The issue was such a great success and prompted further production of more pipes in 1981 to satisfy demand, with the Mark Twain second numbered silver banded edition, numbered 1 through to 1000, each in special presentation boxes. Some were also issued with limited edition pewter statues of the famous author. Peterson Standard System tobacco pipes have been wildly popular with both enthusiasts and new smokers for decades.
Hallmarks are only required on precious metals not nickel. Also a pipe made in England must meet English requirements which now (and for a number of years)are only 925 for sterling. Dublin hallmarks for sterling are Hibernia, crowned harp and a letter denoting the year. I would suggest the period 1890 to 1915 is the true ‘Patent era’. From my humble observations the Patent stamping on pipes from that time, were more apparent and attributable with some degree of accuracy. chacom tobacco pipes made during the majority of this period had no “Country of Manufacture” (COM) stamped on them.
Black vulcanite mouthpiece, also amber coloured (2010-), P-Lip mouthpiece , hot foil stamped P. Flying in the face of the condemnation of smoking on health grounds, the pipe appears to be going through a gradual upturn in popularity. No longer considered the province of older middle aged males, it appears to be gaining in popularity, particularly with significant numbers of younger people. Rising pipe tobacco sales suggest that pipe-smoking is making an unlikely comeback. Many old things eventually become trendy again and the latest yesteryear fashion making a comeback, appears to be pipe smoking.
I am pretty sure that is what caused the damage as it was very much of a cut. The standard system pipes are comprised of high quality briarwood and a specially selected high quality bowl that is mounted with the hallmark sterling silver bands with an army type mouthpiece. In addition to the standard systems, premier system pipes come in the same shapes. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime.
When Willy Kelly at Peterson grades Peterson bowls, he circles each visible pit with a pencil. A bent brandy “setter,” like its sibling the B10 it seems to have originally appeared in the high-grade Rosslare Royal Irish line in 2003 and from there appeared in most every Peterson line. Kildare (1965-) First issue of line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes, P-Lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue C.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on pipe surface.
The late Mike Leverette in his ‘A Peterson Dating Guide’ extended this period to 1922.I believe this was purely to take cognisance of the P-lip patent which expired at around this time. With Ireland’s joining of the European Community in 1973, a fourth miniature hallmark representation of the Celtic Glenisheen collar chacom tobacco pipes was added to the right of the date stamp for that year, hallmark letter F. In 1899, Peterson opened the first in a series of several successive shops in London, England, that lasted until the late 1960s/70s. The Kapp brothers, George and Frederick originally emigrated to Great Britain from Nuremburg in Bavaria.
They first appear in the London trade directories in 1866, when they are listed as Meerschaum pipe makers of 98 Dean Street, Soho, London. They then parted company in 1869 captain black tobacco and established their own pipe shops independently of each other. The commencement of the year 2015 will see the Peterson brand celebrating its 150th anniversary.
Featuring a small reservoir intended to collect moisture before it reaches the smoker, the System Pipe makes for a cool smoke that minimizes tongue bite and the “disgusting juice” that is the bane of every pipe smoker. Indeed, it is on this groundbreaking design that the worldwide reputation of Peterson rests. During the last hundred years, Peterson has grown tremendously without losing sight of its original dedication to quality, handcrafted products at a reasonable price. Today, more than 150 years later, our patented System pipes and Classic designs can be found in brick and mortar and online retailer shops across the globe.
There are many Peterson pipes with sterling silver bands that do not have hallmarks though, even some in the Premier and Deluxe grades. Peterson initially graded their mass -produced System 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 shape number is also indicative of briar quality; for example, 364 is Peterson’s 3rd quality shape number (the 2nd quality sister pipe is a 314).