's Cabinet, and I'm happy to say was first proposed at a meeting of the Red Circle of Washington, DC in 2007. In 'those days', the Red Circle met at the National Press Club (as Peter Blau, organizer of the Red Circle then and now, was a member of 'the Press'. Here is the toast: 

This toast was followed by the traditional Haiku for the story was delivered by Tom Fahres:

Holmes, Watson, Lastrade

Are skulking thru dark allies

To capture Moran

We then moved on to Announcements. We discussed the visit to Denny Dobry's 221B Sitting Room (many members were there!), the upcoming Red Circle meeting, informed the group that the all digital copies of Irene's Cabinet are now on-line, and had a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT:

Irene's Cabinet is BACK for 2026! That's right, if you have an idea for a original Sherlockian article, artwork, or other type of creative piece, please consider submitting to the newly returned Irene's Cabinet. We will return to the presses in 2026:

Attenta! The Watson's Tin Box journal, Irene's Cabinet, is returning after a hiatus! Details below - we welcome your submissions.
Call for Submissions – Irene’s Cabinet
The Journal of Watson’s Tin Box of Ellicott City
After six years in hiatus, Irene’s Cabinet will be hitting the presses once again in 2026 — and we’re looking for Sherlockians submissions!
You don't need to be a member of Watson's Tin Box to publish in Irene's Cabinet! Whether you’re a seasoned Baker Street Irregular, a fresh initiate to the Canon, or a passionate admirer of the Great Detective and his world, we invite you to contribute your work.
We welcome original submissions of all kinds, including but not limited to:
Scholarly articles and critical essays
Creative fiction (pastiches, parodies, or original stories set in the Sherlockian universe)
Artwork and illustration
Poetry
Personal reflections, memoirs of Sherlockian adventures, and society histories
Humour and puzzles of a Sherlockian nature
Deadline for submissions: December 15, 2025
Projected publication: Spring 2026
Submission format: Word documents preferred for text; high-resolution files (PNG, TIFF, JPG) for artwork.
Email submissions and queries to: baroness.gruner@gmail.com , with the subject line of the submissions to read "Submission for Irene's Cabinet 2026".
Please include a brief author bio and let us know if the piece has been published elsewhere, or presented to a scion society.
Jacquelynn Bost-Morris - Editor, Irene’s Cabinet

Following announcements, Karen Wilson made her presentation 'Boswell. We'd be lost without him. Sounding like the draft of a future Irene's Cabinet article (~cough~), Karen shared the background on Boswell. Why? In 'A Scandal in Bohemia', Holmes says of Watson "I am lost without my Boswell". Karen provided a lively biography of James Boswell, and a biography of the subject of his famous biography: Samuel Johnson - famous among other things for his dictionary. Karen concluded her presentation by reflecting on what exactly Sherlock may have been inferring by calling Watson 'my Boswell'.

A side-note of the discussion. I mentioned that Samuel Johnson's home still stands in London, and a member reminded us that this home was a location for the Rathbone/Bruce movie 'Dressed to Kill'.

 

We then moved to the Story for the Month - The Empty House. 

Jacquelynne Morris presented the Evidence Box on behalf of Debbie Clark. The items were laid out. A reminder that you can browse the Evidence Box items at our website: 

Some example items: 

An arrangement of postcards from Holmes' travels around the world after he disappeared, sent to Mycroft. The top-right postcard is from the Grand Hotel Beau-Rivage in Geneva. At the bottom, 'Holmes' has written "21 April 1891. Our hotel, no room at Hotel de L'eon. On to ?? tomorrow. Sherlock." 

 

Left to right: The tinted glasses worn by a tall, thin man whom Watson surmised was a detective, possibly with Scotland Yard ; the police whistle Holmes used to signal Lestrade to enter

the Camden House once the trap had been sprung on Moran ; Ward/Lock’s Switzerland, a Swiss travel book Holmes & Watson would have used in their travels to escape Moriarty.

 

Above, then below: In the small case at top is the bullet retrieved by Mrs. Hudson. Col. Moran had fired the bullet through the Holmes wax bust, and the bullet was flattened once it hit the wall. ; below pictured is an excerpt from March 20, 1888 The Times showing results of shooting competition where Moran was a participant, and his prowess as a big game shooter. From the story: ‘This, gentlemen, is Colonel Sebastian Moran, once of Her Majesty's Indian Army, and the best heavy game shot that our Eastern Empire has ever produced. I believe I am correct, colonel, in saying that your bag of tigers still remain unrivalled?’

Pictured is the flask which Holmes used to revive Watson with Brandy after causing Watson to faint. From the story: Certainly a grey mist swirled before my eyes, and when it cleared I found my collar-ends undone and the tingling after-taste of brandy upon my lips. Holmes was bending over my chair, his flask in his hand.

And finally, we discussed the story. We wondered why Watson needed to wait ten years to tell the public that Sherlock was back! We identified discrepancies in the story. And there was a lot of laughter, and a lot of "what if's". I do wonder how Holmes' rooms could be there intact like he was never gone, particularly given that there was a fire on the day Holmes departed London. Relevant to the story, we discovered that Rachel had just returned from a trip to France including Montpellier, the place where Holmes had conducted some chemical researches during the great hiatus.

We ended the evening with a 'shout out' quick from Olivia Millunzi, freshly returned from a vacation to Australia. And with that, prizes were collected, and members dispersed.... until September !