452. Documenting the Shamrock – Wolfhound – Round Tower Nickel Mount Marks in THE PATENT ERA (!)

PSA BOOK LAUNCH AT THE CHICAGO SHOW! Three weeks from now--yikes, it's getting near--there will be a formidable gathering of Pete Geeks at the Chicago Pipe Show. This year will bring Glen Whelan, Managing Director at K&P, Dan Chasin, who oversees the Pipe Smokers of Ireland forum, Ken Sigel, with his Patent era pipes which he photographed for the new book, Lance Dahl, one of the foremost Pete collectors in the world, as well as Jonathan Gut & His Giant Patent System. There are several others who asked me not to name them given their high security status and the fact they'd have to kill me if I did, etc. etc. On Friday, the Pete Geek Meet will be held in Smoking Tent #2 from 12-2, followed by my presentation "The Impact of Kapp & Peterson's 1906 Catalog" inside the hotel. Saturday and Sunday we'll have two Peterson Pipe Notes tables, one manned by Ken Sigel and Gary Hamilton with estate Petes, Pete Geek tampers & Pipe Rests and one featuring the new 1906 catalog and other books by Yours Truly. And, of course, for anyone who wants to join us, we'll be making several runs to Portillo's for Chicago's (and the World's) Finest Hotdogs. Speaking of which, Peterson's Patent Pipes: The Historic 1906 Catalog is a real beauty, thanks to its designer Gigi and photos my good friend Ken Sigel contributed of his Patent pipes.  It begins with an introduction by Peterson's Managing Director Glen Whelan.  There follows an extensive commentary unpacking everything about the catalog, its pipes and its history, the catalog itself in a painstaking digitally restored version, printed full scale for collector use and match-ups, plus an annotated shape index.  It's the largest size book we've undertaken at 9 x 12 inches. It's 188 pages, printed in full color on 80# gloss art book paper.  Price at the show will be $50.  After we return, I'll let you know where and when it can be purchased, and how we can get it to everyone outside the US.     This morning I want to revise what I'd previously written on the HALLMARKS tab of the blog (and have yet to update). Of the five types of K&P metal stamps, nickel-mount marks have always been my favorites, perhaps because they’re so rare these days and perhaps because they’re often confused for hallmarks. A few weeks ago a valuable artifact of Peterson history surfaced on eBay, one important enough for us to stop and take a good look: Patent era nickel-mount marks. Now don’t go rolling your eyes or thinking “no big deal,” because as far as I know this is the first time anyone has documented this. Previously we thought the earliest these were used was at the beginning of the Irish Free State era (1922-38), but take a look: The three marks on the ferrule are multivalent symbols chosen to represent Ireland, and if they’re found on Patent era pipes, that means they were known to Charles…

Continue Reading452. Documenting the Shamrock – Wolfhound – Round Tower Nickel Mount Marks in THE PATENT ERA (!)