My system pipe, the cooler air, the creak of the porch swing all help me find a state of peacefulness. In these original series, all the pipes had extra large bowls and peterson pipes a special stamp. To satisfy those who prefer a smaller bowl, a Junior Sherlock Holmes series was then released. The years after both the Kapp brothers were at the helm are when many of the unique innovations happened.
Before it was Peterson Pipes it was the Kapp Brothers – Friedrich and Heinrich Kapp, German immigrants to Ireland from Nürnberg, Germany, who founded the famed Kapp Brothers store on Grafton Street, Dublin, in 1865. Then one day 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. Perhaps the most notable design from the Kapp and Peterson factory was Peterson’s famed ‘Dry System’ pipes, patented in 1894. 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.
Its stem has that sharp, beautiful saddle that is shown in the Patent sign behind it, and also found in Paddy Larrigan’s ‘Hand Cut’ stems such as the one belonging to the 9S DeLuxe at bottom right. New chacom tobacco pipes Peterson collectors will sometimes get a bit confused between the Peterson Shannon Series and a unique batch of smoking pipes sold at the Shannon Airport during the 1970s. These pipes were sold duty-free and featured pieces from almost all series. Before shipping, they were stamped with the word “SHANNON” in block lettering. Peterson pipes are one of the most popular pipes in britain today. Best known for their system pipes which have a unique dry system and the special ‘P’lip which helps you grip the pipe in your teeth.
A Peterson pipe isn’t just a utilitarian tool; it’s a piece of history you can carry with you in your travels, a faithful companion to accompany you through all that life offers. The story of Peterson begins in England in the mid-19th century when the two German immigrants Georg and Friedrich Kapp opened a meerschaum pipe shop in London in 1865. There he met the young Lithuanian immigrant Karl Christoph Peterson, who as a craftsman had developed a knack for making pipes. Frederick hired this man, who from then on specialized in making bespoke pipes. Not only was Peterson a man of action, he was also smart.
It is a very unique looking Peterson’s Kapet pipe in a shape 124 – a shape I have not seen or worked on before and one that I want to learn about as I worked on it. All of the pipes were in clean condition and had been reamed. This long canted looking pipe that is kind of a cutty had some burn marks on the front and back outer edge of the rim. The pipe was stamped on the left side and read Peterson’s [over] Kapet and on the right side it read Made in the Republic of Ireland. There was a silver band on the shank that was oxidized but otherwise in good condition and bears a Sterling Silver stamp on the top side. I think it is an after market band but I do not see any cracks in the shank that would chacom tobacco pipes say it was a repair.
This is evidenced from the KAPET stampings and a couple of fills in the briar surface. The COM stamp points to a period between 1895, when Peterson’s opened a shop in London, and late 1950s when this shop was closed. The Peterson pipes are some of the most recognisable pipes in the world. Of course, they did have more than 150 years to become so, but it also very much has to do with the fact that some of the shapes simply have become iconic. The Peterson system range was invented by Charles Peterson back in the late 1800’s and has been Petersons biggest selling pipe for over a century. The Moisture Trap “System” ensures a cool and dry smoker when using a bent pipe.