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This month's column starts with a bit of reader mail. Peter Blau of Washington, D.C. writes:

"... what happened ninety years ago was that 'Sherlock Holmes Baffled' was registered for copyright.

Sherlock Holmes Baffled, the first known Sherlock Holmes movie, was photographed on the roof of a New York studio of the American Mutoscope & Biograph Co. on Apr. 26, 1900, according to the people at Historical Films (who checked the archives). The film wasn't registered for copyright until Feb. 24, 1903, and that has led some filmographers to an incorrect date for the film."

Over the years, Peter has constantly impressed me with the seemingly encyclopaedic nature of his mind. He can come up with a bit of unique information about any Sherlockian subject you'd care to name -- people, books, films ... you name it. And when he doesn't know something he has an idea where to look for it.

Compare this, if you will, to the writer of this very same column last month: Hurried, under pressure of a deadline, my vague notion memory steered me in the direction of the first resort of the novice Sherlockian researcher:

Baring-Gould's The Annotated. Sherlock Holmes.

The Annotated Sherlock Holmes is a terrific book (or books in the two-volume editions). Of all the must-haves in the world of Sherlock Holmes, the Annotated, is at the top of the list. It's not rare. It's not original. But between its covers is the best of everything Sherlockian. All sixty Holmes stories. Conan Doyle. The Baker Street Irregulars. Hiatus theories. The "Watson Was a Woman" theory. Chronology. Pictures. Maps. EVERYTHING.

Well, at least it seems like everything, especially to the newly indoctrinated Sherlockian. The Annotated is responsible for steering a lot of potentially great Sherlockians our way, and then pointing them in the right direction once they're here. If there ever was a basic handbook for the Sherlockian, this is it.

The problem is, it isn't always right. It's dated. A lot of its facts are based on the current level of Sherlockian knowledge a full thirty years ago. The chronology of the stories in it is based on one man's opinion. It's a truly great book, but it isn't the Bible.

What it is is a starting place, a sampler, if you will. Get a feel for something Sherlockian there or a tip on where to go. But search further. The materials aren't always available, and many of them are rare indeed. But your fellow Sherlockians are out there. You may not be able to afford a three-hundred dollar first edition by Edgar Smith, but you can afford a thirty cent stamp. There's someone out there who can tell you what you need to know, where to look for it, who to ask ... and these people are really nice folk, too.

In these days of high-priced collectibles, the greatest resource of the Sherlockian world is as cheap and accessible as ever: our fellow Sherlockians. Sure, you may not know these people yet, but ask the wisest Sherlockian you do know -- he or she will put you in touch with the wisest Sherlockian they know, and eventually you'll find somebody with the answer to any question you can pose. That isn't to say that there's one all-knowing GREAT SHERLOCKIAN out there, but there is someone with the answer to this question, and someone else with the answer to that question.

The greatest book of Sherlockian knowledge isn't really a book at all ... it's us.

One of the most impressive human beings I ever met was the late Newt Williams. He had taken the Annotated, a step further and added his own annotations to the margins, keeping the book current with every new piece of Sherlockiana to come along. It was a proud moment for me when, during a visit, he had to look something up and pointed out my name among the footnotes. An obscure theory from an article I had written had applied to a particular story, and he'd added it to his Annotated. Here was a Sherlockian who knew more about the field than I may ever know, and he had still taken the time to add my small contribution to his own great book.