Brian Riley sent me a great question a few weeks ago. He asked if I knew how many issues there were in the Craftsman Series, and turning to the Identification Guide in The Peterson Pipe I noticed that there wasn’t even an entry for it. Sigh. The Peterson Pipe does tell the story of how Conor Palmer of Peterson and Michael Walter of Ashton came up with the idea. They were somewhere in the States on a road trip, kicking around how to get to do a small-batch collectibles series in a sustainable way when one looked to the other and said, “Well, why don’t we just pass the buck out to the shop and let them worry about it?” Actually, that’s not quite the way it happened, but for anyone on the labor end of things it can sometimes feel that way.
The up side for “labor” was that it took its name from the fact that it would be the craftsmen and women out in the shop to come up with each issue’s design, choosing the finish, stain, mount and mouthpieces. Some were sublime, some just fine and a few disappointing, at least to me. But as I so rarely see any of these on the estate market, I think Conor and Michael were successful in their goal of creating a Peterson collectible. But take a look and decide for yourself.
Here’s a visual history of the finishes and mounts to give you an idea of each issue. As with so many things Peterson, “12” was the magic number, there being 12 installments in the series.
December 2014
January 2015
February 2015
March 2015
(Yes, it looks identical to the February release aside from the date.)
June 2015
July 2015
January 2016
February 2016
March 2016
April 2016
July 2016
Fall 2016
Winter 2016
If you smoke a Craftsman Series, post a photo in the comments below. If you have a favorite, I’d like to hear from you. Mine are probably obvious–I love the SH “B” shape in the banner and the finish on the Winter 2016 spigot, which, if you were paying attention, was the only one to feature a P-Lip! I’d like to think it was a System, so if you have one, do drop me a line.
For your Identification Guide:
Craftsman Series 2014-16 – An idea by Conor Palmer (Peterson) and Michael Walter (Ashton) for a limited edition, small-batch series with style changes chosen by Peterson craftsmen from one issue to the next. First issued Dec. 2014; thereafter, in 2015 in Jan., Feb., June and July of 2015; Jan. – Apr., July, Fall and Winter of 2016.
Photos courtesy
Smokingpipes.com & Chas. Mundungus
Thanks to Federica Bruno and Glen Whelan at Peterson
Mark, first may I say that the straight system Dublin I purchased from you is a great little pipe. I have never had the pleasure of obtaining a Craftsman series pipe but you once again, have planted the seed of obsessive pipe collecting in my old head, another dent in my bank account, thanks a lot! LOL. Keep puffin.
Oh Doug, so sorry about feeding the fire of your pipe collecting! I’d think you’d know better after all those years in the trade. Ah, well. We never learn–at least, I don’t seem to be able to. Glad you like the pipe!
Well, just got the June 2015 and it is an INCREDIBLE piece.