Episode 217 – Colours in the Canon

 “Our own colours, green and white.” [WIST]  

Yes, the circle was red, the study was scarlet and the pips were orange. But there are so many other colors (or colours) to explore in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Conan Doyle did a masterful job of using color to give us a vivid sense of the settings. But more than that, what does his use of various colors tell us? It's just a Trifle.

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Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Colours in the Canon

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles217
• Episode 10: The Dressing Gown of Many Colors

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• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 216 – Cheetah and Baboon

 “It is a nice household,” he murmured. “That is the baboon.” [SPEC] 

It seems that Dr. Grimesby Roylott had a bit of a wild side. Killed a man in India. Threw a blacksmith off a small bridge. Had a cheetah and baboon wandering his grounds. You know, as one does.

As we looked at the animals in detail, we came across a startling detail about Roylott's menagerie. You might say it's just a Trifle.

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Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Cheetah and Baboon

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles216
• Pets Peeved (I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere)
• Cheetah (Wikipedia)
• Victorian London: The London Zoo (Victorian Voices)
• Baboon (Wikipedia)
• How to Survive an Encounter with a Baboon (LiveAbout)

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• The BSI Press

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 215 – Walking Sticks & Canes

“There are certainly one or two indications upon the stick.” [HOUN]

Walking sticks were once fashionable. They were just as necessary as a pair of gloves and a hat in a gentleman's daily attire in Victorian England.

But they also served a practical purpose from time to time. And Sherlock Holmes was able to use these personal effects as clue givers. What do we know about walking sticks and canes in the Canon? It's just a Trifle.

Download | 12.4 MB, 25:19

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Walking Sticks & Canes

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles215
• The History of Walking Canes
• James Smith & Sons
• Penang lawyer (Language Hat)

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• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode – 214 Footwear in the Canon

“shoes, but no socks.” [PRIO]

Over the course of our first four seasons, we covered a wide variety of haberdashery: dressing gowns, clothes, disguises, and hats, to name a few. But we haven't covered anything related to footwear (unless you count that fleeting reference to tennis shoes in Episode 119).

Shoes, boots, and slippers are a few of the kinds of footwear we come across in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and they all help Sherlock Holmes in some way. Which way is that, you ask? It's just a Trifle.

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Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Footwear in the Canon

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles214
• Soundcloud playlist: Appearance and Attire
• A Quick Succession of Subjects by Chris Redmond

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• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 213 – The Three Moriartys

“I can tell a Moriarty when I see one.” [VALL]

Quick: in "The Final Problem," what is the name of Sherlock Holmes's arch-rival? Yes, we know it's Professor Moriarty, but what's his first name? If you said "James," you'd be wrong.

Would you be surprised to learn that he has not only one, but two brothers, at least one of whom is also named James? It's a conundrum worthy of Moriarty himself. And it's just a Trifle.

Download | 11.1 MB, 22:18

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · The Three Moriartys

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles213
• Colonel James Moriarty (Baker Street Fandom)
• "Moriarty Times Three" (Walter Jaffee, The Baker Street Journal Vol. 57, No. 2, 2007)

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• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 212 – Langur

 “the great black-faced monkey of the Himalayan slopes,” [CREE] 

It's only mentioned in passing, but the langur played an important role in "The Aventure of the Creeping Man." It showed you could make a monkey out of Professor Presbury.

In this episode, we begin a monthly series on exotic animals. What do we know of langurs? Or of the other choices at hand during that time? It seems like a peculiar choice, but then again, it's just a Trifle.

Download | 12.6 MB, 25:19

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Langur

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles212
• Gray langur (Wikipedia)
• The Medical Casebook of Doctor Arthur Conan Doyle by Alvin Rodin and Jack Key (Amazon)
• Monkey Gland Cocktail (Spruce Eats)

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• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 211 – The Three Professors

“His life as been academic” [CREE] 

*Not a professor

Sherlock Holmes and academic affairs are, well, elementary. [Sorry] But have you considered those who hold the title "professor" when it comes to the stories?

Of course you know Professor Moriarty. But there are only two others, which is a tad surprising, given the stories that involved the academy. It's just a Trifle.

Download | 12.9 MB, 26:17

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · The Three Professors

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• This episode: ihose.co/trifles211

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• The BSI Press

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 210 – Sherlock Holmes's Birthday

 “you could not celebrate him without being known yourself.” [HOUN]  

Image credit: gertygetsgangster on DeviantArt

Every year, the Baker Street Irregulars meet in early January to celebrate Sherlock Holmes's birthday. Why January, or more specifically January 6? It's an interesting story.

We discuss what factors may support that supposition and highlight the scholarship that helped us arrive at this date. It's just a Trifle.

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Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Sherlock Holmes's Birthday

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles210
• Happy 167th Birthday, Sherlock Holmes (I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere)
• "What Was the Month?" by Nathan Bengis, BSJ Vol. 7, No. 4 (1957)

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• The BSI Press

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 209 – Typography

“As I expected, his reply was typewritten” [IDEN]

While handwriting was and is distinctive enough for a detective like Sherlock Holmes to draw some inferences, typography isn't quite so forgiving. 

Whether it was through fonts used in newspapers or flourishes of individual typewriters ("the fourteen other characteristics to which I have alluded are there as well." [IDEN]), Holmes was able to wring more out of typography than the average investigator. It's just a Trifle.

This is our final episode of Season 4. Should we continue into Season 5? Let us know.

Download | 11.8 MB, 23:28

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Typography

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles209
• The Gorgeous Typeface that Drove Men Mad and Sparked a 100-Year Mystery (Gizmodo)

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• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 208 – Handwriting

“Have you ever had occasion to study character in handwriting?” [SIGN] 

More than once, Sherlock Holmes used someone's handwriting to guide him toward a solution. Whether it was a hastily-scribbled legal document or a red herring of a note, he was able to discern certain facts by observing the handwriting. 

But was this a mere fiction, a literary license to make his powers seem more impressive? Or was it more practical in nature? It's just a Trifle.

Only one more episode left in Season 4. Stay tuned for that and for what's coming in 2021!

Download | 11.1 MB, 22:06

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Handwriting

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles208
• Graphology (Wikipedia)

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• The BSI Press

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 207 – The Care and Feeding of Sherlock Holmes

“Holmes smiled and rubbed his hands” [WIST] 

Sherlock Holmes enjoyed breakfast. But it was often interrupted. He had a variable knowledge of botany but knew enough to feel chagrined for missing green peas at 7:30.

What can we tell about Sherlock Holmes's food habits from Earle Walbridge's essay from 1940 titled "The Care and Feeding of Sherlock Holmes"? It's the monthly installment of our "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist" theme, and it's just a Trifle.

Download | 13.8 MB, 28:08

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · The Care and Feeding of Sherlock Holmes

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles207
• "The Care and Feeding of Sherlock Holmes" by Earle F. Walbridge in 221B: Studies in Sherlock Holmes
• Previous episodes mentioned in this show:
• Episode 42: A Noble Supper
• Episode 54: On the Side Board
• Episode 158: British Food

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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 206 – Smile When You Say That

“Holmes smiled and rubbed his hands” [WIST]

Did Sherlock Holmes care about teeth? There's evidence that he cared about his own teeth, as seen through his recommendation of dental hygiene, and through his remark about losing a tooth.

But what about the potential of dental science as applied to the art of detection? Sherlock Holmes had the potential to be the world's first forensic dentist. Did he make any progress? It's just a Trifle.

Download | 10.4 MB, 20:58

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · Smile When You Say That

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles206
• The Big Book of British Smiles (YouTube)
• "The Dental Holmes" by Charles Goodman, D.D.S. in Profile by Gaslight

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• The BSI Press

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 205 – The Setting of Cornwall

 “sinister atmosphere of forgotten nations,” [DEVI] 

It's not quite a holiday for Sherlock Holmes in "The Devil's Foot," but rather a time away from London to be able to recuperate. "The villages which dotted this part of Cornwall" gave a quaint, other-worldly feeling to the setting.

But so too did the traces of "some vanished race which had passed utterly away, and left as it sole record strange monuments of stone, irregular mounds which contained the burned ashes of the dead." The Cornish coast was the perfect place for this story. And it's just a Trifle.

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Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · The Setting of Cornwall

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles205
• History of Cornwall (Wikipedia)
• The Game Is Afoot! by David Hamer (Amazon)
• "The Devil's Foot" episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Granada (BritBox)
• Previous episodes mentioned:
• Episode 195: The Setting of Dartmoor
• Episode 200: The Setting of Agra

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• The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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Episode 204 – The Location of 221B, Part 2

  “I have my eye on a suite in Baker Street” [STUD] 

In the first part of this two-episode series, we looked at the Baker Street area of Victorian London and the changes that it has seen in the century and a half since that time.

This time, we sharpen our powers of observation and search for the specific address that must have stood in for 221B Baker Street in Holmes's time. Many Sherlockian scholars have attempted to identify it. Who was right? It's just a Trifle.

Download | 11.1 MB, 23:39

Sherlock Holmes: Trifles · The Location of 221B, Part 2

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Links / Notes

• This episode: ihose.co/trifles204
• "Dear Starrett" / "Dear Briggs" (The BSI Archival Series)
• The eBSJ
• I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 204: Frederic Dorr Steele

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Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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