“One A, two B, and so on. You will hear soon.” [REDC]    The secret code that Genarro and Emilia Lucca shared for passing messages to each other in "The Red Circle" was straightforward. Or was it?   In 1956, Donald Yates—then a 26 year-old budding Sherlockian—made an observation about the code, the alphabet(s), and the credit that was due to Sherlock Holmes for his invisible but lightning-quick analysis. It's just a Trifle.      ATTENTA: Don't forget: if you're interested in receiving some free back issues of The Baker Street Journal, we hold a drawing every month for our Patreon supporters. To be eligible to participate in this monthly drawing, go to patreon.com/trifles.      Sponsor: The BSI Press Full show notes: https://ihose.co/trifles266   --    

A Final Illumination on the Lucca Code

You know the plots, but what about the minutiae? We delve into the Sherlock Holmes stories and answers questions that arise, clarify muddy details, and look into some of the period terminology in this weekly podcast.

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“his age, and an affliction” [STOC]      The panoply of elderly individuals in the Sherlock Holmes stories is impressive: Mr. Frankland, the old crank in The Hound of the Baskervilles, the miserly Josiah Amberley in "The Retired Colourman," Old Mr. Farquhar, the previous owner of Watson's practice. But there were many others, some of whom go almost unnoticed. What similarities do we see among them? How did Conan Doyle's writing about them change over time? It's just a Trifle.    All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.     Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.    Links / Notes  All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.        Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0           

Elderly in the Canon

“the flooring was also thoroughly examined” [SPEC]         Cocoanut matting, bearskin rug, carpets — there are a number of notable floor coverings mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But flooring itself is less notable. Case in point: linoleum, which appears as a passing mention in just three stories, was a popular alternative at the time. What do we know about the history of linoleum, how was it manufactured, and what role did it play in the Canon? It's just a Trifle.    All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.   Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.    Links / Notes  Previous episode mentioned:  Episode 102: Inside 221B: On the Floor  All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.      Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0         

Linoleum

“Vast sections of it have been cleared” [BLAC]         When you're really down in the details about something — something trifling, perhaps — it's difficult to see the forest for the trees, as the saying goes. Well, we've discussed trees in two previous episodes, so we thought it was time to look at the forests. There were scant mentions of forests in the Sherlock Holmes stories, but they're worth a Trifle.  You can make topic suggestions to us — if we choose something you recommend (like the one today!), we'll send you a Sherlockian prize.   All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.      Links / Notes  Forest Row New Forest Weald Previous episodes mentioned:  Episode 274: Trees, Part 1 Episode 276: Trees, Part 2  All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.      Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0         

Forests

“at Maiwand without losing my nerve” [STUD]         Maiwand: Saving the Guns by Richard Caton Woodville, 1883 (Wikimedia Commons)        It is generally accepted that A Study in Scarlet, when Dr. Watson first met Sherlock Holmes, took place in 1881. Watson was just back from the war in Afghanistan, where he had been wounded at the Battle of Maiwand. But in 1940, Edgar W. Smith took a closer look at the timing between the battle, Watson's recovery time, travel to London and hotel stay, and came to a much different conclusion. He wrote it up in a pamphlet and it's just a Trifle.  You can make suggestions as well — if we choose a topic you recommend, we'll send you a Sherlockian prize.   All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.   BONUS: a digital scan of Smith's original pamphlet is available to our  Patreon or Substack supporters.        Links / Notes  The Long Road from Maiwand: an examination of the evidence bearing upon the dating of a certain encounter in the chemical laboratory at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in London by Edgar W. Smith (Abebooks) The eBSJ All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.        Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0          

The Long Road from Maiwand

“Stop at a telegraph-office, cabby!” [SIGN]            Cabbies are everywhere in London – indeed, so common in some cases that they're simply overlooked (we see you, Jefferson Hope!). Could Sherlock Holmes have passed himself off as a cabby? There are certainly points in his career when it would have made sense. And a paper given at a Sherlock Holmes society in Denmark points in that direction. Hop on board with us in this monthly travel series episode! It's just a Trifle.  You can make suggestions as well — if we choose a topic you recommend, we'll send you a Sherlockian prize.   All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community today.    Become a Patron!      Links / Notes  "The Thomas Hogram Letters" by Sven Ranild is an expanded and translated version of a paper delivered in Copenhagen on September 19, 1987, at the Centenary Dinner of the Sherlock Holmes Klubben i Danmark and it appeared in the Summer 1991 issue of The Sherlock Holmes Journal. Episode 124 - Odd Jobs All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.      Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0          

A Final Illumination on the Lucca Code

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