Details
[CLARK, Kenneth. Beekeeping. Harmondsworth, (1951)]. Bound as: HOLMES, Sherlock. The Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen. London: Methuen & Co., [1911].
8o. (Evenly yellowed.) Dark blue cloth, gilt lettered on front cover and spine; linen box.
This copy is a faithful reproduction of the book referred to in "His Last Bow" of 1917. After the book was used as a decoy in foiling the German spy van Bork, Watson questions Holmes about its existence: "'But you had retired Holmes. We heard of you as living the life of a hermit among your bees and your books in a small farm upon the South Downs.' -- 'Exactly, Watson. Here is the fruit of my leisured ease, the magnum opus of my latter years!' He picked up the volume from the table and read out the whole title...'Alone I did it. Behold the fruit of pensive nights and laborious days, when I watched the little working gangs as once I watched the criminal world of London.'"
The origins of this cleverly assembled volume were a mystery until explicated by Betty and Karl Showler in 1996. The creator was apparently Remsen T. Schenck, a member of the Baker Street Irregulars, circa 1959. He gathered some copies of the Penguin edition of Clark's book, added the fictitious preliminaries (including a warm dedication to Watson and a reference to the author's other work, "Codes and Ciphers"), and dispersed them to a few confederates. It is unknown how many copies were made. VERY RARE ITEM OF SHERLOCKIANA. Not in De Waal. See Baker Street Journal, vol. 16; Antiquarian Book and Monthly Review, March 1992.
[With]: The Case of the Holmes Bee Book. The Showler pamphlet, B&K Books, [1996] with Clark's unadulterated paperback; cloth box. -- COOK, Michael L. Practical Handbook of Bee Culture. New York, 1982. (5)
8
This copy is a faithful reproduction of the book referred to in "His Last Bow" of 1917. After the book was used as a decoy in foiling the German spy van Bork, Watson questions Holmes about its existence: "'But you had retired Holmes. We heard of you as living the life of a hermit among your bees and your books in a small farm upon the South Downs.' -- 'Exactly, Watson. Here is the fruit of my leisured ease, the magnum opus of my latter years!' He picked up the volume from the table and read out the whole title...'Alone I did it. Behold the fruit of pensive nights and laborious days, when I watched the little working gangs as once I watched the criminal world of London.'"
The origins of this cleverly assembled volume were a mystery until explicated by Betty and Karl Showler in 1996. The creator was apparently Remsen T. Schenck, a member of the Baker Street Irregulars, circa 1959. He gathered some copies of the Penguin edition of Clark's book, added the fictitious preliminaries (including a warm dedication to Watson and a reference to the author's other work, "Codes and Ciphers"), and dispersed them to a few confederates. It is unknown how many copies were made. VERY RARE ITEM OF SHERLOCKIANA. Not in De Waal. See Baker Street Journal, vol. 16; Antiquarian Book and Monthly Review, March 1992.
[With]: The Case of the Holmes Bee Book. The Showler pamphlet, B&K Books, [1996] with Clark's unadulterated paperback; cloth box. -- COOK, Michael L. Practical Handbook of Bee Culture. New York, 1982. (5)