I have most of those posts in paper form. And I've been asked to post them again. This includes the very first paper I ever gave. That's what you get to enjoy now...but in three parts. (It's just too long for one.) Now, for those of you who are familiar with this paper, I apologize for putting it out there again. I know you must be tired of it. However, not everyone has seen it because I retired it about five years ago. You'll have to wait until the end to find out why. So, let's have a look at it.
Page 15, Line 41
by Vincent W. Wright
(Originally presented August 28, 2010)
Some years ago I discovered that the part of this hobby I enjoyed the most was the chronology aspect of it. Flexing my analytical muscle has always appealed to me, and this was a perfect fit. And as a bonus, every so often I find something which makes it even more worthwhile. What you’ll see today is one of those discoveries.
Now, I know that chronological subjects make people sleepy, so I will do my best not to make this one of those long, drawn-out, boring talks about the subject. I CAN do those, so if that’s what you’re looking for just see me after the show and I can have you nodding off in minutes.
I once heard Mike Whelan say, and I’m paraphrasing here, “A good piece of scholarship is instantly recognizable and stands the test of time.” My group, The Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis, had gathered for a meeting and were discussing Watson’s middle name, and he was referring to Dorothy L. Sayers’s hypothesis that The Good Doctor’s middle name was Hamish, which I happen to agree with. Now, there are other examples of good scholarship, of course, that just happens to be the one we were talking about that evening. I won’t make the claim that what I found concerning A Study in Scarlet is just as noteworthy, but it seems pretty darn good to me and my hope is that you will feel the same.
The London Times Archives is a goldmine of information, and especially so for the chronologically-minded few of us. It’s hard to find a better source of at-the-moment data from Holmes’s time. I was looking through them on-line one day and decided to put some canonical names and dates in the search engine to see what I could find around the largely accepted date of the beginning of A Study in Scarlet - March 4, 1881.
What I found on Page 15 41 lines down in the February 3, 1881, edition sparked what you’re going to see here, and may help to satisfy those that are looking to configure a definitive chronology. You should know up front that what appears on that page and line is merely where this adventure begins, but not where it ends.
What started all of this was my wondering if anyone had ever tried to determine if Holmes had first heard about the suite he had his eye on in Baker Street by seeing it advertised in the paper. Most seekers of the true 221b have either tracked the evidence through the stories, or have gone there and satisfied themselves using physical or intellectual reasons, with the exception of Vincent Starrett who liked a particular spot due to its “occult sense of rightness.” The information that I found may give Sherlockiana a brand new candidate for the true location of 221b.
So, the first ads I found on page 15 started at line 41:
These two ads are from that February 3rd, 1881, edition. The first one has a curious line in it; ‘Only one family taken.’ I’m not sure if this means that one family has already moved in, or if it’s saying only one can, but it seems likely that it’s the latter. It also states that it has attendance, which is very significant as it means that someone lived there and took care of things. The second ad is very straightforward. It doesn’t specify attendance, but also says nothing about one family.
Now, I was wondering if either of these two could be the one he may have looked into, so I checked all of the info I could find about the story and came to a conclusion as to when an ad could work and when it couldn’t. But before I tell you what I figured out I’d like to show you a few other interesting items I stumbled across.
In the December 1, 1880, paper I came across this…
Cleveland Park is about 1 ½ miles west of Baker Street. The interesting thing here is the last line. ‘Apply to Mrs. Hudson.‘ Now, I won’t speculate at all on this one, it was simply a happy little find.
In that same edition I saw this…
This one has the same type of line as before; ‘No others received.’ Again, I don’t know if this is past or present tense. This one, sadly, can’t be the ad we seek as in subsequent versions it shows that it is to attract someone needing in-home medical assistance. Interestingly, the price went up to 2 ½ guineas the very next month. Not the best way to get takers.
In the January 17, 1881, issue I came across this…
If you look at the bottom you will make out the name M. Charpentier. As we all know from the story Inspector Gregson said that he had captured the murderer after visiting Madame Charpentier’s Boarding House. This is fairly close to that info, and the only reference I could find.
This is a good place to end this part as that last ad there was something I found later on. I was looking to add to the paper since I was giving it again. For the fourth time. AND in Tennessee. I wanted something fresh, and it was after finding this that I discovered what caused me to retire the paper on April 26, 2014, after I presented it in Chattanooga. (Again, you'll have to wait.)
Next time we'll look at some really cool things I found during my search. We'll talk about the 'b' in 221b, 'The Resident Patient' (RESI), a ship Watson was once on, and then the big payoff.
See you then, and as always...thanks for reading.
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