I’m sure we’ve all seen the famous calabash pipe, favoured by Sherlock Holmes. You know, the curly calabash with it’s distinctive shape? It’s just as much a part of Sherlock Holmes as his deerstalker hat and magnifying glass.
The original calabash pipes are made from the calabash gourd. The African variety is regarded as the best to use, as the European (usually Greek) calabash gourds rarely have the right shape favoured by the pipe makers.
The main part of the calabash pipe is the top, bent stem of the African calabash gourd. The actual bowl, in which the tobacco is smoked, is an insert, often of meerschaum or porcelain. Which is inserted into the hollowed out gourd stem, with the aid of a cork gasket.
For many a literary fan it is fun and exciting to dress up and play the part of ones favorite character but it seems that no other character is quite as popular as that of a one Sherlock Holmes. His quirky yet intelligent actions in the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle make him among the top literary characters that are researched and requested today. Even in death, he was a popular character, and the public begged for his resurrection. Doyle finally did give him back to the world and the fans, which would be seen wearing black armbands around their arms in public to mourn for the loss of the popular character.
Before the world was treated to the many flavors presented by motion pictures, people had other brilliant ideas to entertain themselves. They exercised their imaginations through reading all sorts of books and related forms of written literature.
Detective fiction was one genre which had a strong following ever since its informal debut many years ago. Children and adults alike would stay up all night reading, captivated by the thrill and suspense associated with detective books. The excitement usually clings to a reader even if he or she isnt actually reading the story; oftentimes people would not hesitate to pick up a detective book and finish it just to know how the story ends.
