Peterson shape 11 System

Not too long ago, Geoff Watson, an erudite archeology photographer, pipe restorationist and Peterson devotee, sent photos of an unusual Made in England System. It was curious for all sorts of reasons and if you haven’t taken a look at Geoff and our first impressions, you might want to take a look. The shape, the mounting and the mouthpiece were all perplexing to us. The mounting turned out to be one available on De Luxe pipes from 1896 until c. 1945, after which only space-fitting mounts—the heavy saddle (S) and taper (B) were available—and the taper only until the mid-1950s or so.  I originally thought the mouthpiece was a replacement, as it didn’t have a bone tenon extension. However, looking again at the early mouthpiece charts, the only one that illustrates the bone extension is the 1896, and then only on the short ones (AC shouldered and ABC tapered). As both Gary and I have documented Premiers and De Luxes with bone extensions, why some did and some didn’t is, at least for now, a puzzle. “No bones about it”: the De Luxe may not have always had a bone tenon extension We agreed this Made in England shape was an 11, or 312 in the Standard System, and couldn’t have been made earlier than 1937 (when the factory opened) nor later than 1945, as that was about the time the molded conical tenon was replaced by a tubular one. A few months later Geoff sent the pipe to me, a princely gift. It’s been sitting here on my desk for inspiration while I’ve been working on the digital restoration and commentary for the K&P 1896 catalog, and every so often I pick it up and look at it. And the more I look at it, the more interesting it becomes. The first interesting thing happened when I noticed the ferrule was loose. I’m always grateful when the old glue gives way, because then I’ve got a chance to see what’s underneath without marring the finish of either mount or bowl. And this pipe had lots to show. I  thought the ferrule might have been turned down tubular sterling because I couldn't find a solder line on the outside. But this was something I didn’t think Peterson employed until many decades later. The inside of the ferrule, however, showed the line, and with a bit of effort and the loupe, I could locate it on the outer side, quite faintly. Those of you with pre-1963 Petes will know that sometimes the solder line on the outside can be broad and wavy, easily distinguishable when the mount begins to tarnish a bit. This one is so tiny, straight and precise it was obviously welded by a master. The next fascinating thing was the K&P maker’s mark and sterling stamp impression visible in the glue, which meant the glue was still wet when it was stamped. So I asked factory manager Jonathan Fields about this procedure recently and he replied that nowadays…