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Banner: River Nore, with the Eamon Langton Pub in the background,
Kilkenny, June 9, 2009.

Readers of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubreyiad will know what I mean when I say not long ago I wrote to my “particular friend” Clint Stacy CPG that this time of year seems to land us in the existential doldrums where the soul’s ship stops dead in the water, sails hanging limp with a spiritual scurvy threatening to desiccate the soul. At such times it’s crucial for survival to look for rescue or improvise some means of refreshment. Hence the banner photo of the River Nore at twilight in Kilkenny, with the Eamon Langton Pub seen up above.  That pub served a good pint back in 2009 and I imagine they still do so. Just looking at it now soothes my soul.  I would also prescribe not one but two of Stephen Maturin’s most excellent boluses, in this case compounded by a viewing of Matthrew Ramsey’s River Collection and Ken Sigel’s Kapp Bros. Carving Shamrocks pipe, neither of most of us (me, anyway) companions.

Matthew Ramsey’s
RIVER COLLECTION (2007)

“Set of six unique shapes named after rivers of Ireland: the Boyne, Erne, Lee, Liffey, Sur and Corrib. In matt brown contrast and red gloss smooth finishes and orange and black rustic. Sterling band etched with insular Romanesque depiction of tossed wavelets. Fishtail, aluminum P on brown contrast only, others with hot foil impressed P; originally available only in boxed presentation set.” –The Peterson Pipe: The Story of Kapp & Peterson

Matthew has long been a devotee of the Dublin Era sets, which are now quite impossible to find. Somehow and somewhere he manages to find them, although his searches seem to take months and months. He writes:

“This set in particular has required more sleuthing than all the others.  From what I deduced from my search and speaking with Glen the Rivers Collection came in three finishes- red spray, dark brown and a walnut – medium brown.  Within each set were included a mix of aluminum and foil Ps.– Glen recalled this being the case.   I think the prevailing belief has been that the aluminum P has represented a higher quality briar but I’ve seen this go either way.”

“Having never handled the set, I was surprised by the weight of the box- the beautiful image is quite thick/heavy.” 

River Erne. This is one of my favorite Peterson shapes of all time. . . . Someday I’ll find one.

River Liffey. Perfect for a stroll down the Liffey’s shores in Dublin!

River Sur. Who can resist a bent dublin?

River Boyne.  A No Prize to the first PG who can identify which two shapes in the River Collection were used with almost no modification elsewhere in the Peterson catalog.

River Lee.  Now this one I did find few years back at an Italian site (Mark).  There are at least a dozen shapes which should be permanently in the catalog in my estimation as having embraced Peterson Perfection in their design language, and this stack rhodesian is one of them. To hold it is a joy (it’s big and the round base is remarkable). To smoke it, sublime.

River Corrib. One of the rarest shapes, a cherrywood-dublin hybrid. Marvelous.

River Waves Silver Stamping. This was applied by David Blake with a kind of engraving bar which was rolled over the sterling. While the sterling used on these ferrules is quite thin (as you know if you’ve ever removed one to take out the dents!), I’ve been told it’s a very difficult process, but David always made it look effortless.

Matthew: “The final two sets I’d like to acquire are the 1995 Antique Collection the 2009 Castle Collection.  If they never come that’s okay.  Grateful to have what I’ve acquired and grateful to have met wonderful people along the way.” 

Ken Sigel’s
1893 KAPP BROS. (or PATENT ERA) CARVING SHAMROCKS

I’ve been interested in the Irish Emblems / Carving Shamrocks pipes for a long time, and while they’re around and I know collectors have a few, you don’t see them often. When you do, they fall into two classes: the unsmoked treasure pipes, and the smoked pipes with the name of a town or county in Ireland carved on the front.

Éire Era 314 System 3

The souvenir pipes, like this beautiful 314 I acquired for The Peterson Pipe book, quite often still have the price sticker inside, which is why I think of them relics brought back from the Emerald Isle as a relic from the Holy Land. Specimens from the IFS and Éire Eras are usually seen with the K&P over DUBLIN shank stamp and nickel mount marks.

Probably a 221 shape, this B.P.L. matches others I’ve seen in being stained a dark brown as well as in the intricacy of the carving.

Later on, especially after the opening of Shannon Airport, quite a few of the K&P bowls were finished as Carving Shamrocks by the old B.P.L. shop next to James Fox in Dublin are seen. You can read about them and the B.P.L. chapter in Peterson hsitory in Post #141.

My Crossmolina 313 (see Post #77)

Irish Emblems pipes were, of course, hand-carved. Originally these seem often to have been created on-demand, as seen in the Crossmolina 313 in my rotation, as the ones I’ve seen have a town or county in Dublin carved on a banner on the front of the bowl. They all follow a similar pattern and intricate carving style, although the specific technique and quality of the carving varies from craftsman to craftsman.  They must have been extremely labor intensive, and most of the ones I’ve seen are made from 3^rd grade briar, obviously because the grain is of no importance in the pipe like this.

1896 Irish Carving Shamrocks

1906 Irish Emblems

In the 1896 catalog, the pipes were called “Irish Carving Shamrocks,” the three carved emblems becoming part of the nickel mount marks beginning with the Irish Free State Era—the Harp, Wolf Dog, and Tower. In the 1906 catalog, these pipes were called “Irish Emblem,” but only the Wolf Dog, Harp and shamrocks are seen in the catalog.

I wanted to refamiliarize you with the Irish Emblems pipes before we  examine Ken Sigel CPG’s Kapp Bros. / Patent pipe. Notice  the way the harp and shamrocks are carved in particular.

It’s hard to know whether to call it a “Kapp Bros.” or a Patent shape, as the company’s name changed when Charles Peterson went into partnership with his nephew by marriage, Alfred Kapp (Alfred’s brother Christopher having sold his share to pursue a career in medicine in England).  You’re going to say, and rightly, that there is no indication on the pipe that it either of these two eras, and in fact no company name at all. But let’s take a look at the overwhelming evidence.

We’ll begin with the hallmark, a lower case “t” with the anchor and lion, indicating the sterling was stamped in Birmingham in 1893. That being the case, this  example of the Irish Carving Shamrocks will probably remain the earliest documented example we’ll ever see.

Just how many craftsmen worked under Charles Peterson in 1893 is something we’ll never know, but the K&P Ledger lists only one  who was employed this early, James Malone (whose character plays a fictional part in The X Pipe). Yet it seems fairly obvious from the intricacy of the work shown below that only one craftsman could be responsible for this pipe–one who had earned a Wood Turning Certificate, i.e, a professional carver. Charles Peterson himself.

Placed over the 101 shape in the 1906 catalog.

The “AP,” as I’m sure you’re thinking, stands for “Annie Peterson,” and this 101 (it fits perfectly over the 1906 catalog engraving), as the smallest of the catalog’s billiards, was surely her pipe. That’s what Gigi said.  And it’s a great theory. But sadly, in our universe, it’s not the case.  The “AP” stands for a Birmingham-based jeweler, Albert Platnauer, whose shope was located on Vyse Street (his Maker’s Mark [AP] was registered in 885)..  At Silvermakersmarks.co.uk we read that “Between 1879 and 1889 date letters in cut-corner rectangular punches are observed as well as the normal oval punches.” You can see the top of the hallmarks weren’t stamped properly, but if you visit the website there is no doubt at all that this is the HM for 1893. We already know at that this early date and for a few years some of the workshop’s pipes were sent to either Birmingham or London for their silverwork.

The screw-in bone tenon is another confirmation that we’re dealing with Peterson, as these were available and documented in the 1906 catalog. So now let’s take a close up look at the carvings:

Vining shamrocks adorn the obverse, reverse, and shank of the pipe.

“From Dublin” runs across the bottom, just as other towns or counties would be carved on subsequent Emblem pipes.

Another harp adorns the bottom of the bowl.

Cross, Tower, Lancet Window.

The Trim Castle Tower I photographed on June 14, 2009, resembles to the tower on the front of the pipe.

The Harp Crowned–Hibernia faces the smoker on the back of the bowl.

The depth of the carving and the hundreds of tiny holes are amazing and highly tactile.

Taken together, this is obviously one of the very first Irish Emblems pipes and certainly the work of an artisan, not a craftsman.  All in all, a remarkable example of the earliest work from Charles Peterson.

Many thanks to Matthew and Ken for sharing these remarkable pipes with us.
As I’ve said in the past, if you have something you want to share with the Pete Geek community, please drop me a line. The only way we can learn more about the pipes we love is to share them with each other.

CATCH & RELEASE

THE PETERSON PIPER aka Josh Sherif CPG, has a few Petes to offer in this week’s Catch & Release. If you’re interested, contact him at joshsherif@yahoo.com .  All sales by PayPal, Friends & Family, please.

120 Dublin w/ Sterling, HM 1992, Dublin Era. $150 or best offer.

301 Short Dutch Sterling Spigot, New in Box. $175 or best offer.

86 Apple DeLuxe w/Bone Condenser, Early Republic. $175 or best offer.

221S Kapet. $90 or best offer.

Intellectual property of Kapp & Permission
used by their gracious permission.

I ndeireadh scéil, a bhráithre, gach a bhfuil fíor, gach a bhfuil uasal, gach a bhfuil glan, gach a bhfuil ’n‐a dhíol grádha, gach a bhfuil fá dheagh‐chlú; gach subháilce, gach éinnidh atá ionmholta, gur ab ortha sin bhéas sibh ag smaoineadh.

BROKNRTHECHOSEN

Courtesy D. H. Billings