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Creator
Five Orange Pips of Westchester County
Call number
MssCol 18241
Physical description
1.47 linear feet (4 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Five Orange Pips of Westchester County records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Five Orange Pips of Westchester County, established in 1935, is one of the first "scion societies" of the Baker Street Irregulars, the oldest and largest organization of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts in the United States. The records consist predominantly of chronological files documenting the activities of the Pips between 1947 and 2011, and other related material contributed by club members.

Biographical/historical information

The Five Orange Pips of Westchester County was established in 1935 by Owen P. Frisbie, Frank E. Waters, Norman Ward, Gordon Knox Bell, and Richard Warner Clark. It is one of the first "scion societies" of the Baker Street Irregulars, the oldest and largest organization of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts in the United States. The club consisted of only ten members at any given time, all with permanent tenure. Members of note include CIA intelligence officer James Ramsay Hunt, Jr.; Benjamin S. Clark, a New York City investment banker who became a member of the Pips in 1951 and served as its leader emeritus until his death in 1993; and Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt, a retired justice of the New York Supreme Court and the New York State Court of Appeals.

Scope and arrangement

The records of the Five Orange Pips of Westchester County consist predominantly of chronological files documenting the activities of the Pips between 1947 and 2011, and containing copies of Sherlock Holmes- and Arthur Conan Doyle-related papers presented by members. Also included is material relating to the history of the Pips and other Sherlockian groups; general correspondence relating to the group; papers regarding founding member Benjamin Schuyler Clark and his participation with the Pips, and papers belonging to Albert M. Rosenblatt, also relating to his participation with the Pips.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Albert Rosenblatt, 2008.

Processing information

Compiled by Kit Messick, 2010. Additional material added to the collection by Kit Fluker in 2017.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328