The celebrations of Sherlock Holmes’s 116th birthday were held this year at the Players Club, “the club of many present-day and old-time Sherlockians—among them Frederic Dorr Steele, Christopher Morley, and Basil Rathbone. The most appropriate and delightful atmosphere contributed much to the great success of the occasion.”
Proper attention was paid to all Irregular rites and rituals. Molly (Mrs. Howard) Haycraft was honored by Tom Stix (Sr.) as The Woman. Five Irregulars were invested. Attendees then “stood on the terrace to recall…our last quiet talks with several faithful Irregulars.” The papers of the evening demonstrated “the usual high calibre” that has come to typify this yearly tradition.
Dinner Details: January 9, 1970
The Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South, New York
Dinner Photo Information
Click on the above photo to see a larger version of it, and maximize your browser window to see the most detail.Key to People in the 1970 BSI Dinner photo (PDF)
BSI Honours List
Investitures:Paul S. Clarkson Jr. as Morse Hudson*
Thomas Frederick Foss as Colonel James Barclay*
Martin J. King as Mr. James M. Dodd
Mo Lebowitz as Arthur H. Staunton, the Forger
Howard Luther as The Duke of Holdernesse**
Walter Pond as Brunton, the Butler, of Hurlstone
Ira Wolff as Douglas Maberley
* received Investiture at another event during the year
** in absentia
What is an Investiture?
Two-Shilling Award:
Charles Honce
Baron Gore-Booth*
Allen Robertson*
* received award at another event during the year
What is a Two-Shilling Award?
The Woman:
Molly (Mrs. Howard) Haycraft
What is The Woman honour?
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..."
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing)
Not listed in the 1970 BSJ report.
What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”
Morley-Montgomery Award:
William H. Miller, "Some Observations on the Alleged Use of Cocaine by Mr. Sherlock Holmes"
The Baker Street Journal v19 n3 (September 1969) pp. 161-165 (available in the eBSJ).
What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?
Reports on the Dinner
The Baker Street Journal v20 n1 (March 1970) pp. 54, 57 (available in the eBSJ).List of 1970 BSI Dinner Attendees (not available at this time, but see Key to the Photo, below)
Key to People in the 1970 BSI Dinner photo (PDF)
Recordings
None available online at this time.Related Material
1970 BSI Dinner Menu (digitized image at Harvard)Two pages. Cover and interior. Sequence 31-32
Previous dinner: the 1969 BSI Dinner
Next dinner: the 1971 BSI Dinner
For an index to all BSI Dinners and photos, see our BSI Dinner Summary list.
The BSI Archive is located at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Archival material may be used by any qualified scholar, subject to the normal rules and regulations of the Library. For links to a detailed finding aid and related information, see our BSI Archive at Harvard page.
Page composed on 9/20/2015 by Tamar Zeffren
Page updated 10/1/15 by Andrew Solberg.
This page last updated 12/6/19 by Randall Stock.
