Don't Forget Your Party Hats ... Tomorrow Is Sherlock Holmes' Birthday

ghostsofpompeii

I've got my Deerstalker hat, Gourd Calabash pipe, a stack of Sherlock Holmes movies next to the DVD player, and my jar of Mrs. Hudson's 221B Bakery Blend at the ready. Tomorrow is a special occasion. 

Just a reminder to all you pipe smoking Sherlock Holmes fans, tomorrow is his birthday. And I don't care if he's a fictitious character or not ... I'm celebrating this year as I have in decades past. The only difference is this year, with the weather so bad, I'll not venture out to get a bottle of Bass Beer, but instead I have one of those sampler sets my wife bought me for Christmas with an assortment of miniature Jack Daniels' whiskeys, and I'm sure to find something appropriate to toast the old gentleman. 

A toast to the man who inspired me to smoke a pipe ... Sherlock Holmes!

Londy3

@ghostsofpompeii, I will join you in a salute. I will break out my bourbon, put on one of my best hats and watch a few shows as well.  salute cumbar.

Oddjob27

I'll join you as well, I'll pull out my deerstalker as well!

PappyJoe

I quote: "Sherlock’s unmistakeable deerstalker hat, for example, was never mentioned in the printed words of the Holmes books. When Sidney Paget illustrated Doyle’s story, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, for publication in The Strand Magazine in 1891, he gave Sherlock a deerstalker hat and an Inverness cape, and the look was forevermore a must for distinguished detectives—so much so that while the deerstalker was originally meant to be worn by hunters (hence the name), the hat now connotes detective work, even without a detective’s head inside it.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-deerstalker-where-sherlock-holmes-popular-image-came-from-7325976/#u5QZS45ePwpozXZp.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter" - from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-deerstalker-where-sherlock-holmes-popular-image-came-from-7325976/

As for the calabash pipe, that came about because the actor William Gillette didn't want the pipe to obscure his face while acting. In the books Holmes is mentioned to smoke an old briar pipe, an old briar root pipe, a clay pipe, an oily black clay pipe, and a cherrywood pipe.

I will pull out a jar of Petersons Sherlock Holmes and smoke it while reading one of the compilation of Sherlock Holmes stories I have. 

motie2

I have extensive files on Holmes and Pipe Smoking if anyone wants to download them. Let me know.

Londy3

@motie2, yes please, that would be great

motie2

@Londy3 -- Here's the best of the collection.....

Londy3

In honor of this event, we are hosting a gathering here with a double feature.  Pipe Smoking is allowed for the first time inside! I will post pictures or live YouTube video on my channel, BeAnalog.

motie2

221B Baker Street Diagrams

http://www.stutler.cc/other/misc/baker_street.html

http://www.stutler.cc/other/misc/images/bakerstreet_new_notes_3000c.png

motie2

THE PIPES OF BASIL RATHBONE'S SHERLOCK HOLMES: A VISUAL ESSAY

http://www.neatpipes.com/en/blog/18/the-pipes-of-basil-rathbones-sherlock-holmes-a-visual-essay-part-i
http://www.neatpipes.com/en/blog/19/the-pipes-of-basil-rathbones-sherlock-holmes-a-visual-essay-part-ii
http://www.neatpipes.com/en/blog/20/the-pipes-of-basil-rathbones-sherlock-holmes-a-visual-essay-part-iii
http://www.neatpipes.com/en/blog/21/the-pipes-of-basil-rathbones-sherlock-holmes-a-visual-essay-part-iv

motie2

Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston

http://www.shpcboston.org/

Topaz75

Charles

I will be wearing my Victorian smoking jacket with my calabash loaded with some Dunhill London Mixture,  with a copy of The Hounds of Baskerville  and some tawny port to celebrate the birthday of Mr. Holmes.

Londy3

Getting ready for tonight...

ghostsofpompeii

Londy3

@ghostsofpompeii, love it. I really wish I had a Calabash!! 

Woodsman

One of the oldest Sherlock Holmes Clubs is the Baker Street Irregulars.

Corey562

jfreedy

Londy3

@Corey562, great looking hat!  Where did you find it?

Charles

@jfreedy - cool picture! 

Londy3

The Sherlock Holmes Celebration was a huge success!

This was the sign I made above the TV

Charles

Pretty cool  @Londy3.  Love the lettering style.  Impressive!  

Londy3

For some reason a couple other pictures didn't post...

Londy3

Deadpool57

You all have certainly stepped up your Sherlock game! I'm impressed!! 

Londy3

@Deadpool57, LMAO. Good one!

Oddjob27

Well done gentlemen! 

ghostsofpompeii

I grew up watching Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as the quintessential Holmes and Watson, but then when the Granada series came on Jeremy Brett became my idea of Sherlock Holmes. But as movies go my all time favorite Sherlock Holmes movie is "Murder By Decree" with Christopher Plummer as Holmes and James Mason as Dr. Watson. And the two were absolutely marvelous in the role. Love the plot although most of my Mason friends didn't like it all that much. Yet of all the theories this seemed to present a much more intricate plot than a simple mad doctor with a hatred of prostitutes, which is what many other Jack The Ripper tales would have you believe. So it goes without saying that this was one of the films I watched last night. And once again, although both Jeremy Brett and Basil Rathbone were among my favorite Holmes performers, the second feature of last night's Sherlock Holmes Twin Bill was the Hammer version of "The Hound Of The Baskervilles" with Peter Cushing as Holmes. That particular version is an excellent Hammer production, and the pairing of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee is always a joy to watch ... whether it Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and Lee as The Monster - or Cushing as Professor Van Helsing and Lee as Dracula - the pair always work well together. So all and all it was a great birthday celebration for Mr. Holmes.   

KA9FFJ

I love the pic @Corey562 You do realize people who own a deerstalker hat are in the minority...

KA9FFJ

@motie2 Thanks for the links showing Holmes and Watson's pipes as seen via their movies. It was most entertaining and educational. Do you know, is the Peterson 4AB still made / available?