Just Watson's Grandparents?

 In all my years as a Sherlockian, and lately a Watsonian podcaster, I have heard many a conversation and read many a thought on John H. Watson's sad brother and his late father. The watch scene in The Sign of the Four has etched that one into Sherlockian minds like the pawnbroker's scratched ticket number mentioned in that same scene. But in all that time, I've never heard anyone speak of Watson's grandparents.

Tonight's library group discussion of "The Adventure of the Empty House" brought a particular line from that story to the fore: 

"The face was turned half-round, and the effect was that of one of those black silhouettes which our grandparents loved to frame."

Tracing a person's profile on to black paper and then cutting it out was an nice, low-cost way to do something like a portrait before photography was a thing. The middle and lower classes could afford to hang such a shadow portrait of a loved one on their wall in the Victorian era, and apparently Watson's grandparents were fond of the form. The idea that a young John H. Watson's silhouette was once hung upon their wall is intriguing.

Silhouettes of Sherlock Holmes, inspired by that window shade in "Empty House" or not, have long been a part of Sherlockian culture going back a long ways. How far back? Well, let me propose a first silhouette of Sherlock Holmes that goes back long before anyone ever read of him. Because what did Watson write?

"... one of those black silhouettes which OUR grandparents loved to frame."

And who was he with when that "our" came up?

Sherlock Holmes.

Sounds a little bit like Holmes and Watson had the same grandparents, doesn't it?

Holmes and Watson as first cousins? Which would mean Watson only pretended he didn't know about Mycroft (like he doesn't seem to know about Moriarty when we know he did). And that Stamford bringing them together was a little different than we imagined: "Hey, I heard your cousin was looking for someone to share rooms with."

Well, it's a thought. Always something fun coming up at library discussion group night.