In Search of Pipe Dreams Book Review
-
Kevin Godbee - Jul 12, 2011
- 5 min read
IN SEARCH OF PIPE DREAMS: A METAPHOR FOR HIGHER SMOKING PLEASURES
By Steven Van Puyvelde
Dreams, passion, trying to reach that state of nirvana that only us pipe smokers know about … that is the point of Rick Newcombe’s book, which was first published in 2003 and was just recently reissued with 16 pages of beautiful color photographs. It is also one of the few pipe books available on Kindle.
If you enjoy your pipes, you will enjoy this book. It is a revelation, especially because Mr. Newcombe was one of the first connoisseurs to champion great Danish pipe makers who include Sixten, Lars and Nanna Ivarsson, Jess Chonowitsch, Bo Nordh and S. Bang.
Now, I can imagine that some people might be thinking, "this book is mainly about high grades" that I can’t afford, so why should I read it?
I can think of a couple of reasons. One is that he brings these masters to life in a very readable style, and it is obvious that he is close to them. You feel like you are sitting in a room with Bo Nordh watching while the two of them have a conversation. Another reason is that he devotes many chapters to much less expensive pipes, such as used pipes for less than $50, old Bertram pipes, Paul Perri pipes and others.
This book includes a great deal of information and advice to bring your smoking pleasure to a higher level, even if you smoke lower priced pipes. I loved the chapters on how to keep your pipes clean and on various methods for breaking in a new pipe.
He also advocates opening the draft hole on pipes that are too tight, which has become a controversial topic, but it is worth studying to see what it’s all about.
In addition to high grade Danish pipes, the book includes a chapter on Castello pipes and profiles of Paolo Becker, Wolfgang Becker, Karl Heinz Joura and the late Rainer Barbi. In the newest edition, there are some beautiful color photos of their pipes and also of pipes by Jeff Gracik, Todd Johnson and Jody Davis.
I am writing this review mainly with young people in mind. You should know that I am 30 years old and live in Belgium. I have been to the Chicago Pipe Show for the past three years, and it was there that I got to know Rick Newcombe. He is very approachable, and his enthusiasm for pipes is contagious. You can tell that he appreciates everyone’s choice of pipes, and he is not a snob at all.
I have a friend in Belgium who is in his 70s and has been a pipe smoker for more than five decades. He read the book too and made an interesting observation. "Most pipe books state opinions as fact," he said, "while the author of this one is clear to say what his opinion is, but to add that it is OK to have a different opinion. That is very refreshing!"
My own way of putting it is that he avoids claiming to have THE ONE AND ONLY GOOD ADVICE when it comes to his personal opinions.
There is so much good information in this book, and what’s fun is that it is so easy to read, and read again…
Even before I met Rick Newcombe, I felt like I knew him because he writes in such a conversational style. Although each chapter is a like a magazine article in and of itself (and many of the chapters were previously-published magazine articles), I kept wanting to turn the pages because it was so interesting and I kept learning new things.
Maybe this book will make you dream about joining the world of high grade pipes, as it did for me. I became obsessed with trying a legendary Ivarsson pipe as a result of reading "In Search of Pipe Dreams," so I made this my mission.
Subsequently, I managed to acquire a Nanna Ivarsson pipe — and now I know what Rick was talking about! This is truly a dream that became reality! I just studied and looked at the pipe without smoking it for half an hour and it as just magical.
But even if expensive pipes are not for you, the fact that this book is an ode to pipe smoking and pipe collecting will stimulate you to go deeper into the hobby and make it much more enjoyable.
As far as I could tell, there is only one factual mistake in the book, so I asked Rick about it, and he said he is truly embarrassed. Of all people, he got the name of the editor and publisher of this online magazine mixed up! Instead of Kevin Godbee, the caption identifies him as "Brian" Godbee. Kevin is pictured next to Brian Levine, and Rick said he simply wrote Brian twice, and his editor did not catch it because he did not know either Kevin or Brian, so he just assumed they were both named Brian!
A particular point Mr. Newcombe mentions is moderate pipe smoking. For many of us, that is not always so easy to practice, but he offers interesting suggestions for making it possible. Of course, it’s fun to have those days of smoking one pipe after another from early morning to late night, but in general I think moderate pipe smoking can also give more pleasure and intense enjoyment for a particular smoke.
It is not surprising that this book has been translated into German and Chinese, or that the English language version is now in its sixth printing. For pipe books, that is clearly a bestseller!
Today, we live in world that is inter-connected, so that if two pipe smokers live thousands of kilometers apart, they can still be friends because of the internet and international pipe shows. This book captures that spirit of friendship among pipe smokers and pipe collectors, and I highly recommend that you read the newest edition in print … or read an earlier edition on Kindle. Either way, I predict that you’ll be thanking me.
In Search of Pipe Dreams, Rick Newcombe. Los Angeles: Sumner Books, New revised 2010 Edition. Originally published 2003, and revised 2006. 267 pages.
Click Here to View In Search of Pipe Dreams on Amazon
Written by Kevin Godbee
5 Responses
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 637. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Nate King. Most people know of Nate as an excellent pipe artisan. He also has an honorary Master of Pipes degree from the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club, and is a member of the prestigious ConfrĂ©rie des Maitres Pipiers de Saint-Claude. To be inducted into the ConfrĂ©rie, this past May Nate travelled to Saint-Claude, France with master tobacco blender G.L. Pease, who was also inducted. It was quite a time in France, and at the ceremony. We’ll hear all about those adventures on the show. At the top of the show we’ll continue the virtual tour of Brian’s pipe collection with six of his Satou Dublin-shape pipes.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 636. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Barry Kane. Barry started smoking a pipe in 1961 when he was 14-years old. Back then it seemed like everybody smoked, and you could buy pipes and tobacco just about anywhere. Barry is a true old-school pipe smoker, sticking to just one blend. See if you can guess which one before listening. At the top of the show Brian will give his take on Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s purchase of Mac Baren and Sutliff Tobacco and their announcement that they will be shut down.
Thanks for a wonderfully written and very informative review of Newcombe’s book. It provided exactly what I needed to know before deciding to read it. I also appreciated the inclusion of pix — especially the one of Mr. Kolpin, sarcastic caption included. 🙂
A book well worth the read.
This is a warm, very human view of the artistry of pipes and the people who make them. Rick has a scholarly, learned approach to our hobby, but he always makes sure that the focus is on people and their involvement in, and the enjoyment of, pipe smoking.
Russ Ouellette
This is the best pipe book I’ve ever read, and I think (emphasis) that I’ve read almost all of them. I totally agree with this review, and it was after reading Rick’s book that I began acquiring the Ivarssons, Barbis, Bangs, etc. When we were in Los Angeles for business, Rick graciously took us to lunch, and showed us some of his beautiful pipes. It’s a wonderful alignment when a great book happens to have been written by a really great man. Everyone who enjoys pipes needs this book.
Yes, I quite agree that this book is a “Must Read” book for any lover of pipes, no matter whether you are a simple smoker and lover of pipes, or a connoissuer of fine highgrade collectables, you should greatly enjoy this book. And, I also must say, as far as his controversial concept on “Opening up the draft hole” on your pipes, for me as a 40 year pipe smoker and collector, the jury is still out, again as was keenly pointed out previously by the reviewer of the book, Mr. Newcombe quite correctly points out “It is clearly a matter of personal preferance”.