(Rev. 08/18/2022)
Just a few more thoughts on the POY 2022 / 14B, beginning with an update on the Drop Party. First, Josh Burgess at K&P has made an episode of All Pipes Considered with Shane Ireland on the POY 2022 which is great viewing.
DROPS
Smokingpipes.eu: “going out Tuesday the 16th at 10:00 IDST” – Adam O’Neill, SPE
Smokingpipes.com: “These will launch at 6:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday August 17.” –Andy Wike, SPC
Worldwide: availability has already begun through other internet and brick & mortar retailers, as you can see from the comments section of the last post.
FINISH UPDATE
Adam O’Neill at SPE sent me the following update: “Naturals, Rusticated Silver Caps, Rusticated, Sandblasted, Heritage and Terracotta” will be offered.
At SPC, Andy Wike sent photos of all finishes. I think that means all will be available at SPC, but I’m not certain.
I received further word that, as is standard K&P practice, the vast majority of pipes will be in standard finishes. “Rare Finishes”—meaning only a handful—will be available in Supreme Sandblast, Natural, Terracotta, Rua, Rustic Silver Cap, Ebony and Terracotta Silver Cap. If you’re after one of these, you may want to attend both drop parties to increase your chances.
If you can’t make the Drop Parties, remember Laudisi has shipped POYs to clients all over the world, some who already have them in stock and some will will stock them shortly on their virtual or real shelves.
GALLERY
Everyone’s tastes are different and what we each look for in stain, grain and blast is quite idiocyncratic. I had no idea until last year’s 4AB Drop that I’d want the rusticated version and it’s now one of my most treasured pipes.
This year’s photos from Laudisi are by no means glamor shots of the very best, just typical of what we can expect. Settling on a finish is probably the best first choice, then taking a look at enlargements of a prospective pipe. Even that, as studio lighting has its limitations, won’t really tell you all of a pipe’s story. Hopefully, though, it will get you a pipe you’ll enjoy and appreciate for a long time.
STANDARD
I’ve heard from several Pete Geeks how much they like the Dark Smooth and the Sandblast. I am myself now in a bit of a quandary. After the PSB Rua (yes, it is a PSB per Andy Wike), I am seriously drawn to the Dark Smooth, although I’d thought I’d be going for a Terracotta. Time and my trigger finger will tell.
Heritage
Dark Smooth
Rustic
Sandblast
RARE
If you’re looking for any of the rare finishes, your best chance will be to make sure you attend both the early SPE drop and the later SPC drop. I’ve heard there are only a handful of each of these. Don’t be surprised if you don’t see the finish you’re looking for at the time of the drop. In fact, you might want to go into the show with two or more acceptable finishes on your list.
Terracotta
Ebony
PSB Rua
Rustic Silvercap
Terracotta Silvercap
Supreme Sandblasted
Natural
THE GOLDEN SPIRAL
Last week, Steve Mawby, the Customer Service Manager at Laudisi, sent me a photo of a POY in Terracotta that I forwarded to one of the greats in our hobby, Linwood Hines, D.o.P. and founder of the CORPS show. Linwood wrote back,
I’ve been studying this pipe for the past half hour. It has to be one of the most handsome pipes I’ve seen in many years. The piece of briar of course is superior, the finishing and staining is a masterpiece and the shaping reminds me of a classical sculpture. The stemming—the shaping and the bending—is perfect, in exact proportion to the shape.
Linwood has such a long and vast experience of so many pipe makers and artisans and is so exacting in his critique of pipe design in that I found myself mulling over his words as I went to bed. The following morning a file was brought up from my ‘mind basement’: the Golden Ratio and Golden Spiral! Linwood is talking about the Golden Spiral! That’s what makes this such a gorgeous pipe! These related concepts are the stuff in which Thinking Men (you and I) revel. So just to refresh your memory—
“The Golden Ratio is a mathematical ratio often found in nature, art, and design. It gives the world around us composition and symmetry that, for reasons we don’t fully understand, we find beautiful. It appears in the spiral of a seashell, the uncurling of a fern, and many other natural structures. When applied to the arts, it becomes a tool for creating balanced, organic works.
It goes by several names, including the Fibonacci Spiral
The Golden Ratio can be heard in the arrangements of Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach. It can be felt in the syllabic patterns of Sanskrit poetry. It can be seen in the works of artists and architects from Salvador Dali to Frank Lloyd Wright. It can even be applied in your day to day life by framing a portrait using photography’s “Rule of Thirds’” [seen in the photo above] or smoking the POY 2022! 1
The Golden Spiral, which may be thought of as the aesthetic appropriation or application of the mathematical principle, is represented in the same Fibonacci spiral as the Golden Ratio. As one painter explains it,
“The Divine Proportion [i.e., Golden Ratio] is often represented by the golden spiral [and can be seen] in a rectangle where the ratio of the larger side to the smaller one is the Divine Proportion. When drawing the Divine Proportion squares are formed from the original rectangle. Connecting the points where this series of ‘whirling squares’ divides the sides will generate a logarithmic spiral that coils inward.
Here is the trick: If you place a point of interest on the smallest part of the spiral, the eye will naturally flow through the rest of the image. So, imagine this shape is placed over the image, and place your subject in the smallest part of the spiral. Also, I realized you can also flip or turn the spiral. The direction it heads isn’t important, it’s really about the shape and the distance between the loops that matters. . . .
Many artists like myself use it literally or subliminally and have subsequently taken this idea and used it to plan their compositions. I suppose Leonardo DaVinci was probably the most famous artist to use the Golden Ratio in his paintings. Georges Seurat also used it. . . . Shapes proportioned according to the golden ratio have long been considered aesthetically pleasing.” 2
FINAL THOUGHTS
Finally, Pete Geek Matthias sent some great questions this week about the POY and its relation to the MT and the Mark Twain museum pipe that I think are worth considering, especially to those who love Laudisi-era Peterson’s commitment to recreating such pipes as the 14B, 4AB, 9BC and 999 in their Pipe of the Year offerings.
I love historical accuracy, authenticity and period performance—probably more than most—but as I said last time, at some point we have to put down the score and play the music, or in this case smoke the pipe. In period performance practice, for example, the more we understand original instruments, practice and performance considerations (with Beethoven or Bach or whoever), the better informed our own music making will be. Except that, is sometimes isn’t! So let’s take one last look before we head out for the Drop Party.
Keep in mind these photos are not exactly to scale,
and neither are the set-up angles identical.
Mark Twain Gold Band POY 2022 14B Terracotta
154/1000 (HM 1985) 837/295 (HM 2022)
Length: 6.34 in./161.04 mm. 6.03 in./153.16 mm.
Weight: 2.50 oz./70.87 g. 2.50 oz./70.87 g.
Bowl Height: 1.90 in./48.26 mm. 1.87 in./47.50 mm.
Chamber Depth: 1.41 in./35.81 mm. 1.39 in./35.31 mm.
Chamber Diameter: 0.82 in./20.83 mm. 0.77 in./19.56 mm.
Outside Diameter: 1.58 in./40.13 mm. 1.55 in./39.37 mm.
Stem: B (tapered) P-Lip vulcanite B (tapered) P-Lip vulcanite
Shape: MT Commemorative (1981– 2010) 14B (1906 Patent design)
Era: Late Republic (1969=1989) Laudisi (2018 – )
Measurements, however accurate, can never tell more than part of a pipe’s story. There’s things that are simply impossible to measure. First, photography isn’t always accurate from a documentary standpoint. While the photos above seem to be taken from the same distance, they setup angles aren’t the same, nor were they taken at the same time or in the same lighting. Second, using the numbers of the two pipes is useful, but it can only take us part of the way home. The three-dimensional reality of the two shapes far exceeds what a photograph or catalog image can convey. To take but one instance, the MT’s bowl is physically .03 taller than the POY, but far shorter in its visual weight. The MT looks topped and chopped, because it’s visual gravity is much heavier than the lightness of the POY which ascends like American balloonist John Jefferies crossing the English Channel in 1785.
Regarding the museum pipe vs. the catalog and POY pipes, recall from the last post and the big Pete book that the museum pipe is not only seriously damaged but that I relied for its identification on photos sent to me by the museum’s director, measurements made by K&P on their trip in 1891 and 2D measurements taken from the 1896 and 1906 scale catalog illustrations. It was obvious from the catalog illustrations that K&P had measured the 14 as there’s no other shape that comes close to its size and bend. 3
And for subsequent iterations of this shape, remember the numbers are really, really close, whether from the Éire, Early Republic or Late Republic eras. It’s mostly a matter of when a bowl was turned and how it was papered. Cheeking and visual weight distribution are the essential differences between bowls. An 1898 Patent Lip is only difference between the 1896 original 14B and the MT and POY.
At the end of the day for most Pete Geeks, just obtaining the 2022 POY will be a treat. To either be old enough or have been in the hobby long enough to also have a Mark Twain commemorative or a 308 / 358 version from the IFS, Éire (308 and 358) or Early Republic (308) eras is simply added grace. They’re each cause for celebration.
Many thanks to Steve Mawby, Linwood Hines, Marguerite Sparkler,
Andy Wike & Adam O’Neill
XL Stock photos courtesy Laudisi Enterprises
1 The definition is from Blackwing.
2 See the full text here.
3 As many Pete Geeks are now finding out, having the 1896 catalog is a real boon when dealing with early Petes. Brian 500s just told me this morning that he wasn’t certain that he’d bought an O.3 (the rare straight-sided XXL dutch billiard) until he laid his pipe on top of the catalog page. Presto.
I cannot read your words without being tempted to empty my wallet, Mark. 🙂
This gold banded specimen looks awsome. I think I go with a dark smoth or heritage.
Well, I have a System 308 0 (Made In Ireland), a 1990 (un-numbered) MT, and a Gold Band L.E. MT Commemorative 46/1000 (1985). I am going to have a tough time passing up a new POY, but I dislike most of the finishes except the high grades. I’m sure those are going to be outrageously expensive and disappear instantly. Why did they waste silver caps on rusticated pipes? Never mind, more profit in a sub-standard stummel, probably covering up a cratered rim……smart. I regret buying the POY 2021 4AB (shiny black sandblast) last year and think about tossing it across… Read more »
Hey how about you toss that in a box and mail it to me?
I like how the golden spiral features in the cheeking as well. I can’t wait to see varieties at the launch. I hope I get there on time this time round.
Mark, the 1 got dropped on the chamber depth measurement chart for the POY, it reads “.39”. I called both of the B&M’s in my town yesterday but neither were aware of the POY. Which reminds me that pipe smokers are a small niche, Peterson Pipe smokers an even smaller group and Pete Geeks a tiny one. Oh well, on to SPC on Wednesday. Aiming for a dark, smooth. I got to see the original Mark Twain pipe in Hannibal last year. It is every bit as burned and beat up as the pictures make it out to be. It… Read more »
Thanks, Eric. I will go back and remedy that. And I love what you say–and will undoubtedly quote it: “pipe smokers are a small niche, Peterson Pipe smokers an even smaller group and Pete Geeks a tiny one.” SO TRUE! I was trying to enthuse to a Big Wheel in the pipe world today about the drop and could tell he was neither informed nor impressed nor cared to be. Sigh. Oh well. “The Geeks are for the Geeks.”
I really like the looks of a silver cap on the rusticated. Its different. A perfect balance of rustic texture and smooth silver. I think to many people assume rusticated is automatically hiding something nasty but I can’t bring myself to believe that Peterson is trying to hide anything under that silver cap. I have smooth pipes that I love but the texture adds another layer of enjoyment for me and many others too, I know. Beauty isn’t only found in the diamonds. Sometimes the most beauty is found in the most rustic parts of nature. But I never claimed… Read more »
Fellow Ducks, unite! I have to disagree with Prof. John (respectfully) about anything being hid purposefully under the silver cap. The fact that the bowl is rusticated means simply that it’s solid briar but had enough pits or possible fills to use it for rustication. The same might be said for the PSB grade Ruas. It’s just the nature of the wood, as we have finally discovered in the widespread love of sandblasted pipes, which were so often viewed, in blast-supreme artisan J. T. Cooke’s words as “bastard stepchildren” of the pipe world.
I dare whomever bought the silver cap rusticated to look under the cap.?
I would even suggest that on natural straight grained Peterson pipes that the silver caps and lids are hiding something?. What better way to save an otherwise exceptional piece of briar and add some bling…..and profit.
I may be jaded?
Due to the timing I literally have to decide between the POY and going to the NASPC show.
Looks like I’m canceling my hotel reservation.
Chris, surely not!! This is what wives are for (among other very important things). Surely the Dublin drop is possible? Or maybe you can tell the airline pilot–“Whoa, dude, gotta get online RIGHT now–just take a second!” 🙂
I wish it was that simple. Like most folks right now, money’s tight. I have to choose between one or the other. ?
Now I’m even more excited about the drop, but sad to see that the ‘Terracotta’ will be ‘rare’ this year. Also, it looks like the ‘Dark Brown’ finish is what was the ‘Heritage’ finish for the 2021 POY, and ‘Heritage’ now doesn’t show grain. The choices of finish and what’s ‘rare’ seem kind of strange, but looks like there will still be plenty of nice-looking pipes for everyone. Only one missing is the smooth ‘Natural’?
Scott, no, Heritage and Dark Smooth are not the same. I’ve got pipes in both finishes. Heritage is matte and DS is glossy. DS shows quite a bit of grain (in the light) and Heritage almost none. I think there will be some Naturals, but I sense reluctance at either one or both of the sites. Or maybe they’ve sold them all already. I really don’t know. I didn’t want one this year after having scored one on the 4AB and the 9BC. They’re cool (of course), but I didn’t have anything in the new Terracotta and want one of… Read more »
You didn’t get a 2021 Terracotta? It’s a beautiful finish – I was planning to go for a 2022 to match my 2021, but $290 is crazy talk
It is amazing what one can learn from smoking a pipe! Until now, I have never heard of the “Golden Spiral”, very interesting concept. Looks like Charles Peterson was very familiar with the concept. It is uncanny how that spiral shape follows almost the exact curvature of the 14 bowl. Wow!
You won’t be surprised Gary that it was Marie who showed the Blackwing pencil ad to me. She’s hip to it from her days as a math teacher. I should add her name to the “Thanks” at the bottom. All I did was make the connection between Linwood’s “WOW that’s gorgeous!” and why I thought it might strike everyone that way.
Kudos to Marie! For those wondering about the “spiral” illustration with the numbers in it (like I was all morning), and after pondering the situation with yet another pipe (a two pipe problem so to speak)…basically each block of “squares”, following their intercept along the path of the spiral, when added to the previous, gives the next block of “squares”. The 3×3 block + the 5×5 block yields the 8×8 block. The 5×5 + the 8×8 yields the 13×13 block, etc. This can be traced from the 1st single block, although the initial blocks are not identified with the “number”… Read more »
Whew. I knew I was in dangerous waters here. I can intuit the aesthetics but the mathematics–haven’t a clue. Thanks, Gary!
Thank you Mark again for an exceptional article and showcasing these works of art. The drop party will probably bring the site to its knees when everyone signs on! I made sure my appointments were booked well after the event. For those who know me, I love the high end, and love to smoke them! Can’t wait to see what the CPGs get next week 🙂
Bob, I’m counting on you for a Natural. I won’t be up for that party, I imagine, because of other events. After you get yours (you see I KNOW you will), would you forward pix from the website to me? I asked for some, but never received any for this post.
I will send you pics of whatever I can get my hands on 🙂 I am thinking of making the 16th and 17th a special holiday for this event 🙂
Mark – you may want to check your dates.
Wow. I think it’s time to see a neurologist. Or have my lithium Rx refilled. So I’ve just copied and pasted quotes from the sources. I even checked my calendar after them. Good luck, everyone, in figuring out when these pipes actually debut!!! (Thanks, Mark D.)
I’m awake, coffee pot full, until it happens…..zzzzzzzzzz
Hey Mark, Will Peterson’s release a straight Peterson’s pipe with foot or nubbin ?Mark Twain was photographed smoking it a on a ship deck?
You never know, Paul. There was a dublin with a foot released in the late 1980s or early 1990s–I think. You can see the original in the visual history of the dublin shape. Is this what you’re talking about?
My birthday is August 17th. What a fantastic gift to myself. ?
It’s now just before 9 AM Eastern US. I checked smokingpipes.eu Most of the POY released today have sold out—all except for the rusticated. 18 rusticated are left available. There’s a pattern here. There’s a message here. I’ve noticed that when Peterson releases a new pipe which is available in 2 or more finishes, the rusticated is always the vast majority of pipes that don’t sell quickly–in other words, it’s the last choice for many Pete Geeks. Christmas 2021, Bard, even the (always available) System Standard (23 out of 29 yet-unsold on SP.EU pipes are rusticated) the sales pattern is… Read more »
I woke up 20 minutes after the EU drop, and all that was left was rusticated and sandblasted. So I sadly skipped buying the 2022 POY. We’ll certainly know soon enough if SmokingPipes US has upgraded their online purchasing system to avoid last year’s problems. But with 925 available, and a less popular design, perhaps they (we) are safe.
I got on at 4:45 am EST and there was only one heritage and a bunch of rusticated and sandblasted. I held off for tomorrow and am crossing my fingers. I was going to pay retail if my local shop could special order me something but as of last Thursday she was only able to get rusticated or sandblasted. I figure that those will be easier to obtain. As to David’s comments, while I prefer smooth over all the rest, between the rusticated or the black sandblasted, I prefer the rusticated. I have a black sandblasted deluxe system and it… Read more »
Kannady, I’m curious if you companion any of the 2021 Halloween (quasi-Dracula) or 2020 Christmas (the latest Elf Army) or sandblast 2021 Christmas (Sherlock)? I happen to like the black sandblast on all of them, while I don’t care much for earlier incarnations of the sandblast. I’m curious how you feel about them? I would appreciate your comments on the matter. If you have a Christmas 2021, which did you choose? (Aside: I don’t have a Rua, so I can’t compare, but I do have a few Ragaires, which I like. I’m looking for a pipe that we have in… Read more »
David, I do not have any of the Christmas pipes. I am fairly new to the hobby, so I don’t have a ton of pipes to compare, and most of mine are smooth. I did look at the date on my deluxe and it looks to be a 2019 pipe. I do have a 2021 Halloween pipe (I forgot that it was sb, I smoked it once and put it back in the box and have not visited it since). I just compared the two and the Halloween pipe is much less shiny than my deluxe. The deluxe almost looks… Read more »
I believe the drop happened earlier than 10am Dublin time as I was monitoring the site from 9am until about 9:20am with no drop. I then again checked the site at 9:55am and the drop had already started as only rusticated, sandblast, silver capped rusticated and one Terracotta was left. I wanted a Terracotta as I was one of the one’s last year that received the dreaded “double sale no pipe for you” email after all the pipes were sold. I quickly put the pipe in my cart, purchased, received the confirmation email & shipping email. I went to bed… Read more »
That sucks beyond words. I also got the ‘double sale’ email last year. If it happens again tomorrow I swear I will never buy from Smoking Pipes again. There’s just no excuse for their customer service or their online purchasing sooftware.
Yeah, needless to say I wasn’t a happy camper this morning. When this happened last year their sales manager Steve Mawby reached out to me and did his best to make it right by giving me first right of refusal of a PSB which I accepted but I still had my heart set on a Terracotta. He also assured me that they had fixed this bug in the system and it would not happen in the future. I did email Steve this morning and advised him that it did happen again on the EU site. I wanted to give him… Read more »
I woke up at 4:30 Eastern time in the pipes were already listed with only rusticated and sandblasted left maybe one heritage. I am beginning to think that the actual “drop” was earlier than 10 AM Dublin time? What kind of shenanigans is going on here??
I was really an idiot – set my alarm for before the drop, then waited to turn on my computer and ended up falling asleep. I would have settled for a Heritage and skipped the US drop, due to the painfulness of last year. Oh well.
The drop must have happened much earlier than scheduled. I was waiting for it and just happened to check somewhere between 4:05 and 4:15am ET (9:05 and 9:15am Dublin time) and was surprised to see the release ad on the home page already. There were only two non-filter heritage finishes left (several w/ filter) already and no other smooth finishes whatsoever. There were a couple silver capped rusticated and they went fast from that point too.
We’ll see what’s on offer tomorrow. I expect a load of Dark Smooths, some good Terracottas, a bunch of Heritage and maybe even a few Naturals… we’ll see–maybe–if we look quick enough! LOL.
I think I purchased a Heritage. I hope so. I hope they honor the purchase.
I refreshed my page just seconds after 6, bought the Heritage, then immediately went back to look at what was left. Only rusticated, sandblast, and Heritage left. After maybe 15 minutes, only rusticated and sandblast. Just as everyone is saying, they went lightning fast.
Just curious, did anyone score a natural?
I was fortunate enough to obtain number 6 🙂 It is a dream!
Congratulations, Bob! Very fortunate! What time were you on to snag that? I’m curious how early the drop occurred.
Congratulations. It’s good to know that they made the more difficult pipes available for those who were willing to ‘do the work’ to snag one.
#6! Awesome. Does anyone know how many were made? It can’t possibly be 6/965 right? Is it labeled as “natural” on the bowl?
I just want to live vicariously ?
I mean 6/925
We’ll hope Bob see your comment. The Naturals last year weren’t stamped as such.
I found the listing. I can’t see a “Natural” stamp in the photos. Looks like the usual “6/925” serial and the year:
https://www.smokingpipes.eu/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=154622
Jon–share your strategy on how you found the listing!! I’d like to see what they had at SPEu.
I used the qwant.com search engine (though any would probably work and you might be able to get different results) to do a “site:” search of the EU site, so I searched “site:smokingpipes.eu Peterson: Pipe of the Year 2022 Natural” It’s just a matter of whether the search engine (crawler) has collected these particular links to provide in their results. It’s definitely no help during the drop (I think) because it takes time for the URLs to be registered, but it’s fun for finding visual examples of pipes that have been listed. It looks like the Natural numbers 4 and… Read more »
I also just found Natural number 7 doing the same search query I described above but using duckduckgo.com. It’s a half starburst birdseye, half flame grain:
https://www.smokingpipes.eu/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=154625
Strange–my first comment got stuck “Awaiting for approval” and now it’s disappeared, but the subsequent comment (mentioning Natural #7) made it through immediately. Here’s my first comment that disappeared explaining the search: I used the qwant.com search engine (though any would probably work and you might be able to get different results) to do a “site:” search of the EU site, so I searched “site:smokingpipes.eu Peterson: Pipe of the Year 2022 Natural” It’s just a matter of whether the search engine (crawler) has collected these particular links to provide in their results. It’s definitely no help during the drop (I… Read more »
Jon, I don’t know what happened here. Anyway, WOW I WISH YOU’D NEVER SHOWN ME THAT BIRDSEYE NATURAL!!!! I don’t often get palpitations when I see a pipe, but birdseye, really strong birdseye, makes me weak in the knees. If anyone anywhere reads this and OWNS that pipe and wants to have pity on a poor, retired old guy who’d trade / buy it from him, let me know. Sob. [anguished muffled crying in background’
Isn’t that one gorgeous? I love birdseye too. Dense, strong birdseye is my favorite grain. That one is painful to look at it’s so pretty. I gasped when I saw it.
I recently got an 11s Natural with similar birdseye (a bit lighter contrast based on those photos). I love it. Check out the second photo, right side:
https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=502401
I think the 11s or 20s are my favorite shapes, but we’ll see about that when my 14B arrives!
I did that with the RUAs and there were 16 on SPC starting at https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=506885 and ending with 901. I got on right when they were released and only seen 5 or 6 but I also didn’t hesitate to grab the first one I liked #599 (506888).
31 dark smooths, 37 Heritage, 3 silvercap terracotta, 8 Terracotta, 6 rusticated silvercap on SPC. There may have been more but these were all the sequential numbers (506789-506903) based off the RUA I ordered. Rusticated was 119 and Supreme Sandblast were 3 (507422-507424).
Greetings I found out if you click on Jon´s link you can change just the product_id=154622 ascending to end Nr.: 25. You can see all 4 Naturales they have in stock.
Whoever got #4 got a beauty!
According to Shane Ireland, there were only 5 naturals made.
I will let you know when it arrives. Currently leaving Heathrow 🙂
Less than 6 minutes after I got the heads up for the SPC drop of the 2022 POY, there wasn’t a pipe worth a damn left. Heck, I didn’t even get to see one. Some people have to work you know, what crap.
Don’t feel too bad John, I was in at the very second they were dropped, I saw no Naturals, Terracotta’s, Terracotta Silver caps, or Supreme Sandblast. There were about 4 Rua Spigots, Two Silver cap Rusticated, several Dark Smooth, Heritage and mostly Rusticated and Sandblast. Very disappointing. I was really looking forward to this but unfortunately I am passing. I also attended the EU drop as soon as the drop occurred, purchased a Terracotta and received the dreaded “double sale” email after I had a confirmed purchase and went to bed. I even received a shipping notice today from them… Read more »
Christopher, here is the email SP sent me last year after I responded unfavorably to their ‘double sale’ email. I guess they did not look too hard.
Yes Cecil, I understand your concerns and frustrations, I would too be frustrated in this situation. Sorry for any inconvenience, we are looking at different solutions for the next time that we have a limited edition release, so that we do not run into issues like this.
This was my response today:
Hello Christopher,
Thank you for your answer.
We are really sorry about this, we tried to make it better this year and in fact, it did not happen as often as it used to other years but it still did with a couple of customers. I’ve already refunded you the amount into your PayPal account.
Do not hesitate to contact us if further assistance is needed.
I guess I’m just not living right. Two years running.
It was a bad day to be a Christopher … I got hoodwinked as well
Chris–consolation prize: the post on the CPG pipe will be made on September 11th. They look good–at least to me. 🙂
That is good news Mark?. I’m really looking forward to this pipe.
The CPG is more than a consolation it will be another Holy Grail pipe I think (at least for us Geeks)?
Same thing happened to me and really not too happy about it. What is the CPG pipe and how could I sign up for one??
I can’t wait to see them!
Me too!
I am REALLY looking forward to it! 🙂
Depressing. That “double sale BS”….is ah….BS in this day and age of computers. I am passing as well, I did not fall into the trap I did with last years SB POY that I regret buying. Oh well, this time I bought a new gun instead. I too am waiting for the CPG pipe. Oh please, please let it NOT be rusticated (of any kind), black shiny sandblast, ebony, or heritage. I’m not interested in “firewood”. I guess dark would be passable, I could always “peel” it like one of the other gentleman here mentioned and refinish it…if it is… Read more »
John,…you are wanting a green SB and black stem combo system pipe? OR a tan/light colored SB with the black deluxe stem. I have seem the green SB types, they are nice. For “desert’ are you thinking a lighter “Derry” type staining is what would be a good looking finish? Hadn’t really thought TOO much about it. I am sure the CPG will be awesome. Kinda hoping it is a system shape, I do not already have, but we shall see. ?? I wasn’t gonna get the POY22 & just wait for CPG but I found the resisting was difficult… Read more »
Well, that was fun. I got in and out before the email announcing them dropped. Number 424 in dark, smooth. Hope everyone scored what they were looking for. I caught the actual category for POY before it populated with pipes. Then, voila, they appeared!!! Man, we are such a bunch of geeks.
I had no idea how to prepare – I opened the ‘Petersons’ category, sorted by ‘newest first’, 30 minutes early and refreshed constantly, and that was a worthless strategy. I would have stayed there and lost out completely, but I saw the ‘new pipes’ number at the top begin to go down fast, so I meandered over to the correct area. As a result, I ‘saw’ a Rua, but wasn’t fast enough. I did not see any Terracottas.
I got 422 in the same finish. I would have sprung for the terracotta but none were seen. But yeah, geeks. My hands were shaking as I slammed refresh for seven minutes before they finally appeared, and then my first five or so attempts to check out were thwarted by others snagging it from my cart. I was sweating it, big time, then I finally got it to go through. I sighed, let out a cry of triumph, then wondered what kind of man I am to get that torqued by a pipe. ??♂️
If you were getting things snagged from the cart looks like the US site may have indeed had the bugs worked out. That is good to hear.
Hmm–a Pete Geek like the rest of us, I’d imagine!! LOL.
YES… the Geekdom is strong! I am so geeked out that even though I had purchase at the Dublin drop the day before, I was lurking and watching yesterday to see what was available and what sold quickly. I saw 3 Rua’s and 2 Smooth Darks, then a heritage. The Sandblasted and Rusticated were quickly that was left. That is what I was able to purchase with 9mm filter. As of right now SPeu is completely sold out of POY22 and the SPC-US site has 64 rusticated remaining. The homesite for Peterson has 16 shown that are all gone. So… Read more »
I am pretty sure that I saw 2 rows (8) Ruas when the drop first loaded. I stopped looking at that point and grabbed one, I hope. I am now paranoid about the possible double sale email and have been checking all day waiting for my order to say “shipped.” It went from “processed” to “not processed” and back to “processed” giving me a minor heart attack. By the time I finished my purchase, it was down to a few dark smooth, a lot of heritage and many rusticated and sb. 5 minutes later, all rusticated and sb.
Super stoked, I scored #588/925… a Rua sandblasted finish! ?
Glad to hear you got one Chris. The Rua sure is a nice finish. Congratulations
CW- you should be!. THAT is great news…Congratulations!
The Rua & the TerraCotta are truly stunning!
I got the “no pipe for you” on Rua #587…the sadness runs deep…?
I ended up with the 374 heritage. It all went pretty quick and I’m glad to have snagged one. Never did see a natural.
I don’t think there were many to be seen.
I didn’t see an Ebony, AND haven’t heard of anyone scoring one.
Maybe the local shops…?
There must have been at least ONE from SPC–it was in the “All Pipes Considered” video Shane Ireland did this week. I sure didn’t see it & I was there for the first 30 minutes of the SPC drop.
I actually asked someone from SPC customer service how many of the Terracottas and Naturals there were. He said there were no Naturals on the US site and all went to EU. I wonder if the one in the video was on loan or someone in the office owned it.
He also said there were three silver cap Terracottas and nine regular Terracottas on the US site.
Does anyone know what was the original color of Mark Twain’s actual pipe?
All the photos I see are black & white, and it can’t be the original color as it came from the Peterson workshop anyway.
I’m guessing a brown stain.
Just curious if anyone does know.
There is a color photo of it from the museum, on Pipedia. It’s brown, but no telling what shade of brown it was originally. Google: Mark Twain’s Pipe Pipedia
Gentlemen,
I remember posted above that Doug Owen of the Cargo Hold in Paulsbo Washington said he would make his available to people here.
As of yesterday he had a PSB, a Heritage, a TerraCotta and a Rusticated Silver Cap. Give him a call, maybe you can still find what you are looking for.
Yesterday, I got a Rusticated and a PSB both 9mm from SPEu…was the last filter PSB there. Glad of it too, as there are fewer choices in the filtered.
be well…
I appreciate the heads up. I was able to order a terracota from Mr. Owen
I almost stopped by his shop yesterday to see if he had a terracotta. Glad it went to a good home.
Oh yikes.. sorry to hear that .
Like you said, glad it went to a good home… a Pete Geek home!
I was able to secure another terracota pipe and see no need to be greedy and keep 2 terracota pipes. I know they were very hard to come by and I wouldn’t of been able to get one from Mr. Owens if I wasn’t told by the members here. I would gladly sell it to you for what I paid for it from Mr. Owens
Sure – we should talk. I hate to post my email here, but Mark Irwin can give it to you.
Sounds good, I’ll await the email and then we can coordinate.
…and of course, Chris, I’m very grateful!
You are most welcome. Congrats!!!
Thanks Scott. That’s exactly what I was looking for.
David, I had to good fortune to see some of the earliest Patent Systems that were in Gary Malmberg’s collection at the Chicago Pipe Show when we debuted the book. If you go to that post, you can see the finishes on them, including a shape 4 gold mount. Post #129.
http://petersonpipenotes.org/tag/peterson-at-chicago-pipe-show/
I have a couple of patents that are darker than the two ‘4’s shown
Mark, I was asking about the individual pipe that Sam Clemens owned, the one that was/is on display in the museum and inspired the MT commemorative in the first place (we know he owned several others).
In my own mind, I’ve always seen it as black, but that’s probably because I’ve only seen B/W photos. I presume it was brown. Is there any way to tell, given the time and condition, and how he treated his pipes, what the original color might have been; eg light brown, dark brown, reddish brown, &c. at the time he bought it?
Probably some shade of medium brown, as it wasn’t gold-mounted or anything. I don’t see any evidence that Patent-era stains were consistent or that they ever approached what we’d call orange, lemon or natural. That’s just speculation.
I wonder if K&P considered replicating the original stain color in addition to the shape (as an additional stain option). At first I figured they’re better off sticking to modern stains they know well, but then I remembered that the 2022 Carroll of Carrollton pipe had a beautiful medium brown stain that probably would’ve matched quite well. They called it “chestnut.” Classic and gorgeous.
Jon, that’s exactly what I was aiming at. Earlier, i thought I would choose based on getting as close to the museum pipe as possible. The only smooth finish available to me was heritage, making it an easy choice.
I don’t recall the 2022 Carrollton coming in different colors, not that I ever had much information about it. Just out of curiosity, what colors did they make?
David, that’s exactly what I was aiming for as well (to match Mark Twain’s as best as possible).
You are correct about the 2022 Carroll of Carrollton pipes. I believe they were all the same chestnut finish. Here’s Laudisi’s page for it:
https://www.laudisi.com/petersonpipes.cfm/carroll-of-carrollton-6866
The Independence series(what I call the Carrollton) was a nice start last year with a nice extended belg, this year nice color, and I would think it is close to a small 120?
Maybe last year they felt the ‘Heritage’ looked most like the Rathbone 4AB, so they created a bunch of those. This year perhaps they felt the ‘dark smooth’ looked most like Twain’s? The color photo of Twain’s pipe looks like a washed out brown – kind of like many of the old plum Dunhills end up, but I’ve never seen a ‘plum’ pre-wwii Peterson. Fun to speculate.
Sorry to go off topic here, but is anyone going to the Columbus pipe show this weekend? I have to be up that way for work so I am going to drop in on Friday.
Happy Hunting! 🙂
This is just to vent and to let you know that there are still problems with the online ordering system.I ordered a dark smooth yesterday only to be told today (17 hours later) that it was a double sale and the pipe was not mine. I am of course quite displeased about this (my displeasure compounded by the fact that this problem has been going on for quite some time and the company seems unwilling or unable to deal with it). As I refuse to put up with such bad customer service I informed the company that I will no… Read more »
As a result of getting the ‘no pipe for you’ email last year, I ordered multiple this year, hoping to get one. Still waiting for the ‘double sell’ email. If it happens, I’ll tell them the same thing you did.
That is very unfortunate. I’m sorry to you and all those it happened to.
Thanks for your kind words. At the end of the day it is only a pipe but the poor service I received compels me to make a major redirection in my pipe purchasing habits. Since the company that owns the big online dealer with a history of double selling pipes, also owns Peterson itself I feel that leaves me no choice but to stop buying Peterson pipes altogether as I can not support one without supporting the other. As much as I like Peterson pipes (despite the very spotty quality control!) I think instead of buying 3 or 4 “cheap… Read more »
Hi Al, believe me if anyone understands your disappointment and frustration it is I, as this happened to me two years in a row. The only difference being last year when I found out I didn’t get the pipe I purchased, not only were there no Terracotta’s left (there were several offered for sale at the drop which if notified immediately I could have went for another pipe, unlike this year) there were no POY’s left at all to purchase. Steve at Smokingpipes did reach out to me and although he was not able to replace the Terracotta finish he… Read more »
As you can see, as soon as I received Scott Forrest’s kind offer of his potential extra dark smooth my convictions vanished in a puff of smoke.
And we are home-free – it’s on a UPS truck!
Did you hear back from them, Al? I agree this kind of thing shouldn’t happen. Last year they went all-out to reconcile these problems and help folks get the POY.
I have made contact with Scott Forrest. Thanks very much for facilitating this.
Al, because I was a victim of the ‘double sale issue’ last year, I ordered an extra dark smooth. My order is marked as ‘processed’ but not ‘shipped’, so I assume I will be receiving what I paid for. I will be happy to send you a dark smooth at my cost, assuming SP actually ships them.
My God Mr. Forrest what an amazingly kind offer! You have restored my faith in pipemanity! I know it is only a pipe and I am acting a bit like a petulant child but my blood gets up when I feel, as a consumer, that I am disrespected. To be fair, when I contacted SP they offered me a sandblasted or rusticated POTY at 10% off. By the way, while I am writing this, I am sitting on my deck in Canada’s Yukon Territory breaking in my two new pipes: Rua SH Spigots Watson and Rathbone. Both are extremely lovely… Read more »
I sent you an email, but sounds like it didn’t get through to you. Please ask Mark for my email and contact me. They still have not shipped, so there’s no telling how this will play out.
It looks like someone is doing the same for me with a Terracotta, so this community is coming through for sure.
I tell ya, reading through all these comments & seeing ‘pipemanity’ (a great term btw….) looking out for one another, can only make one smile. Maybe THAT is the silver lining we can pick out from all of this. YAY! I wonder if most people still look for such things? Why yes,… the CPG smoker is a contemplative “thinking man”, a “contented smoker”, knowing ultimately that all things work out for good in the end. Well, THAT is the course of action I adopted after seeing “Ulysses 14/25 do the disappearing act in my cart earlier this year. I realized… Read more »
The ‘Ulysses’ drop was another one I fell asleep through! Peterson has had more great pipes in 2022 than I’ve ever seen in a year. The ‘Trinity’ was another one I missed and sort of regretted. It’s interesting to me how we get so excited about new Petersons with finishes like ‘Natural’ and ‘Terracotta’, or even the PSB sandblast – the briar blocks that were once plentiful, are now very rare, so any production pipe that shows great grain is almost a miracle these days. But many of the recent Rua Spigots really were special, and would have been even… Read more »
OK, I have to ask perhaps a stupid question… Are there 925 pipes total that were made for this year’s pipe of the year? Or, does each finish have 925 pipes? I was under the impression that each finish had 925 pipes.
That’s not a dumb question.
No, there are only 925 total POTY’s. I don’t know the exact distribution of the finishes, but Shane Ireland at SPC mentioned there were only 5 naturals.
Mark might have a better idea of the exact finish counts.
No, I never thought to ask, but that’s a great question the next time a major pipe is released. I do know the proportions were just what they said: standard (Heritage, Blast, Rusticated) being the greatest percentage and “rare” all the rest, with 3 Supreme blasts, 5 naturals (as reported by someone else) and I don’t know how many Ruas, but not more than 2 dozen worldwide I’d imagine, as they’re PSBs and I know Sykes Wilford talked about those as a very catch-as-catch can sort of thing and Adam O’Neill in Dublin worked really, really hard to come up… Read more »
Anyone else bummed out that the stem doesn’t have the little hot foil silver “P” on it? It’s the only time I really want P on my stem. ?
It would’ve been an impressed aluminum P, Haggis, and yeah, I don’t know why. Maybe to keep it like the Patents? Those, however, we know had imprinted on the tenon end of the stem PETERSON’S over PATENT–on the handmade high end, that is.
I managed to get both a Dark Smooth and a sandblast, but it was a nightmarish process. I had two different pipes in my cart initially, but when I went to check out, they were both unavailable. So I decided to try two others as separate transactions (so that I could hopefully end up with at least one of them). I did the Dark Smooth first, and it went through. Next, I did a sandblast, and that went through. Later that evening , the sandblast showed as “Processed”, but the DS was listed as “Not Processed”, with a note saying… Read more »
Mine showed up on the front porch at 0900 this morning. Another testament to the Smoking Pipes order fulfillment and shipping personnel as well as the USPS.
I closed the sale at 1805 Wednesday night just after the POTY release. It was on my doorstep in rural NE Ohio in less than 72 hrs!
I know a few people experienced some hiccups, but that is still very impressive to me and one of the many reasons I continue to do more business with SmokingPipes.com than any other online vendor.
That’s very impressive. I paid immediately and mine are still not marked ‘shipped’. Something tells me I’m going to get that dreaded ‘no pipe for you’ email … again.
Missing out on this one. Pipe money is so tight this year looking forward to our Blog Pipe.
As written on a wall in Belfast: Use your brain, vote Sinn Fein.
I did not. When Mark came with his bulletin I should have phoned Nicolai at The Danish
Pipe Shop, he had three Heritage and I could have walked down on my feet and get one.
In stead I was looking at rusticated and 9 mm pipes in Dublin.
I miss the days when you went to a tobacconist to buy a pipe, not over the internet.
Well, the name Al Jones has to be pretty popular, but what are the chances there are two Pete Geeks by that name? I think Scott F sent me an email about an extra 2022 POY, that was apparently intended for the other Al Jones who replied here. Now, I can’t find that email. I did snag a Sandblast for my POY collection, hopefully the other Al also has success!
We got it sorted out and the other Al’s pipe is going out Monday. Thanks for the heads-up!
Mark, my pipe just came today. While inspecting it I noticed that the bowl coating isn’t the black, shiny coat that has been standard of late. This looks more like the older activated charcoal type of coating. It’s not a big deal, I was just curious what you might know about this. It’s a beautiful pipe with lovely grain: ring, sunburst on one side and a little bird’s eye on the other, (dark/smooth finish). The stem and button are great.
Not to be nitpicking, well, I guess to be nitpicking, I got mine today (#422) and it’s really lovely. Taking to stem out, however, the drilling seems a little…indifferent? Whereas I would normally have the draft hole pegged at high noon, this one has it at more of a 12:30 position. I checked the draw and it seems fine (haven’t smoked it yet), but still, can I offer a minor “Really, Peterson?”. I mean, it’s the Pipe of the Year. Tell me honestly, should I even be mentioning it? It seems to function well, but the aesthetics is at least… Read more »
Do the older Mark Twains (the non-POTYs) have the metal tenon extensions like these ones do?
No, the original Mark Twain pipes from 1981-1985, 1985 do not have tenon extensions. Weird, right?
[…] the one Pete Geeks have sought for years. It differs from the Patent shape used for the POY 2022 (see Post # 297) the almost straight lines seen from mid-bowl up to the crown as well as the greater length of the […]
[…] drop in January of 2023, we need to look back at the Peterson Pipe of the Year drop in 2022 (see Post #297). In August 2022, Peterson released the much-anticipated Mark Twain shape for their POY. The […]