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Category Archives: PRIO

Adventure of the Priory School

From Watson’s Tin Box – The Priory School

From Watson’s Tin Box – The Priory School

“Somewhere in the vaults of the bank of Cox and Co., at Charing Cross, there is a travel-worn and battered tin dispatch-box with my name, John H. Watson, MD, Late Indian Army, painted upon the lid.”

– The Problem of Thor Bridge (THOR)

“We have had some dramatic entrances and exits upon our small stage at Baker Street, but I cannot recollect anything more sudden and startling than the first appearance of Dr Thorneycroft Huxtable, M.A., Ph.D., etc. His card, which seemed too small to carry the weight of his academic distinctions, preceded him by a few seconds, and then he entered himself – so large, so pompous, and so dignified that he was the very embodiment of self-possession and solidity.: ~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box

 

Watson’s Tin Box, a BSI scion that meets in Columbia, Maryland, shares a few select items from their tin evidence box for The Adventure of the Priory School with us here at The Fourth Garrideb. These evidence boxes were originally created by the late Paul Churchill, BSI, one of the founders of Watson’s Tin Box and contains both genuine artifacts and genuine faux reproductions that he (and others) created. These items create a great deal of discussion at their monthly meetings and we hope it will do the same here. Enjoy!

“Return ticket from Mackleton, in the North of England,’ said Holmes, drawing it from the watch-pocket. ‘It is not twelve o’clock yet. He has certainly been an early starter.” ~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box

   

“Our visitor had consumed his milk and biscuits. The light had come back to his eyes and the colour to his cheeks as he set himself with great vigour and lucidity to explain the situation.” ~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box

“He now drew out his note-book and jotted down one or two memoranda.” ~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box

   

“Look at this map. This dark square is the Priory School. I’ll put a pin in it. Now, this line is the main road. You see that it runs east and west past the school, and you see also there is no side road for a mile either way. If these two folk passed away by road it was this road.” ~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box

“There was an agitated knock at the door, and an instant afterwards Dr Huxtable was in the room. In his hand he held a blue cricket-cap, with a white chevron on the peak” ~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box
“A bicycle certainly, but not the bicycle,’ said he. ‘I am familiar with forty-two different impressions left by tyres. This, as you perceive, is a Dunlop, with a patch upon the outer cover. Heidegger’s tyres were Palmers, leaving longitudinal stripes. Aveling, the mathematical master, was sure upon the point. Therefore it is not Heidegger’s track.” ~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box
“I brought the peasant across, and Holmes dispatched the frightened man with a note to Dr Huxtable.”~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box
“There were two rough-haired, unkempt horses in the tumble-down stable. Holmes raised the hind leg of one of them and laughed loud.
‘Old shoes, but newly shod – old shoes, but new nails.” ~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box
“I fancy that I see your Grace’s cheque-book upon the table,’ said he, ‘I should be glad if you would make me out a cheque for six thousand pounds. It would be as well, perhaps, for you to cross it. The.Capital and Counties Bank, Oxford Street branch, are my agents.” ~ WTB PRIO Evidence Box

 

Thanks to the 42nd Garrideb, Denny Dobry, for the scans in this post. Thanks also to Debbie Clark, the 58th Garrideb, the current keeper of the evidence boxes.

Watson’s Tin Box, a BSI scion in Columbia, MD, is one of the most active Sherlockian groups in the Middle Atlantic region, Generally meeting on the last Monday of each month, the meetings feature canonical toasts, good conversations and dining, as well as a discussion of the month’s featured story and an educational presentation. For more information about Watson’s Tin Box, please visit their website HERE

 

 

 

Data! Data! Data! – The Priory School

Data! Data! Data! – The Priory School

“‘Data! Data! Data!‘ he cried impatiently. ‘I can’t make bricks without clay.’” – The Adventures of The Copper Beeches (COPP) Illustration by Sidney Paget in The Strand Magazine (February,1904) This column is composed of material (Data!) developed for a short course called Appreciating Sherlock Holmes that I taught twice a year in the Community Education Life… Continue Reading

The 17 Steps: The Priory School

The 17 Steps: The Priory School

Seventeen thoughts for further ponderance of the case at hand – The Priory School (PRIO) DIRT FROM ALL THROUGH ENGLAND Of Huxtable we are told, “Collar and shirt bore the grime of a long journey, and the hair bristled unkempt from the well-shaped head.” Thorneycroft Huxtable had rushed to Baker Street from the north of… Continue Reading

A Connection Between Coins

A Connection Between Coins

We are sharing this post from the British Royal Mint’s website. To see the original post, click HERE. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the majority of the Sherlock Holmes™ stories during the Victorian era. The coinage of Queen Victoria, amongst other coins, included the Sovereign, the Half-Sovereign, the crown and the shilling. Struck by The… Continue Reading

Sherlock Holmes and Cheques, Part II

Sherlock Holmes and Cheques, Part II

‘I think twelve thousand pounds is the sum that I owe you, is it not?’ – The Priory School (PRIO) The other month, we posted Lee Poleske’s article on Sherlock Holmes related checks. The British Banking History Society has shared three other checks of banks mentioned in the Canon. The Capital and Counties Bank Limited, where Sherlock Holmes… Continue Reading

Sherlock Holmes and Cheques

Sherlock Holmes and Cheques

Many people collect checks connected with specific bank ‘family trees’, others from banks connected with a certain town or city. Many collectors also collect cheques signed by famous people, but perhaps more challenging is collecting cheques associated with fictional characters. One of the best known fictional characters in the world, and one of my favorites,… Continue Reading

The Banking Connection: 1894 – 1994

The Banking Connection: 1894 – 1994

“The Capital and Counties Bank, Oxford Street branch, are my agents.” – The Adventure of The Priory School (PRIO) London in 1894, when Sherlock Holmes returned from his incognito foreign journeying, was enjoying the Golden Age of British Imperial investment and expansion, bringing an enormous accretion of wealth to the Capital City of the Empire.… Continue Reading

Coins of the Canon – The Money of Late Victorian England (2008)

Coins of the Canon – The Money of Late Victorian England (2008)

Queen Victoria ruled Great Britain from 1837 until her death in 1901. During the 64 years of her reign, Britain turned to the remote parts of the world and established a colonial empire of such extent and prosperity that the world has never seen its like. Over the years of her reign, the bust of… Continue Reading