American Toby Jug Museum 

Sherlock Holmes character jug tankard produced by Lancaster and Sandland of Hanley, England, circa 1950. Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the most famous of all fictional detectives. Devised by Scottish author and physician, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he made his first published appearance in 1887. Holmes describes himself as a consulting detective, an expert who is brought into cases that have proven too difficult for other investigators. Never far from his pipe and magnifying glass, he specializes in solving unusual cases using his extraordinary powers of observation and logical reasoning. Holmes lived at 221B Baker Street, London, an upper-story flat where he spent many of his professional years and where he shared rooms for some time with his good friend, Dr. Watson, before Watson's marriage in 1890. His landlady, Mrs. Hudson, maintained the residence. In many of the stories, the practical Watson, whom Holmes is always assuring "elementary, my dear Watson," assists Holmes. Holmes' signature pipe forms the handle of the jug.