QUOTE: Richard Carleton Hacker

"Pipe smokers everywhere owe a debt to Charles Peterson."

Richard Carleton Hacker
Smoke: Pluck of the Irish

Catalogs

• Chris's Pipe Pages has some excellent images of Peterson's features in catalogues form the 40's on into the seventies and forward. Navigation: Click on any given catalog. If there are multiple pages, navigation is at the bottom.
• Ashton Distributors, Inc. the US distributor of Peterson's has a nice PDF catalog of Peterson's that they carry as well. Ashton is also the distibutor of Peterson Pipe tobaccos.

Pipe Fiction: The Pipe Show Murder

What better than a murder mystery featuring the Peterson p-lip? The Pipe show Murder, by John Seilers is just that. "The story is the third in a series of stories drawn from the same socio-politicaleconomic background found in the stories entitled "Satisfaction” and “Death in a Closed Room” which can be found in the free 240+ PDF:

THE LEOPALDO SAGA SCIENCE FICTION FOR PIPE SMOKERS

Peterson Guy: Mark R. Mahan

Mark R. Mahan
Author of the now defunct website, "The Thinking Man's Peterson's Pipe Page." It's been stagnant now for probablly years but none-the-less, worth a peek. Its inspiring that someone would take the effort to create a website (be it ever so humble) dedicated to his love of Peterson's pipes.

Mark has/had a wonderful collection of "Pre-Republic Peterson's", as well as as pipes made in pipes made in the "Republic of Ireland. " There is a nice picture of MAker with Tom Palmer of Peterson's.

I hope some day Mark will find this site, and give us a holler!

Dateline Peterson

The Peterson timeline for dating has been uploaded and added to Project Links. It is a helpful resource for approximating the age of your pipe by its Stamps and Logo.

There are other methods Outline in A Peterson Dating Guide; A Rule of Thumb best if use in combination with the timeline. These methods include:

• Dating by Hallmarks
• Dating by Series

Peterson Clay System Pipe: Question Asked, Question Answered

Did Peterson ever make a clay System Pipe?

dennisthemenace Knoxboard Location: Fort Wayne, IN USA
Answered: Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:08 am

"Ah yes, Peterson did indeed once make their famous system pipe in clay. I saw one in an Iwan Ries catalog around 1969 right after I graduated high school and started working for the first time in a tobacco shop, Churchill's of Birmingham (MI) which then had a shop in a Fort Wayne, IN mall. I asked about them when I visited the Peterson shop in Dublin on a 1973 visit; they told me that the clay pipes hadn't been made for about 10 years at that point. In 1978 I was in the Iwan Ries shop in Chicago & asked about them, and they still had a couple of them in a drawer so I bought one, similar to the one you purchased on e-bay but w/ a rounder billiard bowl. I think it was about $20 at that time. I still have it & like it for trying new blends as the clay imparts little flavor of its own, other than a slight earthiness which has diminished in time. It seems we have some real collector pieces here, as I've never seen any others, and I've worked in several tobacco shops in three different cities, and visit them wherever I go."

Editor's note: I have known Dennis to be a knowledgeable and reliable source. In fact, he might have very well sold me my first real pipe in Erlich's of Boston some twenty plus years ago.

Addendum: The original poster learned thathis clay pipe was made in England at the Peterson factory on White Lion St. Until the late 60's & were "quite plentiful at the time."

Review: Peterson Straight Systems Pipe

MoSheeBoard Knoxboard Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 10:46 am

Post subject: Mini Review: Peterson Straight Systems Pipe

I've always been a fan of the Peterson Systems Pipes. They seem to be consistently good smokers. I currently own a #307, a #309, and a #314 (my favorite). All of these were full bent shapes. In the Systems line, there is one (the #31) that is a straight pipe. Curiosity finally got the best of me and I purchased the #31.

The #31 is a lightweight pipe (1.2 oz) in a, I think, billiard shape. The light weight of the pipe is partially attributable to the small size of the bowl and the thin wall of the bowl (the thinness in my collection of Petersons). The pipe measures 5 3/4 inches in length.

Is it a true Systems pipe? Most definitely. There is a moisture trap which runs horizontally under the bowl, a little past the center point of the bowl. The smoke hole is bored at a steep angle from the chamber through to the trap. The mouthpiece ends in a classic P-Lip. However, a metal stem runs from the end of the mouth piece to the end of the trap.

So how does all of this work. With its small bowl, the #31 Systems pipe is good for short smokes. The small bowl is made all the smaller by the moisture trap which runs under the bowl. This all makes for a lightweight pipe which is easy to clench in your teeth. However, this also limits smoking duration to 15-20 minutes of nirvana. The metal stem produces the occasional dreaded gurgle. I don't know why this was included in the design. However, the stem can be unscrewed (its threaded in) and discarded which, for me, resulted in a better smoke without the gurgle. This did not affect the moisture trapping function.

The smoke hole which is bored from the chamber to the moisture trap presents an occasional problem. Remember, the hole is bored at a steep angle down. If the hole is blocked, there is no way of clearing it and you have to dump your tobacco and start all over. In my other Systems pipes, I can use my pick and simply poke the obstruction clear and continue smoking. The same goes for loosening up a too tightly tamped bowl of tobacco.

So how does the #31 pipe smoke. Once boken in, it provides the same consistently good smoke that my other Peterson's have. What more is there to say? Would I recommend the #31 pipe. To each his own, however, I prefer my other Systems pipes. My main concern with the #31 pipe is the limitations on clearing the smoke hole. For this reason, I would not buy another #31 pipe.

Agree? Disagree? Do comment: