On Women and the BSI

Julian Wolff. Letter to Diane Nolan. December 5, 1977.

Diane Nolan, "The Woman"

Until 1992, the Baker Street Irregulars remained an organization restricted to men. In this case we see a full spectrum of women who were Sherlockians or closely involved with the BSI, from the 1970s up to the moment that women were first invested as members.

Here BSI Commissionaire Julian Wolff invites Diane Nolan to be honored as “The Woman.” She was the wife of Norman S. Nolan, who was invested as a member of the BSI in 1972.

Dorothy Stix. Scrapbook, pages featuring Edith Meiser, Dorothy Stix, and The Woman, Karen Johnson, 1989.

Dorothy Stix

Dorothy Stix was the wife of Tom Stix, Jr., who led the BSI from 1986-1997. She was honored as “The Woman” in 1971, and invested in the BSI in her own right in 1997. Her scrapbooks form an important visual record of the BSI in the days before digital photography. In these photos, among others, we see Edith Meiser, famous for adapting Sherlock Holmes for the radio, and Dorothy Stix herself.

Madeline B. Stern. Letter to Ronald De Waal. October 23, 1970.

Madeline B. Stern

Famed rare book dealer Madeline B. Stern was a devoted Sherlockian, but never a member of the BSI. In this letter to Sherlockian bibliographer Ronald De Waal, she describes her two articles on Sherlock Holmes. Both relate to topics in which she had great expertise – books and the history of phrenology.

Margaret Smedegaard. Letter to Tom Stix Jr., January 21, 1991.

Margaret Smedegaard

Margaret Smedegaard was invested in the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes (ASH) in 1983. In 1997, she was invested in the BSI. Shown is a note she wrote to Tom Stix, Jr., and his wife Dorothy, to congratulate Tom on the first investitures of women BSI members, announced at the cocktail party preceding the BSI dinner in January 1991.