The Baker Street Irregulars is an organization of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

enthusiasts founded in 1934 by Christopher Morley. The nonprofit organization currently numbers some 300 individuals worldwide. The group has published '' The Baker Street Journal'' — an "irregular quarterly of Sherlockiana" — since 1946.

History

The BSI was an outgrowth of Christopher Morley's informal group, "the Three Hours for Lunch Club," which discussed art and literature. The inaugural meeting of the BSI was held in 1934 at Christ Cella's restaurant in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Initial attendees included William Gillette, Vincent Starrett,

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio p ...

, and Gene Tunney. Morley kept meetings quite irregular, but after leadership passed to Edgar W. Smith, meetings became more regular. In February 1934, Elmer Davis, a friend of Morley, authored a constitution for the group explaining their purpose and explaining that anyone who passed a certain test was eligible to join. The May 1934 issue of '' Saturday Review of Literature'' featured the aforementioned "test" which was a crossword puzzle authored by Christopher Morley's younger brother, Frank. Edgar W. Smith led the BSI from 1940 until 1960, initially using the title "Buttons" and later "Buttons-cum-Commissionaire". Julian Wolff was the head of the BSI from late 1960 to 1986, and used the title "Commissionaire". From 1986 until 1997, Thomas L. Stix Jr. was the leader of the organization, and used the title "Wiggins". The title "Wiggins" has since been used for the leadership position. The organization long resisted admitting women, a policy which spawned a female-centered organization, the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes, whose founders had picketed an all-male BSI gathering. In 1991, the first female invested in the BSI was Dame Jean Conan Doyle. She was followed by Katherine McMahon, the first woman to solve the crossword puzzle. McMahon was followed by

Edith Meiser Edith Meiser (May 9, 1898 – September 26, 1993) was an American author and actress, who wrote mystery novels, stage plays, and numerous radio dramas. She is perhaps best known for bringing adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories to radio in the ...

, author of numerous Holmesian radio scripts for '' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' and ''

The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a radio drama series which aired in the USA from 1939 to 1950, it ran for 374 episodes, with many of the later episodes considered lost media. The series was based on the Sherlock Holmes stories by Ar ...

''. Leadership of the BSI passed to Michael Whelan in 1997, and Michael Kean in 2020. Members of the society participate in "the game" which postulates that Holmes and Doctor Watson were real and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was merely Watson's "literary agent".

Membership

Membership is by invitation only based on criteria unknown to the public. Members take on a name inspired by the canon with the head of the organization known as "Wiggins". Since its inception, the organization has had only 701 members. The reference volume ''Sherlock Holmes and the Cryptic Clues'' maintains an all-inclusive list of past and current members, including the year and pseudonym of their Investiture.

Notable members

Notable members of the Baker Street Irregulars, past and present, include the following: * Karen Anderson * Poul Anderson *

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* John Ball * William S. Baring-Gould * John Stevens Berry * Anthony Boucher * Herbert Brean * Jan Burke * Dana Cameron * Frank Cho * Bert Coules *

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Basil Davenport Basil Davenport (1905-1966) was an American literary critic, academic, anthologist, and writer of science fiction novels and other genres. He was a member of the Baker Street Irregulars literary society. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky on Marc ...

David Stuart Davies David Stuart Davies (born 1946) is a British writer. He worked as a teacher of English before becoming a full-time editor, writer, and playwright. Davies has written extensively about Sherlock Holmes, both fiction and non-fiction. He is the edi ...

Elmer Davis Elmer Holmes Davis (January 13, 1890 – May 18, 1958) was an American news reporter, author, the Director of the United States Office of War Information during World War II and a Peabody Award recipient. Early life and career Davis was born i ...

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* The

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* Dame Jean Conan Doyle * Stillman Drake * Ralph Earle, II * Lyndsay Faye * Robert L. Fish *

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* John Gardner * Paul Gore-Booth *

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* Michael Harrison *

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* Ebbe Hoff *

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Leslie S. Klinger Leslie S. Klinger (born May 2, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American attorney and writer. He is a noted literary editor and annotator of classic genre fiction, including the Sherlock Holmes stories and the novels '' Dracula'', ''Frankenst ...

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* Ira Brad Matetsky * Thomas M. McDade *

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* Christopher Morley * Frank Morley *

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* Lenore Glen Offord * Fulton Oursler *

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Stuart Palmer Stuart Palmer (June 21, 1905 – February 4, 1968) was a mystery novel writer and screenwriter best known for his character Hildegarde Withers. He also wrote under the names Theodore Orchards

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* Svend Petersen * H. C. Potter * Fletcher Pratt * Michael J. Quigley * David A. Randall * Franklin D. Roosevelt (honorary) * Albert M. Rosenblatt * S. J. Rozan * Peter A. Ruber *

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* Red Smith * Vincent Starrett *

Daniel Stashower Daniel Stashower is an American author and editor of mystery fiction and historical nonfiction. He lives in Maryland. Awards and honors Stashower has received awards and recognition for several of his works. Fiction The mystery novel '' The Adve ...

* Frederic Dorr Steele * Chris Steinbrunner * Rex Stout * Eve Titus * Harry Truman (honorary) *

Manly Wade Wellman Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as ''Astounding Stories'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Unknown'' and '' Strange Stories'', Wellman i ...

* J. N. Williamson * Douglas Wilmer

The Baker Street Journal

The group publishes a periodical, '' The Baker Street Journal''. The original series of the BSJ was started in 1946, but it ceased in 1949. In 1951, Edgar Smith began publishing it again as a quarterly; it has continued publication since that time.

Scion societies

The BSI has spawned numerous "scion societies", many of which are officially recognized by the BSI. The first was The Five Orange Pips of

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

in 1935. Independent Sherlockian groups include the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes, the U.K.’s Sherlock Holmes Society of London, and Canada's The Bootmakers of Toronto.

References

External links

The BSI website

Baker Street Irregulars TrustThe Baker Street Journal

Collection Guide to Baker Street Irregulars Papers 1923–2007
(MS Am 2717), Houghton Library,

Harvard Library Harvard Library is the umbrella organization for Harvard University's libraries and services. It is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic library and largest private library in the world. Its collection ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker Street Irregulars, The Sherlock Holmes Literary fan clubs Literary societies Organizations established in 1934