Holmes’s idiosyncratic storage of tobacco also speaks volumes. In MUSG, Watson observes: “He had kept his tobacco in the toe end of a Persian slipper.” It is an unforgettable detail that blends the exotic, the disorderly, and the personal in one object, while also reinforcing Baker Street’s bohemian atmosphere.
In HOUN, Holmes’s preference is stated clearly: “Holmes smoked a black shag tobacco with a strong, acrid smell.” Black shag is a coarse-cut, dark tobacco with a penetrating odour, ideal for long, contemplative pipe sessions. It was economical and durable, burning slowly and releasing strong flavour. The choice further emphasizes Holmes’s desire for mental stimulation over social refinement.
Holmes also uses cigarettes strategically. In SIGN, he smokes “specially prepared” cigarettes while injecting himself with a seven-per-cent solution of cocaine. The description is as clinical as it is disturbing, aligning Holmes’s smoking with his wider appetite for sensory stimulation.
In NAVA, Holmes uses a cigarette as part of his theatrics. Before revealing the lost treaty, he leans back “with the complacent expression of the true connoisseur of crime,” exhaling smoke in a moment of dramatic flair.
Holmes’s cigars appear more often in a forensic context than as personal indulgence. In NORW, cigar ash found at the scene supports Holmes’s deductions. In ABBE, cigar ends also provide material clues.
Dr. Watson, while less obsessive, is no stranger to tobacco. He partakes regularly, often in the spirit of companionship. His preference seems to lie with cigars, which he smokes at leisure. In HOUN, while staying with Sir Henry, Watson records his cigar use as part of his nightly routine. In BLAN, Holmes himself notes: “I had no Watson by me to smoke cigarettes and keep up a running fire of exclamation.” This line not only alludes to Watson’s cigarette use but his role in the narrative process.
In SCAN, Watson smokes a cigarette while listening to Holmes’s deductions, reinforcing his function as both audience and interlocutor. He does so again in BLUE, sharing an evening pipe with Holmes as they reflect on their escapade.
Watson does not, as far as the canon shows, differentiate between types of ash. Nor does he ever display Holmes’s encyclopedic knowledge of blends. His smoking remains a habit of relaxation, a pastime, and a social gesture rather than a method.
The image of a smoke-filled Baker Street sitting room recurs in the canon as both scene and symbol. In BRUC, Holmes sits “curled up in his arm-chair with his pipe between his lips,” lost in the missing naval documents. In DYIN, Holmes refuses food and water for days but smokes a cigarette in feigned illness, using tobacco as both disguise and stimulus.
In many stories, Holmes’s smoking precedes the moment of deduction, reinforcing its connection to mental work. In DEVI, Holmes and Watson smoke together on the Cornish coast before confronting a deadly toxin. In EMPT, Holmes uses a wax dummy of himself—complete with smoking pipe—to lure an assassin, underlining tobacco’s symbolic and practical place in his life.
The contrast between Holmes’s and Watson’s smoking habits offers subtle commentary on their personalities. Holmes, driven and cerebral, uses strong tobacco in pursuit of clarity and focus. His smoking often borders on excess, as in SIGN, where Watson watches with concern as Holmes chainsmokes while indulging his cocaine habit.
Watson’s smoking, by contrast, is social and balanced. His cigars represent rest, reflection, and sometimes camaraderie. Even their choice of accessories—Holmes with his Persian slipper, Watson with his cigar case—reflects this divergence in temperament.
Their shared smoking rituals, however, bind them together. Whether investigating a mystery or unwinding at day’s end, the act of smoking becomes a familiar comfort, a shared habit amid the chaos of their adventures.
Though Doyle never once describes Holmes with a calabash pipe, this image has become central to popular depictions. William Gillette, the American actor who first portrayed Holmes on stage, introduced the calabash for theatrical convenience—it allowed lines to be delivered clearly while holding the pipe. This theatrical device became visual shorthand for the character, even though Holmes in the canon prefers clay and cherry-wood pipes.
This discrepancy between text and image is illustrative: tobacco