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 Our journal, The Magic Door, published three times a year, brings you news about Friends special events and articles about the Collection. The publication's name comes from the title of a volume of Conan Doyle's essays about his favourite authors. The following is an excerpt from an article in the Summer 2009 (Vol. 12/No.1) issue. In the September, 1909 issue of The Strand, under the heading “Some Recollections of Sport,” Arthur Conan Doyle reflected on his 50th birthday: As one approaches one’s fiftieth birthday one looks back at one’s career in sport — a very humble one in my case — as a thing which approaches completion. Yet I have at least held on to it as long as I could, for I played a hard match of association football at forty four, I still play cricket of a declining quality, and I am good for three rounds with the gloves when I can get the chance. But if I have never specialized, and have therefore been a second-rater in all things, I have made up for it by being an all-rounder, and have had, I dare say, as much fun out of sport as many an adept.
These are certainly the words of a man approaching middle age with equanimity, looking back on a sporting life he was proud of. Of course we know that his love of sport was only a small part of a life lived with vigour and enthusiasm and filled with accomplishments in so many fields. As the Doylean world celebrates ACD’s 150th birthday, we can appreciate the eclectic and accomplished career that he experienced over a long and energetic life. Those of us who have taken an interest in learning about the man known as “the most famous Englishman of his day” can attest to the fact that his epitaph was most appropriate – Steel True, Blade Straight. I would expect that many readers of this issue will have taken a few moments on May 22 to recognize the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. For the fortunate, such an occasion may well have included friends with a similar interest in ACD and a convivial libation over a pleasant meal. With one such group, The Main Street Irregulars, I was fortunate to share a celebratory lunch in Waterloo, at which ACD’s life was toasted, and conversation, as usual, was as varied as was ACD’s life. Ten Toronto Friends of the aCD Collection were able to share with many of our international Friends the birthday celebrations at Harvard University’s Houghton library. Hosted by the library, with contributions from the Baker Street Irregulars and the Speckled Band of Boston, Arthur Conan Doyle: A Sesquicentennial Assessment was exactly that. Almost 100 international Doyleans gathered to participate in a three-day event that featured the usual mixture of scholarship, socializing and a serious examination of many aspects of ACD’s legacy. A wonderful exhibition, Ever Westward: Arthur Conan Doyle and American Culture featured items from the Houghton Library’s collection, the BSI archives and as well as from the libraries of a couple of noted collectors. Attendees were able to see a large selection of absolutely unique items related to Conan Doyle and his fascination with the culture on the western shores of the Atlantic. The speaker list included many prominent Doyleans and Sherlockians, but also some academics who all shared their understanding of various aspects of ACD’s life and legacy. All sessions clearly demonstrated why so many of us still find fresh interest in the life and legacy of arthur Conan Doyle – 150 years on. And what are we doing here in Toronto to celebrate this famous birthday? Our curator, Peggy Perdue, describes a Conan Doyle walk of places he visited in Toronto. It was held in May for those unable to join us in Boston. A day-long series of activities is planned this fall that will hopefully include a morning children’s program, and a Doylean speaker and film program in the afternoon. Watch the ACD Friends web site www.acdfriends.org for details over the coming weeks.* |