An Amazing And Generous Gift From SSJones aka Al The Evergood!

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May 31, 2012
4,295
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Jawdropping awe!

:!:
I only very recently had oppo to actually read copies of TPSE and I was blown away by them.

Total density.
It's the sort of publication that you can go through over and over again and still find new things, and it's filled to the gills with info on stuff hardly seen online. It really is a treat to read them and the paper exudes a very rich human warmth, like it's alive, because it is alive --- much in the manner that one does not read Joyce's Finnegans Wake, but be absorbed innit and breathe with it and take note of how it morphs and grows - always in progress, in motion, not a static thing, and that's similar to how I feel about TPSE just shortly after my first exposure to it.
I have the P&T Tom Dunn memorial issue and had read of his legend, but I was yet still unprepared to be immersed in such rich density.
The man was amazing!
The preface is meant to give a sense of just how excited I get about such things, I've eyeballed these irregular publications for quite some time but could never bring myself to actually buy any because in many cases they're pretty pricey...
...Al happened to notice my recent enthusiasm in a thread where I was talking about it and sent me a pm saying that he had a couple of copies and asked if I'd like to have them - WOW! :!: :!: :!:
Of course I said YES!
He even threw in a couple of HU Tobacco samples too!
When the mail arrived yesterday and I opened up the envelope,

it was a big thrill, one of those magic moments.
I love this forum and it has enhanced my wellbeing in many ways,

I'm thankful for it.
Al is a mod here and does a damn fine job of keeping the house in order. As well as his fine contribution to discussions and his own posts on interesting topics, he had the master-stroke genius idea of starting up the British Pipes section here and it's grown to be quite the great archive of BritBriar mania!

Very well done.

:clap:
Thank you Al for everything that you do.
And,

my deepest heartfelt thanks go out to you for the wonderful TPSE gift,

I AM TOTALLY STOKED!
:!:​
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kcvet67

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 6, 2010
968
0
Tom Dunn did more to promote pipe smoking and unite pipe smokers than anyone else I can think of in the ancient pre-internet days. He was a great writer and had the ability to make each reader feel as though he was a personal friend. I always drool over the hardbound copies of TPSE when they come up but haven't been able to part with the pride of the 2 volume set. I enjoy re-reading the issues I have every few years.

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
34
For the W/S 2001 issue,

Tom Dunn chose to put a poem on the cover.
I love this poem.
It must be quoted here.
THE WEED THAT CHEERS
By J. Henry Hager
:
NICOTIA, dear to the muse

Than all the grapes' bewildering juice,

We worship, unforbid of thee;

And, as her incense floats and curls

In airy spires and wayward whirls,

Or poises on its tremulous stalk

A flower of frailest revery,

So winds and loiters, idly free,

The current of unguided talk,

Now laughter-rippled, and now caught

In smooth, dark pools of deeper thought,

Meanwhile thou mellowest every word,

A sweetly unobtrusive third;

For thou hast magic beyond wine

To unlock natures each to each;

The unspoken thought thou canst divine;

Thou fillest the pauses of the speech

With whispers that to dream-land reach,

And frozen fancy-springs unchain

In Artic outskirts of the brain;

Sun of all inmost confidences!

To thy rays doth the hear unclose

Its formal calyx of pretences,

That close against rude day's offences,

And open its shy midnight rose.
Note: Both the above poem and the print to its left come from LOTOS LEAVES (Original stories, essays, and poems, by various authors), edited by William Fearing Gill (R. Worthington, New York, 1882).
Editorial appears on page 111.
Pg. one one one:
FROM YOUR EDITOR - Best wishes for 2001! We are pleased to bring you yet another "fat" issue of the Ephemeris, with much interesting material and plenty of graphics.
ABOUT OUR COVER: The delightful masthead is the work of Stavros Gavris, whose fine artwork you have seen previously in TPSE.
etc.
I cut here and go to pg. one one three inwhich the PREFACE exists folio right verso:
(See Page 111 for a note on the Preface below.)
PREFACE.
TO THE SOVEREIGN PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR ROYAL MULTIPLICITY: -
We,

the subscribers hereto, appreciating the absorbing interest taken at the present period in the occult and nonunderstandable, beg to call the attention of pansophic inquirers to the singular MANIFESTATIONS which will develop themselves in the pages following, emanating, as they do, from a group of edacious and bibitory media, who materialize daily at the refectory of the Lotos Club.

YOUR AUGUST POTENTIALITY will not fail to observe that those spiritual adumbrations are not evanescent or fugaceous, a latrocinous cheat, repugnant to common-sense and an insult to the most parvanimous of human intelligences, but tangible entities, altogether stationary, and as visible to every eye as the readablest of printed work.

The embodied essences which will in due time appear, - psychologic offspring evoluted from the mysterious union of the brain and pen, - being polygenous, will of necessity be variform and dissimilar; but, however unlike in shape or feature they may be when compared with each other, yet individually they will be found to exhibit sufficient family resemblance to indicate their paternity.

In Books, as in Babies, one can readily discover - excepting in the cases of unequal collaboration, or of entirely pilfered matter, foreign or domestic - some characteristic trait hereditary, some trick of style or peculiarity of expression, through which to designate the author of their being.

The cerebral progeny of the Lotos will, in like manner, display upon their lineaments the shadowy sign-manual of their respective producers.

With this brief but perspicuous prolegomenon, we send our multigenerous youngsters out into the world, to be judged by their merits; parental solicitude alone urging us to entreat for them a liberal indulgence, if it be only for their juvenility.

It only remains to say that the pecuniary profits, if any, resulting from the promulgation of these Leaves will be presented to the American Dramatic Fund.
J.B. & J.E.
:!:​
In essence,

it is that which stuff my drames be made,

madder,

perhaps,

but witha grin anda spirit anda soul that goes on & on & on

ever so forth

thru the forest

of so many leaves

left scattered amongst

our digitized lives,

and which,

when read,

or said,

all out in the open,

or even alone,

brings the being of being into being,

and I know

that

I am not alone,
and,
right now,
you are reading this,
hello.
:)

 

lostandfound

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 30, 2011
924
44
MLC- I just want to say that it seems your more "recent" posts, have become more "personal". I know for awhile there, you put a lot of effort into providing all of us with interesting history regarding pipe smoking days-gone-by. The new tone you've taken has allowed me to feel like I know the man who is Misterlowercase, even better.
I really appreciate your writing style, brother. Very care-free, and to my mind, anti-establishment. Keep it up.
-Jerod.

 

thefalcon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 23, 2012
241
2
Troy, It's great to see you are enjoying the Tomb of all Pipe smoking Tombs, TPSE! It's sad really, Tom Dunn had to leave us much too soon!
: Eric

 

mranglophile

Can't Leave
May 11, 2015
390
4
United States
What a great gift, I have coveted them many times on ebay. Unexpected gifts are one of my favorite things, right up there with wearing a pair of socks for the first time or cooking with my mom....it doesn't get much better. Enjoy!

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
34
I think these following images should be of interest here,

it went unsold last week on the bay,

asking price was $250 if I recall...
...from the artist who drew the Shoe comics,

Jeff MacNelly.
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ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,070
Maryland
postimg.cc
It was my pleasure, Troy. I've had those sitting on my bookshelf for over a year. They were passed onto me by a member of another forum, so I'm just moving it forward. The kindness shown to me by folks on this (and other) forums is always astounding.
Enjoy the read and thanks for your contributions here.

 

okiescout

Lifer
Jan 27, 2013
1,530
6
Wonderful graphics words and history, but they did not outshine the giving spirit.
What were the Shoe Comics listed under, collectibles?

 

maxpeters

Can't Leave
Jan 4, 2010
439
20
mr.lowercase, you are indeed very fortunate to have one of Tom's TPSE publications. They are a fantastic read. Jammed packed with all sorts of pipe info. and lore. Indeed Tom Dunn was an incredible man.

I was a member of the coterie for the last 6 or 7 years of it's existence. It was a sad day when I learned that Tom was gone and TPSE would be no more.

In the pre-internet days there was very little information about the hobby to discover. You could try searching every library and every book store, but still not much out there then. Those were the days when attending pipe shows and talking with sellers and makers was just about the only way you could learn anything about pipes and pipe tobacco. I attended the C.O.R.P.S. show in Richmond one year and learned about Tom Dunn's Pipe Smokers Ephimeris. I wrote in to Tom and became a member. That was the real beginning of my pipe smoking education. He and others like Jack Ehrmantraut and Barry Levin kept me informed through their writings and mailings about the ins and outs of the hobby, the intricasies of pipes, and reviews on different tobaccos. It was such a thrill to receive one of Tom's publications in the mail. And Barry Levin's Photo mailers were a godsend also.

Today, with the internet and pipe forums, you can pull up just about anything you want to know almost instantly. Wonderful, but just not quite as thrilling as getting something unexpected in the mail.

And what a gift for ssjones to make. He must be a very wonderful guy. I have my copies from those days, and I wouldn't part with them for anything. I still find articles in them that I haven't read yet. TPSE, Pipe Friendly, Pipes and Tobacco,s and a couple of other publications I will treasure for the rest of my life. Again, congratulations.
Some of my TPSE publications, and Books I and II.


 
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