Twelfth Night Giveaway: Day 1

“Holmes…I beg you–no homemade cologne this Christmas!”

Welcome to the 1st annual (we’re hoping, anyway) Twelfth Night Giveaway, in which we count down the days between Christmas and January 6th…Epiphany, or, as tradition has it, Sherlock Holmes’ birthday.*  Because Holmes once told Watson (in “The Greek Interpreter”) that “Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms,” and informed him that his own French grandmother was related to the artist Vernet,** we’re starting with some most artistic prizes. The first, for the crafty among you, is a set of clothespin Holmes and Watson dolls, from Austentation. While they’re packaged as “Christmas ornaments,” there’s nothing holiday-ish about them, and they’ll look very nice in your collection. The second part is a packet of notecards, designed by our own “PaintingMouse.”  Featuring a pipe made up of Sherlockian words, like “consulting detective,”  they’re suitable for most any occasion.

John the Elf, displaying today’s prize.

To win these, just answer today’s trivia question…..

To which famous London department store does Mrs. Hudson direct Sherlock Holmes when he’s at a loss to know what to give Watson for Christmas? 

(Hint: This little fact is from the Granada TV series, starring Jeremy Brett and (for this episode) Edward Hardwicke.)

In keeping with the Giveaway Rules (see https://wellreadsherlockian.com/2012/12/15/twelfth-night-blog-give-away/), please send me your answer privately, via a blog comment (they’re moderated, so only I see them), a FaceBook PM, or a Twitter DM.  I’ll draw the winner’s name from the list of correct answers, and post it with the next day’s question! Have fun!

Footnotes:

*Sir Arthur never told us when Holmes was born, although he did tell us he was 60 in August of 1914, leading people to reason that he was born in 1854 (of course, this assumes he wasn’t yet to turn 61 that year, making him born in 1853, but that’s quibbling, isn’t it?). For the reasoning behind the 6th January, 1854, see: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/the-curious-case-of-a-birthday-for-sherlock/.    If you find astrology amusing, here’s a little profile of Holmes as a Capricorn (http://www.diogenes-club.com/zodiac.htm). I quite like it…although, I will state along with its author that “the fact that I am also a Capricorn has nothing to do with how I feel about it.”

** There were, in fact, several French artists by that name, but since they were all related to each other, he probably didn’t feel he had to give any first names.