New York January weather proved traditionally fearsome on the occasion of the Master’s 134th birthday, but inside 24 5th Avenue, “Sherlockian conviviality rewarded those who had braved both wind and snow to attend.” Maureen Green became the first Canadian to be fêted as “The Woman.” All traditional Sherlockian rites and rituals were observed. Several distinguished presentations enlightened attendees, including Isaac
Asimov's tuneful toast ("The Battle Hymn of Mrs. Watson"), Ray Betzner's reading of the Musgrave ritual, Richard Schull’s tribute to BSI founder Christopher Morley by rendering Morley’s “In Memoriam Sherlock Holmes,” Peter Blau’s showcasing of an audio-recording of William Gillette performing an entire scene of his play Sherlock Holmes, W. T. Rabe's report on "The Missing Page, or Whatever Happened to Watson's Billet Doux?," David L. Hammer's suggestive discussion of Violet Hunter, and Robert S. Katz's identification of acute septicemic melioidosis as the disease from which Holmes wasn't dying in “The Dying Detective." Eight Irregulars were invested.
It was noted that the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes (ASH) this year was celebrating that group’s 20th anniversary at their dinner.
The following day’s cocktail party featured the “now-classic Friends of Bogie’s theatrical review of Canonical tales.” This performance showcased Loren D. Estleman's "Dr. and Mrs. Watson at Home" from The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The occasion also witnessed the announcement of The Commissionaire’s Award, established in honor of Julian Wolff, esteemed Commissionaire Emeritus, and designated to be presented to Sherlockians (male or female, Irregulars or not) who “have labored far beyond the call of duty in keeping green the Master’s memory.”
Dinner Details: January 8, 1988
24 5th Avenue, 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 1988 BSI Dinner photo (not available at this time)
BSI Honours List
Investitures:Philip R. Brogdon as John Sanger
James C. Cleary Jr. as Howard Garrideb
William R. Cochran as Murray
Carey Cummings as An Irish Secret Society
John Gardner as Moriarty*
Charles A. Meyer as Adolph Meyer
Alan C. Olding as Cooee
Mel Ruiz as Jack Douglas
Burt Wolder as The Third Pillar from the Left
* received Investiture at another event during the year
What is an Investiture?
Two-Shilling Award:
Jon L. Lellenberg
Robert E. Thomalen
* received the Two-Shilling Award at another event during the year
What is a Two-Shilling Award?
The Woman:
Maureen Green Van der Flaes
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 1988 BSJ report.
What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”
Morley-Montgomery Award:
No awards were given from 1981-1995.
What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?
Reports on the Dinner
The Baker Street Journal v38 n1 (March 1988) p. 47-48 (available in the eBSJ).Blau, Peter, Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press, (January 1988), p. 1.
List of 1988 BSI Dinner Attendees (not available at this time)
Recordings
None available online at this time.Related Material
1988 BSI Dinner Menu (digitized images at Harvard)Two pages. Cover and interior. Sequence 121-122.
Previous dinner: the 1987 BSI Dinner
Next dinner: the 1989 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 3/28/2016 by Tamar Zeffren
This page last updated 4/10/2016 by Andrew Solberg.
