263. “And He Called for His Pipe”
Old King Cole, Was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he, And he called for his pipe, And he called for his glass, And he called for his fiddlers three. An ad found in K&P's archives. No date. The company had been a family business from 1865 to 1971. The year was 1975 and it was now almost four years since Harry Kapp, the last of the Kapp family, had retired. Harry had recognized the need for the company to move out from Dublin in 1971 to a larger, more modern facility in the suburban coastal town of Dun Laoghaire, but it wasn't an easy decision. For one thing, it necessitated a 22-minute bus ride for many of the crafts folk who were accustomed to walking to work. For another, the factory had been across the street from St. Stephens Green for over sixty years. His father Alfred and great-uncle Charles Peterson had worked there. When Harry retired, he left behind him an administrative and craft team more than capable--managers like Jimmy Nicholson and Tony "Jolly D" Nicholson and craftsmen like Paddy Larrigan, Frank Brady and Liam Larrigan. In 1973, crackerjack Bill Murphy was brought in as general manager. Under Bill's guidance the enormous talent in the shop and office reinvented the company, as it had many times in the past. 1975 would be a remarkable year for Kapp & Peterson. A 1975 Centenary Celebration XL339 Since the early 20th century, Kapp & Peterson had reckoned its founding date as the year Charles Peterson joined Frederick Kapp in Dublin, which was 1875. The Centenary, as 1975 was called, was celebrated in a number of ways. There was an exhibition in Dublin, where Paddy Larrigan turned pipes from start to finish, from hand cut vulcanite stem to lathe-turned bowl, on a small lathe that dated from the Patent era. A new catalog was issued, the most important since 1906. For its devoted fans, the company released the sterling Centenary limited edition pipes in System and Classic Range shapes with their distinctive rich walnut stain and awesome grain patterns, P-Lips, special tenon extensions and leather pipe socks, now much sought-after by collectors. Toward the end of the year the company would cap it all with a documentary on pipe making, "And He Called for His Pipe," made right in the factory and the most important of all the K&P films and videos that have been made over the years.* Paddy Larrigan in a newspaper photo from January 1976 found in one of the K&P scrapbooks The film stars Paddy Larrigan, whom Gary Malmberg and I always call "Peterson's master craftsman." Paddy was 51 years old at the time. He entered service at K&P on September 9, 1946. His brother Liam, two years younger, entered service in 1948. They followed in their parents footsteps, who had both worked at K&P. Paddy began in repairs and worked his way through every skill in the shop to become factory manager and…