In the Beginning
The first BSI gatherings, and Edgar W. Smith connects with the BSI
The Baker Street Irregulars, founded in 1934, is the first Sherlockian literary society. Writer and editor Christopher Morley founded the group in a rather casual manner. He often brought friends together for meals, giving the events humorous names, like the “Three Hours for Lunch Club.” In late 1933, Morley noticed that his magazine, the Saturday Review of Literature, would be publishing an issue on January 6, 1934, his date for Sherlock Holmes's birthday. He called for a cocktail party at the Hotel Duane to celebrate the event. This was the first meeting of what came to be known as the Baker Street Irregulars or BSI.
The first annual dinner was held later in 1934, the next was in 1936. Interest in the BSI grew, but Morley was not interested in formalizing the group. It was left to Edgar W. Smith, a vice president at General Motors, to provide the structure and continuity necessary to keep the organization alive.
In these letters, we see Smith befriend famed Sherlockian Vincent Starrett, and then approach Morley about joining the group. The next BSI dinner was held in 1940. Thanks to Edgar W. Smith and the leaders that followed, it has been held every year since.
Click through the carousel to read the letters from Edgar W. Smith.
Letter from Edgar W. Smith to Vincent Starrett, December 7, 1937
Letter from Edgar W. Smith to Vincent Starrett, December 7, 1937
Letter from Edgar W. Smith to Christopher Morley, August 9, 1938
Letter from Edgar W. Smith to Christopher Morley, December 29, 1939
Letter from Edgar W. Smith to Christopher Morley, December 29, 1939
Baker Street Irregulars investiture certificate for Edgar W. Smith. No date.
Edgar W. Smith's Certificate of Investiture
Membership in the BSI is conferred by invitation only. You can’t send in a form to sign up. This large certificate commemorates Edgar W. Smith’s investiture in the BSI. It quotes two key passages from the Sherlock Holmes “canon” that describe the origin of the Baker Street Irregulars, the band of street urchins that served as Holmes agents.
BSI Dinner menu, 1936.
BSI Dinner menu, 1940.
BSI Dinner menu, 1943
BSI Dinner menu, 1934.
Early BSI Dinners
Dinner menus from some of the earliest BSI dinners show courses with Sherlock-ian names.
Click each image to see the full menu.
Christ Cella dinner plate, no date. On loan from the collection of Glen S. Miranker.
Christ Cella, New York City: The First BSI Dinner
Walter Klinefelter never attended a BSI dinner, but Vincent Starrett sent him this menu from the very first dinner honoring the birth of Sherlock Holmes. It took place at Christ Cella, the famed New York City steak house. A plate from the restaurant, which closed around 1990, is displayed here.
Frederic J. Mouat. Adventures and Researches Among the Andaman Islanders. London : Hurst and Blackett, 1863. On loan from the collection of Glen S. Miranker.
Adventures and Researches Among the Andaman Islanders
In Dr. Watson’s account of the Sherlock Holmes investigation, The Sign of Four, Watson meets his future wife, Mary Morstan. Knowledge of the Adaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal were key in solving the case. Shown is Captain Morstan’s copy, inherited by Mary Morstan and then gifted to Edgar W. Smith at the BSI dinner Jan. 9, 1942.
Click to view cover and inside label, "Ex Libris Edgar Wadsworth Smith."
Winwood Reade. The Martyrdom of Man. London: Trubner & Co., 1872. On loan from the collection of Glen S. Miranker.
The Martyrdom of Man
During the same case, Holmes recommends Winwood Reade’s The Martyrdom of Man to Dr. Watson as “one of the most remarkable [books] ever penned.” Shown here is Sherlock Holmes’ copy, possibly a gift from brother Mycroft. It was later given to Edgar W. Smith at the BSI dinner Jan. 9, 1943.
Click to view cover and full list of signatures.
BSI Constitution and Buy-Laws
A reading of the buy-laws is still a part of modern BSI dinners, where all in attendance join the last line,
“There shall be no monthly meeting!”
Elmer Davis. BSI Constitution and Buy-Laws. No date.