Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"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.

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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

"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
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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

"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
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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

"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
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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

"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
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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

"very curious phraseology" [WIST]

Here's an interesting little subject that ought to intrigue many Sherlock Holmes fans: words. We are a literate bunch, and when we get to learn more about words — especially words with which we're unfamiliar — that makes us happy.

This topic was suggested by listener Jennifer Cassasanto, who was curious about some of the foreign and antiquated terms in the Canon. Fair warning, though: this is a pun-filled zone. Word nerds unite! 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. Links / Notes

• An Irregular Anglo-American Glossary of More or Less Unfamiliar Words, Terms and Phrases in the Sherlock Holmes Saga by S. Tupper Bigelow
• Episode 124 - Odd Jobs
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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

"kept as a secret among them" [DEVI]

When Dr. Leon Sterndale said there was only one known specimen of radix pedis dioaboli – devil's foot root – in a laboratory in Buda, it was clear that it was a poison unknown to science.

Just what was it that was "used as an ordeal poison by the medicine-men in certain districts of West Africa"? Dr. Robert Ennis had an idea related to a substance we know well today, based on his observations in emergency rooms. And it's anything but 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 today. Become a Patron! Links / Notes

• The eBSJ
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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

"His collaboration may be very necessary" [ILLU]

There's a curious phrase in the beginning of A Study in Scarlet that requires a little more consideration. Do you know what it is? John Ball, Jr. did.

And his theory about what that phrase signified is an intelligent and plausible one, lifted from a 1954 issue of The Baker Street Journal and The Baker Street Reader. Along the way, we uncover a surprising fact about Ball. And it's anything but 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 today. Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts. Links / Notes

• John Ball Jr. (Wikipedia)
• The Baker Street Reader (Abebooks)
• The eBSJ
• All of our social links: linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com
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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

"we shall certainly have to go to Norwood" [SIGN]

The latest in our travel series takes us to Norwood. In particular, the Norwood in The Sign of Four. Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Mary Morstan take a cab to a seedier part of London, and then a four-wheeler south to Norwood.

How long would it have taken them? And what else might we find in this London suburb? Michael Harrison assists with an essay from In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes, and it's just a Trifle.

All of our supporters on Substack and Patreon are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers on Patreon receive thank you gifts.

Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links / Notes

• In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes by Michael Harrison

• The Crystal Palace Fire

• All of our social links: linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock

• Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

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

Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

"consult me over that Manor House case" [GREE] In addition to fascinating cases and clients, the Sherlock Holmes stories saw some wonderful house names. How did some of them get their names? We look at the history of house names, call out the story names that were also house names, and mention a few of our favorite lesser-known country houses in the Canon. It's just a Trifle. Oh, and just for our Patreon and Substack supporters, we have some additional analysis in a bonus episode. 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. Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts. Links / Notes

• History of UK House Names
• English Country House Names Explained
• Experience Sherlock Holmes Filming Locations Up Close
• All of our social links: 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