Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to thescientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated borein the mouthpiece. chacom tobacco pipes This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time itreaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thuscannot reach the smoker’s mouth.
The System Pipe is still a consistent top seller for Peterson. The Peterson System is still the most popular line Peterson produce, along with the P-Lip mouthpiece. Each briar pipe is made in the Dublin factory by skilled craftsmen and enjoyed the world over.
Basically sticking wisely to what the business had historically been famous for, good quality, value for money, popular, classic shaped pipes. 1987 saw the introduction and Issue of the first Sherlock Holmes ‘Original’ Series of pipes. 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.
On the top surface there were 6 dents and several were quite deep, several actually had broken the surface of the vulcanite rather than denting it. The 90 degree top edge of the button had been flattened by tooth marks. There were also several tooth marks cutting into the edges of the air hole in the button. The stem was not too badly oxidized and should clean up quite easily (Photo 5 – 6). The photos below highlight the areas of concern that would need to be addressed in a restoration/refurbishment.
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. The pre-republic Peterson’s are often considered to be rather special by Peterson pipe smokers.They hark back to a time when quality briar was in abundance and craftsmanship was of the highest level. Like all collecting desirables, pre-republic pipes are now relatively hard to come by, with availability declining with each passing year. The amazing thing that I find with pre-Republic’s is the consistently high smoking qualities that they show, regardless of being a high or low grade issue.
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 and established their own pipe shops independently of each other. Hobbyists who are also sportsmen, do-it-yourselfers or have a military background will find caring for their pipes, like caring for the tools and gear in other areas of their lives, only adds to their enjoyment.
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). In 1985 there was a 3rd numbered limited edition of 1000 pipes issued to commemorate the writer’s 150th birthday anniversary.1835 – 1985. These were all gold banded and in a special presentation box in the shape of a Twain book. There must have been a fourth production of Mark Twain pipes, for there is evidence of Mark Twain pipes with silver dates for the 1990s.
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 peterson pipes 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.
The pipe on my table had the Hibernia seated mark (Ireland) followed by the Harp Crowned signifying Sterling Silver percentage and finally in this case a lower case “o”. I have highlighted the 1980 mark with a red arrow in the chart below. The pipe on my table had the Hibernia seated mark (Ireland) followed by the Harp Crowned signifying Sterling Silver percentage and finally in this case a lower case “m”.
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. peterson pipes made during the majority of this period had no “Country of Manufacture” (COM) stamped on them. However, later around 1916, they began stamping their pipes “Made in Ireland” in a block format.