This is probably the most popular group of modern Peterson pipes for collectors, offering good variety and choice at very fair pricing. The pipes in this range are amongst the best and most select briars that Peterson produce. They vary in price from the Grafton, Rosslare Royal Irish and Silver Spigots starting at around $250. To the slightly more expensive Silver Caps and Lids, Plato, Royal Irish and Celtic Naturals and on up to $800 plus for Gold spigots. The pipe was in need of some restoration, as its original stem was missing.
Basically sticking wisely to what the business had historically been famous for, good quality, value for money, popular, classic shaped pipes. Peterson initially graded their mass -produced System peterson pipes pipes, i.e., regular catalogue pipes (in descending order) “Deluxe”, “First Quality”, “0” grade, “2nd grade”, and “3rd grade”. You will also find old Peterson Systems stamped System 4 or System 5.
The Sherlock Holmes series is probably the most successful series of pipes ever introduced by Peterson in terms of numbers. It was first issued to honour Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous fictitious detective character, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is perhaps the most famous pipe smoking character in fiction. In the 1960s Peterson hallmarked all gold mounted pipes but apparently they used their own marks on silver. This practice stopped at the end of that decade when they started to have all silver bands hallmarked. In 1966 a “Jubilee ” fourth hallmark was introduced, only for that year, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rising of 1916.
Friedrich and Heinrich Kapp, German immigrants to Ireland from Nuremberg, 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 could. They have also had a full lineup of tobaccos that the P&C Faithful have flocked to for years.
I find them brilliant smokers, the bowls never heat up, because they are so large and the shape is so very comfortable for longer periods of smoking. Personally I give them a slight edge over the Mark Twains in that department. The official Peterson web site lists only four types, Deluxe, Premier, Rustic and Smooth. I have managed to source three others, Red, Ebony and Sandblast.
Peterson’s Irish Army series celebrates this iconic pipe feature, presenting an array of shapes in a smooth finish and classic, mahogany stain — each fitted to a flashy, nickel military mount. For those who appreciate the utilitarian aspect of the army mount but prefer filters, Peterson also offers the Army Filter series, essentially a 9mm-filtered version of the Irish Made Army line. As captain black tobacco young Latvian talented pipe maker from Riga, Charles Peterson joined Kapp in 1865. This firm was created in 1865 from two German brothers who initially emigrated to London, one of whom later opened a shop in Dublin. Around 1876, Peterson was hired to make tobacco pipes on order. After the death of both brothers, Peterson takes things for the son, who is still too young to run a business.
Tobacco pipes in the Peterson Spigot series were designed in honor of Peterson’s traditional sterling silver rings. A nod to soldiers who used cartridge casings to repair their pipes, the Spigot style amplifies this tradition by enlarging the traditional ring. The silverwork is particularly prominent and adds considerably to the personality of this pipe. “I think the army style shows off our silver work very well, especially with the dome at the top of the silver,” says Glen. The Grafton is rated by Peterson as one of their Higher Grades along with the Royal Irish and the Rosslare Royal Irish.
The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue.