Pipe Spotlight: Peterson’s Mark Twain


A year and a half ago, I published a series of posts on Pipe Smoking and Theology. In the first part of the series, we discussed different types of pipes, tobaccos, etc. Since then I’ve been posting reviews of different tobaccos that I enjoy. In this series, I’ll be focusing on the pipes I have in my collection. And the first pipe I want to spotlight is a pipe I never really thought I would acquire.

When I started smoking a pipe, I was smoking a hand-me-down Dr. Grabow.[1] I then purchased my first pipe from a local pipe and tobacco shop. It was a no-name, Italian made, basket pipe; a little sandblasted ¼ bent pot with a smooth rim on the bowl. It smoked all right but I was still learning about different pipes, different tobaccos, different packing methods, etc. You get the idea. I had a long way to go and even more to learn.

But there was something in the pipe case of that shop that caught my eye. It was a pipe that had been cut in half so one could see the inner working of this particular type of pipe. I asked the person behind the counter what the deal was with that pipe and I was told that it’s a display model from Peterson Pipes showing how their System Pipes work. I was intrigued as one might guess.

So I started investigating Peterson’s System Pipes. Since I’ve written about Peterson Pipes before, here’s a brief summary:[2]

“Friedrich and Heinrich Kapp, German immigrants to Ireland from NĂĽrnberg, Germany, founded the famed Kapp Brothers store on Grafton Street, Dublin in 1865. Shortly thereafter, a Latvian immigrant, Charles Peterson, strolled into the Kapp workshop and declared that he could make better pipes than they. Armed with an imaginative flair for pipes and a craftsman’s background, Peterson not only proved himself correct, but became the third partner in the fledgling firm. During the last hundred years, Kapp and Peterson has grown tremendously without losing sight of their original dedication to quality, handcrafted products at a reasonable price.”[3]

In the 1890’s, Charles Peterson patented a revolutionary tobacco pipe that contains a chamber in the shank to collect moisture. A number of years later, he patented a new mouthpiece — the “Peterson Lip” or “P-Lip” — which gives a cooler smoke by directing the smoke to the roof of the mouth. And, thus, Peterson’s System Pipe was born.[4] Mark Irwin, author of The Peterson Pipe: The Story of Kapp & Peterson, said in a 2018 interview, “The P-Lip mouthpiece partners with the reservoir. Without it, there is no System” (emphasis added).[5]

So, after much research (and pinching pennies) I purchased my first Peterson System Pipe — a #312 in a rusticated finish.[6] Since that first smoke, I’ve purchased other Peterson pipes and most of them have been System Pipes. And, if I’m honest, Peterson’s System Pipes are some of the best (if not the best) pipes I smoke. They just deliver me a better smoke, though your mileage may very.

When I started down the path of this hobby, I used to get the Pipes and Tobacco magazine. Inside the magazine the world of pipes and tobaccos really opened up for me. I learned about different artisans, classic pipe manufacturers, and various tobacco blends. It was while reading one of these magazines in the late 1990’s that I found the “holy grail” for me in the pipe world — Peterson’s Mark Twain pipe.

The story goes that the folks at Peterson noticed a picture of Mark Twain smoking what appeared to be a Peterson pipe. They contacted the people at the Mark Twain Museum to see if they had any information about the pipe in the photograph. To Peterson’s surprise, the museum was in custody of that very pipe and they confirmed that it was, in fact, a Peterson! It was given to Twain by his daughter in the late 1800’s and was smoked by Twain until his death in 1910.

After many conversations back and forth — getting measurements, stamping, dating, etc. — in 1980 Peterson released a limited series of Deluxe System Pipes (numbered from 1-400) commemorating Mark Twain. The pipe was similar to the pipe from the picture. These “Mark Twain” pipes had a gold ferrule[7] and sold for around $350.

A year later in 1981, Peterson released another run of a thousand more Mark Twain pipes (numbered 1-1000). These pipes and all the pipes in the series since then had a sterling silver ferrule. From 1983 to roughly 1989, Peterson created an unnumbered series of the Mark Twain pipe.[8]

After reading the article about the Mark Twain pipe, and just being enamored by the beauty of the pipe itself, I started the arduous task of procuring one of those pipes. I found some listed on ebay and even placed a bid for a couple. But I was always outbid and the pipes sold for hundreds of dollars. It was not unusual to see them go for over $400 which is way too much money for me to spend on a pipe even now, not to mention back then.

Several years passed by and the idea, the fantasy, of ever owning a Peterson’s Mark Twain pipe had all but left my mind. That is, until sometime in the early to mid 2000’s when we stopped by an antique shop.

We were on our way home and my wife wanted to stop by this particular shop to check out their wrought iron fencing for the garden. While she was looking at the fencing outside, my daughter and I went inside to look around. And what did I spy with my little eye? Why, it was a Peterson’s Mark Twain pipe! But it wasn’t just the pipe. No; this specimen had the box, the paperwork, the sock, the whole thing!

When I asked to see the pipe, I wasn’t ready for what I found. It looked like it had hardly been smoked! There was no odor from the bowl and no teeth marks on the stem. The sterling silver ferrule on the shank was a little tarnished but other than that, the pipe looked in very good condition. What I really wasn’t ready for, though, was the price — it was less than $100! I had the lady behind the counter hold the pipe for me and I told my wife I was getting it.

After we picked out some fencing and a few unique Fiestaware dishes, we payed for our items and got ready to leave. I told the woman behind the counter about the pipe and how much they had been going for on ebay. She said the seller mustn’t have known what they had and congratulated me on my find.

I got the pipe home and started cleaning it up (I always clean up estate or used pipes). The silver polished up very nicely and the pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol came out clean. I really don’t think the pipe had ever been smoked before. While cleaning up the pipe, I did notice a hairline crack on the back of the stummel. I also noticed a small pit fill in the same area so I’m not sure if the crack happened while filling in the pit or sometime later. Neither the pit nor the crack has bothered the smoking quality of this pipe.

One of the things I’ve tried to determine is when the pipe was released. All Peterson pipes with sterling silver have three hallmarks on them. One of the marks tells us when the pipe was released. What made this so difficult to determine was the markings were so small! At the time I didn’t really have a good way of seeing the markings. It wasn’t until recently that I found out part of my issue in making out the hallmarks is they’re stamped upside down![9] After finally taking a clear picture of them, I saw that the year stamp was a lowercase “P”. Checking that mark against Peterson’s dating chart I was able to determine that this pipe was released in 1981, meaning it’s one of the limited edition pipes from the second series! So, not only did I obtain my “holy grail” of a Peterson’s Mark Twain, it’s from a limited edition run almost 40 years ago!

Well, that’s my story about my Peterson’s Mark Twain pipe. Thank you for taking the time to read this little story. I’ll post more about the other pipes in my collection, but I have to warn you, their stories are as interesting as this one.

Until next time —




~~~
Keep it smokey, friends,

Br. Jack+, LC,
Your #pipesmokingpriest

~~~
[1] You can read all about Dr Grabow pipes here.

[2] A more in-depth article can be found here.

[3] Copied from SmokingPipes.com.

[4] That’s a link to Peterson’s Standard System Pipes. Here are links to their Deluxe System Pipes, their Premium System Pipes, and their Spigot System Pipes. Finally, here’s a link to their 2019 Saint Patrick’s Day System Pipes, the first time their System Pipes have been part of this annual tradition — “The System Goes Green.”

[5] Mark’s book will be released Summer of 2019. He also has a blog, Peterson Pipe Notes.

[6] I don’t have this pipe anymore; I gifted it to a friend who was just starting out in the hobby of smoking a pipe. However, it’s on my wishlist to get another one! I’ll probably get it in the Premier System series, though.

[7] A ferrule is a ring or cap, typically a metal one, which strengthens the end of a handle, stick, or tube and prevents it from splitting or wearing.

[8] To mark the 100th anniversary of Twain’s passing, Peterson created another Mark Twain collection in 2010. This time around, though, the collection contained two pipes, the bent one from the previous runs and a new straight, flat bottomed poker type inspired by Huck Finn’s corncob pipe.

[9] I’ve got an email into Peterson’s about this to see if it’s a fluke or on purpose. Who knows, it might be even more rare than I think!

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