Greetings and Salutations, I am a newbie pipe smoker and collector. I just bought 4 pipes and one has me a bit stumped on it's authenticity. It's a Peterson's Block Meerschaum Pipe, It has the Crown and S in white and it's stamped Great Britain on the stem,(vintage) from what I can gather, (it's a warm golden color, rustic finish). My question is this....did this pipe have a silver band at one time, did all vintage Peterson's meerschaum come from Africa? Any and all info would be helpful as I'm a sponge for knowledge on pipes and tobacco.
Lady buys a Peterson's Block Meerschaum, New to this!
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Hi, and welcome to the site! My wife smokes pipes too and it's always nice to see another female join in the conversation.
About your pipe; without seeing the pipe it's hard to tell what it is. Is it stamped Peterson's, is the crown on the stem? Most Peterson meerschaum pipes had a silver cap on the end of the shank, and I never heard of them stamping the stem with a crown with an S. I do believe that all the meershaums made for them were African though, but I'm not an expert on Peterson's.
Check the top of the forums page under the header "Latest Discussions" for a sticky on how to post pics.
About your pipe; without seeing the pipe it's hard to tell what it is. Is it stamped Peterson's, is the crown on the stem? Most Peterson meerschaum pipes had a silver cap on the end of the shank, and I never heard of them stamping the stem with a crown with an S. I do believe that all the meershaums made for them were African though, but I'm not an expert on Peterson's.
Check the top of the forums page under the header "Latest Discussions" for a sticky on how to post pics.
I believe the Pete meers, prior to the Sherlock Holmes series, were all African meerschaum and the system pipe ranges are said to have been carved by Manx meerschaum for some time, but who knows (I have never seen solid documentation of this, so take it for what it is). Peterson's does not have much documentation on this and have used many carvers over the years.
In any event, the meers are extremely hard to date, especially (read impossible) if there are no silver hallmarks - much harder to narrow to a date range than even their briars...
These pipes were available with silver or nickel band, but also available in the classic Peterson shapes with no band (many of those without band were Army Mounts).
The Sherlock Holmes series were Turkish Meerschaum and carved in Turkey, then assembled by Peterson's. The Turkish meer is lighter in weight than African meer, so it is easy to tell the difference.
Without photos it is hard to say whether or not it is a Peterson, but by your stem description I would say that, at the very least, the stem is not Peterson. Often the carvers that Peterson contracted with made shapes very similar to the Peterson shapes with slight changes. This can get confusing as the pipes are easily mistaken for the Peterson versions in the absence of nomenclature, bands or with incorrect stems.
Please do post a photo with closeups of any nomenclature, looking forward to seeing it!
In any event, the meers are extremely hard to date, especially (read impossible) if there are no silver hallmarks - much harder to narrow to a date range than even their briars...
These pipes were available with silver or nickel band, but also available in the classic Peterson shapes with no band (many of those without band were Army Mounts).
The Sherlock Holmes series were Turkish Meerschaum and carved in Turkey, then assembled by Peterson's. The Turkish meer is lighter in weight than African meer, so it is easy to tell the difference.
Without photos it is hard to say whether or not it is a Peterson, but by your stem description I would say that, at the very least, the stem is not Peterson. Often the carvers that Peterson contracted with made shapes very similar to the Peterson shapes with slight changes. This can get confusing as the pipes are easily mistaken for the Peterson versions in the absence of nomenclature, bands or with incorrect stems.
Please do post a photo with closeups of any nomenclature, looking forward to seeing it!
Well it seems I've made an error in my description.... I did say it has an "S" with a crown but that's incorrect, it's a "P" on the stem. I got so excited about all the pipes I acquired I mixed up the info from a Stanwell Pipe that was sitting in front of me at the time too. Which I wanted to mention as well. But first back to the Peterson's Meerschaum. I'll do my best to post pictures this time.
The Stanwell is a majestic #30 smooth/mat finish, I absolutely love the way this pipe smokes and feels.
The Stanwell is a majestic #30 smooth/mat finish, I absolutely love the way this pipe smokes and feels.
Thank you to all with your help and information. I'm but a "babe in the woods" on the wonderful world of Pipes and Tobacco. Please feel free to critique any of my pipes or info but please go easy on my photography, I'm new to this as well.
"No!, I don't mind if you smoke."
"No!, I don't mind if you smoke."
missmomo: Oops, well I guess I was wrong about meerschaum Peterson's having a metal cap on the shank! I guess I've only seen the ones that do. Still a nice meer, and it should smoke great as I believe it's a well made pipe.
My wife likes your Stanwell, as it is very close in shape to her favorite Stanwell which she is smoking in my avatar. She bought it about 30 years ago and it's still going strong!
Hope you enjoy your time here on the forums.
My wife likes your Stanwell, as it is very close in shape to her favorite Stanwell which she is smoking in my avatar. She bought it about 30 years ago and it's still going strong!
Hope you enjoy your time here on the forums.
Nice looking meer! No idea on fake or not, but your photography has improved from the first set!
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