This man of many talents is putting China on the map of pipemaking excellence. by Steve Morrisette Ping Zhan China presents to the world a culture as civilized as it is ancient, its history stretching back at least to 2700 B.C. It was the Chinese who gave us paper, movable type, the navigational compass, […]
Two disparate talents — pipemaker Mark Tinsky and novelist Jesse Bullington — connect in an improbable collaboration. Intro by Jesse Bullington The relationship between fantasy and pipe smoking is as old as Middle-earth and as proud as a Proudfoot. After all, even if you don’t get genealogical jokes about that or any other famous hobbit […]
— In Fall River, Massachusetts, home of Lizzie Borden by Marc Monroe Dion Sometimes it’s hard not to think of pipe smoking as, if not a lost art, then maybe an art of loss. John Brandt, owner of the Old Firehouse Smoke Shop in Fall River, Massachusetts, doesn’t agree. Not only does he run an […]
by Ben Rapaport Is an aromatic or Oriental blend one of your preferred pipe tobaccos? In a sense, it’s a trick question. Today, the distinction between aromatics and Orientals is sharply drawn in the minds of many American pipe smokers. “Aromatic,” in the popular American sense, refers to blends — predominantly Burley or Cavendish — […]
The family pipe tradition carries on at Uhle’s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by H. Lee Murphy Want a taste of the old German culture of Milwaukee? Stay overnight amid the glorious Victorian-era luxuries of the downtown Pfister Hotel, built in 1893, and then walk a few blocks for an afternoon smoke in the well-worn lounge of […]
Friends and patrons of the famously splendid Richmond Pipe Show recall the sad news that came to us four years ago. In August 2014, the Conclave of Richmond Pipe Smokers (CORPS) announced that their 2014 Pipe Smokers Celebration and Exposition would be their last, at least for the foreseeable future. Much happier news comes to […]
Flakes! Despite the loss of great flake tobacco from McClelland Tobacco, today there are many fantastic classics and some new entrants to please the palate. Fall and winter are the perfect seasons to enjoy the fruits of the painstaking aging, pressing and slicing processes that give us flakes. They invite leisurely preparation, careful packing and […]
“The level head, philosophical outlook and deep thinking associated with the pipe are universal values not offered by other tobacco consumption, and through the smoke, metaphorical and real, comes goodwill, hope, kindness and sharing that the world needs. Mankind needs the pipe.” Given how unfashionable tobacco use is just now, pipe smoking frequently comes under […]
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” It’s a nice quote often incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain, and though it certainly seems like something he would write, according to researchers of these sorts of things, the earliest published version of it is actually buried in Joseph Anthony Wittreich’s 1987 tome, Feminist Milton. In it, […]
I had a working lunch this past week in a little cafe not far from the coast, where most of the customers looked to be beachgoers. I could tell by the sand on their sandals and the scent of sunscreen. It got me to thinking: I wished I could be one of them. A bona […]
Enter your email address below to receive updates each time we publish new content.
