Peterson: Christmas 2021 Sherlock Holmes Sandblasted Watson Fishtail Tobacco Pipe

The Watson from Peterson's Sherlock Holmes collection fittingly enough shares a considerable amount of shaping cues with the Original Sherlock Holmes design. Both display a deeply bent shank and stem combination ending in a defined transition, and the only difference lies in their bowls — the Original poises the quintessential Holmes Calabash bowl, whose curves and flare coincide with Sherlock's eccentric, bohemian personality, while the tall Rhodesian of the "XL17" Watson, presented here, better embodies the doctor's more reserved, gentlemanly nature.

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.