Pipe Manufacturer History

In 1907, Alfred Dunhill opened a tobacconist shop in London. He unlikely knew at that stage that it was the beginning of a journey to becoming arguably the best pipe manufacturer.

He originally focused on blending his own tobacco but listened intently to customers complaining that many of the pipes they were using were of an unsatisfactory standard.

His aspiration from the outset was to make nothing less than the perfect pipe. In doing so - his pipe making process was exceptionally thorough, involving some 90 separate processes and taking several months from start to finish.

One of these steps was the unique “oil curing” process which is still to this day, a closely guarded secret. It reportedly provides a “nutty” taste and led to very few bowl “burn-outs” and enabling them to smoke well after many years.

In producing a “nothing less than perfect pipe” material and manufacturing costs of these pipes were far higher than competitors. Culminating in a price of seven shillings and six-pence price tag. This was around four shillings and six-pence more than competitors!

Unfortunately it’s not calculable to show the exact present day value for this. But, as a comparison - seven shillings and six-pence (7/6) was broadly the daily pay for a skilled labourer at that time. At any rate, it was nearly twice as expensive as other pipes on the market so certainly represented a real commercial gamble on behalf of Dunhill.

Despite the detractors that few could afford such a pipe and without a scrap of advertising, in 1910, Dunhill had produced enough pipes to start selling them and word spread quickly among Dunhill’s customers. Culminating in more orders than the existing workshop could produce.

Pipes from these early days are incredibly rare. The various ‘eras’ are highly documented on www.pipedia.com

The volume of pipes made is also something of a mystery. Crude attempts could be made to estimate this of course but then one would have also to factor how few remain to this day.

Over 115 years later, Dunhill continue to make pipes of the highest quality. Although it’s noteworthy that the prices for their pipes (typically around £4-500+) is far more than a present day rate for a skilled labourer! 

Kapps & Pete’s

We’ve cobbled together this section to give readers a sample of the rich history of this wonderful pipe manufacturer.

For those of you with a disposition for expert level detail, it is our pleasure to firstly point you in the direction of a bespoke website whereupon you will find knowledge and expertise that far surpasses our own:

https://petersonpipenotes.org

If you have deep pockets and can somehow get hold of a copy there is also an interesting and insightful book on this brand: 

The Peterson Pipe: The Story of Kapp & Peterson, Book by Gary Malmberg and Mark Irwin.

Fully fledged ‘Pete’ aficionado will hopefully derive some enjoyment from our content and hopefully this will make for a pleasant 5-10 minute read.

If you are not a Peterson’s stalwart then please do read this as they are playing a starring role in the gentle art of pipe smoking history.

Kapp & Peterson, or K&P Peterson hold the esteemed position of being the oldest continuously operating briar pipe factory in the world and their history stretches back to 1876. Affectionately referred to as “Pete’s” by collectors and “Kapps” by employees.

Very few companies in any industry have successfully operated for this period of time. Indeed, many pipe manufacturers have fallen silent as they were unable to weather the impact of 2 World Wars and the advent of cigarette smoking. So what are the key ingredients of Peterson’s arguably unparalleled success?

The story starts out that Fredrick and George Kapp arrived in London in 1865. Just 9 years later Frederick branched out into Dublin.

It is widely understood they met with Charles Peterson in 1876 and here’s the cliche we really hope you all wanted…..(sorry) but the rest is history….

The early days were built on innovation with Charles Peterson launching and subsequently patenting the first ‘System’ pipes in 1891 which featured a cleverly adapted chamber.

This design allowed any tobacco moisture to run off, enabling a smoother smoke and; importantly - reducing the dreaded experience of tongue bite. The ‘P’ lip now so synonymous with the style of Peterson’s pipes was patented in 1898.

The Kapp Brothers initially started with Meerschaum pipes as was typical at the time, and they soon introduced briar pipes. In around 20 years the firm had grown nicely and was keeping well ahead of the times.

By 1905, the range of models increased too, although it’s noteworthy that the range has arguably remained mostly consistent.

They had astute commercial minds too, whereas Dunhill would go after the higher end of the market, Peterson’s were priced so that people of all social classes could enjoy their product.

This commercial acumen would also serve to navigate the business through the 2 World Wars.

Peterson’s won a contract to supply the British Army which led to the military mount design now so synonymous with this pipe.

The easily removable stem enabled a soldier to easily stow a pipe and the mount was designed to ensure it remained durable being regularly parted in this way.

Following the World Wars, which heavily impacted briar availability. It must have seemed that the light was eventually at the end of the proverbial tunnel….

Alas the cigarette trade took a grip on society with its chic styling.

Over the coming decades, the cigarette industry continued to dominate the tobacco market with some truly iconic logos and marketing campaigns. Undoubtedly affecting Peterson’s heavily.

These challenging commercial times unfortunately persisted well into the mid 1990’s, likely also affected by increasing tobacco taxation levies and the growing medical information regarding the health effects associated with tobacco consumption.

The global trade for pipe smoking was well and truly on its knees.

There is extensive literature and online content about the various ‘changing of hands’ of the business but a key moment was Peterson astutely identifying that the gentle art of pipe smoking had continued in small numbers and by fully understanding what was underpinning this niche interest, they tapped into the wonderful culture and values associated with pipe smoking.

Much of this strategic impetus is attributed to Tom Palmer’s leadership.

Another key approach was to create a range of models that were collectable for the customer. It has been commented that the first era of Peterson pipes were for everyone but the recent era is for the discerning.

Whilst we agree with the logic of this observation we feel it doesn’t fully encapsulate the wide ranging appeal of their pipes.

Peterson pipes have always been competitively priced for their quality when contrasted against the typical retail price of an entry level Dunhill. Thus, Peterson has managed to nestle itself into a very nice commercial ‘sweet spot’ in that it’s not associated with the either the upper or lower echelons of socio-economical status or indeed overly concerned with financial status of customers.

This is aligned with the associated traditions and culture of pipe smoking. Which, for many years has retained the quite wonderful position where ostensibly every pipe smoker is equal (it has never been about one-upmanship).

These values evidently run through the Peterson pipes and as such are perfectly aligned with the gentle art of pipe smoking.

We are unashamedly big supporters and therefore clearly biased regarding Peterson but in an effort to provide balance, there are of course many smokers that shun this brand. This is typically due to a personal desire to avoid ‘following the crowd’ which is entirely understandable.

As much as we’d really like to spread the good word about Peterson products, a hard-sales approach is not part of our ethos and nor does it appear to part of Peterson’s either.

In addition to all of this, the central aspect to the success of Peterson pipes surely lies in their outstanding and durable build quality. While they may not have the same rigorous quality assurance as expected from Dunhill - they turn out mass produced pipes of a very high standard.

A Peterson pipe that is well looked after can easily be expected to last for 50+ years.

By virtue of the fact that so many appear on the 2nd hand market and continue to remain desirable is ample evidence that Peterson are churning out high quality products.

Finally, Pipe smoking culture celebrates pipes as items to cherish and last for a long time and Peterson has well and truly delivered on that.

The Peterson Pipe eras.

We should stress that the categorisation as below has been taken from Peterson’s own website and has been redacted here to guide readers.

The history of Petersons’s is considered in 2 key periods:

• FIRST PERIOD: Pipes For Everyone 1865 - 1973
• SECOND PERIOD: Pipes For The Discerning Smoker: 1974 to Present.

Overview of Era’s

• First or Zero Era: 1865 - 1891 Covering the beginning in London) to - 1891 Development of the System patent.
  
  
• Second Era: 1882 - 1915 Pipes from this era displayed the country of origin which started in 1916. Notably, there is conflicting expert opinions on the dates for this era.
  
  
• Third Era (Pre-Republic) 1916 - 1949. As set out below. There are 3 sub-categories for this era.
  
  
• Third Era (Sub Era 1): 1916 - 1922, noted with nomenclature of “MADE IN IRELAND” 

• Third Era (Sub era 2): 1922 - 1937, noted with nomenclature of “IRISH FREE STATE”.

• Third Era (Sub era 3): 1938 - 1949, noted with nomenclature of “MADE IN EIRE”

• Fourth Era: 1949 - 1973, noted with nomenclature of “MADE IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND” or “MADE IN THE REP. OF IRELAND”. 

To add