Early Peterson

September 2004

The Peterson firm from Dublin, officially called Kapp & Peterson, is renowned worldwide for its wooden pipes. Founded in Dublin in 1865, this factory quickly became known, thanks to, among other things, their own pipe designs that are marked by great reliability. The tobacco pipe shown here is an early product from this factory, although it already exhibits all the characteristics of the pipes as they are made today. Specific is the round metal ring on the tige, the taping stem and the round stem end with hole that is known as Peterson lip. Even the hinged cover is still in use, although the design has since changed. The so-called Peterson Standard System is not visible, which consists of a moisture chamber that is partly located under the bowl of the pipe where the tobacco moisture collects. Because of that system, the pipes are known as optimum dry smokers. A nice thing about this pipe is that on the reverse of the stem a trader's stamp has been placed that reads W. & R. Diehl, a firm from Munich, which by the way still exists. In that respect there is nothing new under the sun except that genuine early Peterson pipes are rare these days. Thanks to the excellent use properties, most Peterson pipes were smoked to the end and were only thrown away when they really could not be repaired anymore.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 17.405

Archive object of month