Sherlock Holmes Puppet

Created for the Eames Office presentation Sherlock Holmes and the Singular Case of the Plural Green Mustache inside the IBM Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, this Sherlock Holmes puppet served as the production’s crime-solving protagonist. Made of painted metal, the tin figure combines the familiar silhouette of the famous detective⁠—deerstalker cap, pipe, book, and cape⁠—with a whimsical, stylized design characteristic of the Eames Office.

At the end of each performance, the puppet’s cape folded open to reveal an intricate mechanical interior of gears, valves, dials, and linkages. The message was clear: a computer-like machine had solved the crime, celebrating the exhibition’s sponsor, IBM, then at the forefront of the emerging computer industry. The puppet was operated pneumatically through air hoses and manipulated by a single offstage technician.

The production used humor and play to introduce the public to the emerging world of computer technology. At a moment when computers remained mysterious to most Americans, Charles and Ray Eames transformed complex ideas into accessible and entertaining experiences for millions of fairgoers.

After the fair closed, IBM Pavilion Manager, John Berkenfield, was allowed to keep the puppet. Remarkably intact today, it remains an extraordinary surviving artifact from the IBM Pavilion and a rare example of the Eames Office’s theatrical and exhibition design work

Gift of John Berkenfield. Part of a group gift including Artifacts# G.2024.61.2, G.2024.61.3, and G.2024.61.4