The Baker Street Irregulars

[5] The BSI was an outgrowth of Christopher Morley's informal group, "the Three Hours for Lunch Club," which discussed art and literature.

[7] Initial attendees included William Gillette, Vincent Starrett, Alexander Woollcott, and Gene Tunney.

[6][8] In February 1934, Elmer Davis, a friend of Morley, wrote a constitution for the group explaining its purpose and stating that anyone who passed a certain test was eligible to join.

[9] This test, a crossword puzzle by Morley's younger brother Frank, was published in the May 1934 issue of Saturday Review of Literature.

[6] As of 2020, the organization has had a total of 701 members, whose names, years of investiture, and pseudonym are listed in the reference volume Sherlock Holmes and the Cryptic Clues.

The Baker Street Irregulars meeting on January 30, 1940. Those pictured include Christopher Morley , Frederic Dorr Steele , Robert Keith Leavitt , and David A. Randall , among others. [ 1 ]
Baker Street Irregulars Fletcher Pratt , Christopher Morley and Rex Stout (1944)