Peterson: Christmas 2021 Sherlock Holmes Sandblasted Deerstalker Fishtail Tobacco Pipe

Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never directly named the deerstalker cap as Sherlock Holmes' headwear of choice, references of "ear-flapped travelling cap" and "close fitting, cloth cap" in The Adventure of Silver Blaze and The Boscombe Valley Mystery naturally led to the stories' illustrators depicting the genius detective in a deerstalker hat. The cap both fit Doyle's descriptions and was a typical accessory of the time period. Ever since, the deerstalker has become synonymous with Sherlock, having been worn by his numerous on-stage and on-screen portrayers. Peterson's Deerstalker (the "XL14" shape outside the Sherlock series), however, isn't an ear-flapped cap but, rather, a slightly bent Rhodesian, full of bold, robust proportions — a signature aesthetic of the Irish marque and a style seen through the entire, commemorative Sherlock Holmes collection.

Peterson has released a limited-edition Christmas pipe series every year since 2009, and 2021's release is based on an idea that Ted Swearingen suggested several years prior. Ted is the Chief Operating Officer for Laudisi Enterprises, which supervises Peterson, and he's been inextricably involved with Smokingpipes for over a decade, not to mention the other facets related to Laudisi. At the Dortmund pipe show in 2019, Ted posed to Josh Burgess, managing Director of Peterson, the idea of doing a Peterson Christmas series comprising Sherlock Holmes shapes instead of the Irish marque's standard, numbered designs. Ted and Josh agreed that the established use of copper on Peterson's Christmas pipes — a convention since 2018 — would work especially well on Sherlock Holmes shapes, maintaining Peterson's reputation for quality metalwork but with a warm, comforting motif befitting the Christmas theme. The aesthetic conjures images of a Victorian Christmas, with Holmes and Watson smoking pipes by the hearth, and Peterson's Christmas 2021 series is also the first to feature more than one finish: a sandblast, a rustication, or the smooth Heritage finish. This particular example is found in a dark stain and textured sandblast, bespeaking Peterson's intimate, artisan-style setup that allows the marque's craftsmen to sandblast pipes individually and with more control, and it's fitted to an acrylic stem instead of the Holmes collection's typical use of vulcanite. Furthermore, this piece comes complete with a black, leather pipe stand exclusive to the Christmas 2021 release and marked by Peterson's iconic Sherlock Holmes logo.

Note: While this specific Peterson pipe has been photographed individually like our other pipes, the Peterson-branded leather stand accompanying it has not, and the pipe representing its use may or may not be the one offered on this listing.