alecto cubed
Literature in a box.
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Here are some of my notes for “The Adventure of Black Peter” and “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.” After making the parlor scene of 221-B for Joe, my imagination and possibilities have expanded; now I’m envisioning recreating an entire scene from the story, with the extra clues stowed in a little plastic box affixed to the lid as I’ve done in the past. These are the most ambitious boxes I’ve ever attempted, and I’m so excited to start and have so many ideas blossoming inside my head that I’m gonna have to be careful not to precipitate a hypomanic episode.
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Made especially for my badass violin instructor. I basically made a Sherlock Holmes dollhouse, which was super fun. The fireplace and coat rack are glued in place, but everything else can be arranged and rearranged. There is a Persian slipper containing a miniscule packet of “tobacco” (loose leaf tea) hanging on the right side of the mantelpiece, there is a tiny letter stabbed into the top with a jack-knife, and the previous day’s leftover tobacco drying on the corner for Holmes’s pre-breakfast pipe (so gross). There is a coal scuttle containing coal and cigars in the corner, “V.R.” in bullet holes on the wall, and a deerstalker hanging on the coat rack. I didn’t make the rug or violin. The fireplace, coffee table, sofa, and chair are my first forays into making furniture. Also on top of the mantelpiece are a pipe stand with Holmes’s meerschaum pipe and the other pipe he smokes when he’s “disputatious,” a candle, and all of Holmes’s monographs.
The only bad thing about making these boxes is that as soon as I finish one, I start wanting to make another version – just better.
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Here’s my hidey-hole, where all the magic happens. I’ve been making an effort to work a little neater lately, but this is about as good as it gets. If I do too much cleaning and organizing I can’t find anything, so I avoid it as much as possible. I came out of my last manic episode with that deerstalker hat hanging back there. Now, I’m not saying that I have to be manic to buy a Sherlock Holmes hat – definitely not; but I have to be manic to buy a fucking Harris tweed Sherlock Holmes hat. Go big or go home, amiright?! I briefly tried to hide it from my husband to avoid talking about how much money I spent, but my guilty conscience drove me to ‘fess up pretty quickly. Fortunately his reaction was “Jesus, babe, you’re such a fucking nerd…just don’t wear it when we’re out on a date.”
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Confession: I’m one of those awful, boring, insufferable Sherlock Holmes purists who can’t abide any version of the characters and/or stories that deviate too far from the original canon. I know, I’m the worst, but it’s just the way I am.
With one exception: “Sherlock & Co.” by Goalhanger podcasts. They are updating the original 56 stories, setting them in the present day with a more inclusive cast of characters and the advantages of modern technology. I can’t imagine how difficult reconfiguring some of the details must be, but they’re somehow pulling it off, and I’m a huge fan.
That’s why I wanted to send them a box – just a sign of respect and affection between Sherlock Holmes nerds. I sent them the best box I have available at the moment, which happens to be “The Resident Patient,” and I’m happy that it will have a loving forever home.
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Complete set of clues. Includes a hardwood club with a bone handle, an animal’s tracks drawn on tracing paper, an Indian rupee, and calling cards. 
A wicker crate containing a mysterious furry animal named Teddy. -
This is the second largest box I’ve made, approximately the size of a child’s shoe box. (My largest was “Silver Blaze,” which was in a wooden jewelry box that I modified to look like the front of 221B.) Both were very fun boxes to make, particularly since they are two of my favorite stories.
The clues in this box have been glued down. The items at the foot of the bed are a bent poker from a set of andirons and a dog leash tied into a loop at the end. 
On top of the bed is lying a cane, a candle, and a snake crawling down a bell pull. This scene was possibly what got me hooked on Sherlock Holmes as a youngster, so it was a lot of fun to recreate it! -
In the beginning of this story Holmes shows Watson some clues from one of his old cases that are inside of a wooden box with a sliding lid. I was super excited when I remembered that I actually had one on hand. 
Complete set of clues. This is one of the boxes I’m most proud of due to the amount of detail involved. 
Holmes’s old case files, which were described as sealed with red tape. (Don’t you wish Doyle had written all of these stories?!) 
An old worm-eaten wooden chest. I got to use the Dremel tool for this, which always makes me feel kinda badass and industrious. 
…containing three rusty metal disks. 
A wooden peg with a ball of twine attached. 
An old linen bag pulled from a lake, containing a hunk of twisted, rusty metal and some dull old stones. -
The story begins with Holmes handing Watson some items he extracts from a tin trunk full of old case files, so I put the clues inside this old tin box. It’s the only one I haven’t painted black. 
All of the clues together; Sidney Paget illustration inside lid. 
Young Sherlock laid up with a dog bite to the heel. 
All solution envelopes are sealed with a honeybee wax stamp – natch. (Holmes eventually retired to be a beekeeper.) 
Half-faded tattoo; Penang lawyer walking stick with lead poured into handle; brass cylindrical container sealed with red tape.
alecto cubed 