Sherlock Holmes’s 159th birthday was marked with erudite presentations, heartfelt toasts, and, above all, the enduring Sherlockian camaraderie that underpins and infuses every gathering in celebration of the Master. The theme of the evening was celebrating past BSI leaders.
Daniel Polvere toasted Mrs. Hudson. Maggie Schpak gave the toast to Mycroft Holmes. Don Hobbs had us raise our glasses to Watson's second wife, and Peggy Perdue toasted Sherlock Holmes. John Linsenmeyer read the Constitution and Buy-Laws. Thomas Francis led the responsive reading of the Musgrave Ritual.
Given the theme of the evening, (almost) all of the presentations were about former heads of the BSI. Steven Rothman spoke on the life of Christopher Morley. Gregory Darak spoke on Edgar W. Smith. Peter Blau reminisced about Julian Wolff. Susan Rice and Evelyn Herzog talked about Tom Stix, Jr. Russell Merritt then spoke on the many faces of Moriarty in early films. Julie McKuras spoke of an old Irregular, former University of Minnesota Librarian and Two-Shilling Award holder, Errett Weir McDiarmid, Jr. Henry Boote and Lyndsay Faye presented a musical tribute to characters from “The Copper Beeches” and “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Francine Kitts, once again, performed a moving “Standing upon the Terrace” ceremony, remembering those whom we have lost.
Eight deserving Irregulars received their Shilling. Wiggins presented the Two-Shilling Award to Michael Kean for extraordinary devotion to the cause beyond the call of duty. He presented an Eddy Award to John Bergquist (Associate Publisher of BSI Press), Robert Katz, Sonia Fetherston, and Andrew Solberg. James Saunders was recognized for 50 consecutive years of presenting The Woman of the year with a corsage.
Elaine Coppola was toasted as The Woman.
The evening concluded with Don Novorsky singing Mollie Hardwick’s “221B, 1887-1987.”
At the next day’s Sherlockian Cocktail Reception at the New York City Bar Association, Judge Albert Rosenblatt and his daughter, Betsy Rosenblatt, once again performed their remarkable rhyming summation of the previous year and of the Festivities.
Dinner Details: January 11, 2013
The Yale Club, 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 2013 BSI Dinner photo (not available at this time, but see the 2013 Table Seat Assignments (PDF)
BSI Honours List
Investitures:Jan Burke as The Most Winning Woman
Philip Cunningham as Abe Slaney
Stefano Guerra as Count Negretto Sylvius
Thomas A. Horrocks as Colonel Sebastian Moran
Mark Levy as Don Juan Murillo
Rosane McNamara as Lady Mary Brackenstall
Daniel Moss as Culverton Smith
Franklin B. Saksena as Jonathan Small
* received Investiture at another event during the year
What is an Investiture?
Two-Shilling Award:
Michael H. Kean.
What is a Two-Shilling Award?
The Woman:
Elaine (Mrs. Joseph A.) Coppola.
What is The Woman honour?
"Stand with me here upon the terrace..."
(as named at this Dinner, not their year of passing)
Pamela Bruxner (The British Government, 1998)
Alfred A. Levin (Abe Slaney, 1993)
Richard H. Miller (The Grice Patersons in the Island of Uffa, 1982)
Dr. Robert E. Robinson (The Hansom Cab, 1986)
What is the origin of “standing on the terrace?”
Morley-Montgomery Award:
Peter Calamai, "Why He Isn't 'Sir Sherlock' Today"
The Baker Street Journal 62.3 (Autumn 2012): 13-17.
What is the Morley-Montgomery Award?
The BSI Distinguished Speaker Lecture:
Kim Newman, “Manifold Moriarty”
The Baker Street Journal 63.1 (Spring 2013): 6-11.
What is the BSI Distinguished Speaker Lecture?
Reports on the Dinner
The Baker Street Journal 63.1 (Spring 2013): 56-68.Blau, Peter, Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press, (January 2013): 1-2.
List of 2013 BSI Dinner Attendees (PDF)
Recordings
A recording of portions of the 2013 BSI Dinner is available at Harvard as part of the BSI Archive.Related Material
Rosenblatt, Albert M., and Betsy Rosenblatt, “The Sherlockian Year In Verse: 2013,” The Baker Street Journal 63.1 (Spring 2013): 68-71. The Rosenblatts’ rhyming retrospective, delivered at the January 12, 2013 Sherlockian Cocktail Reception.Previous dinner: the 2012 BSI Dinner
Next dinner: the 2014 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 3/27/2017 by Tamar Zeffren
This page last updated 4/2/2017 by Andrew Solberg.
