"His Beloved Aunt Polly": The Aunt Polly Archaeological Preserve and the Life of the First Sherlock Holmes

Summary

The most renowned stage portrayer of Sherlock Holmes, it was William Gillette who brought Conan Doyle’s detective to life for audiences as well as for every actor that followed in his footsteps. Most importantly, he originated the Holmes "look": the deerstalker hat, the curved pipe, and the Inverness cape. In his day, Gillette was the wealthiest actor in the country. He spared no expense in building his eccentric stone "Castle," perched high above the Connecticut River, and in the creation his beloved Aunt Polly, a naptha-powered yacht he commissioned in 1899. Moored at the riverbank beneath the Castle, Aunt Polly burned to the waterline in 1932 under mysterious circumstances. Research and underwater archaeology on the Aunt Polly and her remains are now being incorporated into the Gillette Castle’s museum and waterfront park.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18792