What Would a Pipe Smoker in 1921 Have to Say About Pipe Smoking in 2021?

[mikethompson]

I just finished a great book about English life in 1914, on the eve and early months of the First World War. Things we take for granted now were unheard of then. For instance for Christmas 1914, grocers started offering fully cooked turkeys and sides that just needed heating up in the oven. It was unheard of before.

I wonder how someone plucked out of 1921 would find pipe smoking today. My guess is they would be astonished at the variety and availability of pipes and tobacco, but confused that there are hardly any B&Ms from which to buy them.

I would rather this not go into a *things were much better in the past* because I certainly don't think so, but what observations do you think an average 1921 pipe smoker would make of everything today?

 

[smittyd]

" You have more that one pipe! You must be wealthy or wasteful."

 

[coming to_falling too]

I've often wondered if smokers from back then dried their tobacco out for smoking, or if tobacco came at an ideal moisture level.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I've often wondered if smokers from back then dried their tobacco out for smoking, or if tobacco came at an ideal moisture level.

Interesting. Most would have been sold in little burlap sacks, or the grocer would just be cutting you off a section of plug or rope. Would they have even come with moisture? I'm sure some did. But, tins and the technology to seal them would have been rather precarious.

 

[workman]

The most obvious difference between now and then is all the prohibition today. A hundred years ago you could smoke anywhere anytime.
Another huge difference is the scope of things. A pipe smoker back then would have had one preferred tobacconist where he bought his pipes and tobacco. The ability to go online and browse thousands of pipes and blends would be unfathomable.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The most obvious difference between now and then is all the prohibition today.

Actually, someone in the 1920's would know a LOT about prohibition, but the confusion would be, "you mean I can drink all I want now, but I can't smoke? Where's the speakeasy tobacconists?"

 

[ofafeather]

Kind of cool to think that people would be shopping at Perretti, Peterson, Freiburg & Treyer (?), Dunhill, etc.

 

[ashdigger]

I think they would be confused about pipe cleaners, since they used bird quills.

I also think they’d be horrified that people used water on their pipes. They’d probably think that’s what outhouses are for.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Bloke from 1921 to bloke from 2021.....

"why on earth would you need more than one pipe?"

"do you really use a moisture tester for your tobacco?"

Mike, I'd be interested to read this book, care to share the title/author?

Regards,

Jay.

 

[Trainpipeman]

I do believe that the pipe smoker of 1921 would find an amazing selection of blends, and pipes, from which to choose. It does seem that pipes have grown in size since then, as well as stem materials. What would he think of acrylic stems in hot pink, and electric blue? Certainly globalization has helped expand those pipes, and blends, available to us. Something that was not a big thing back in 1921.

 

[STP]

Good topic, and I agree that they would be astonished by the variety and availability of pipes and tobacco, also by the technology, manufacturing, and commerce. They would also be amazed considering all of the advancements over the past 100 years most everything else w/pipe smoking remained consistent... subscribing to the proverb that the more things change, the more they stay the same

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm pretty sure most pipesmokers from 1920 would scurrilously think most pipesmokers today dress like ragamuffins.
The second thing they would bawk at would be people who aren't broke and homeless BUYING corncob pipes, instead of just whittling you up one while using the outhouse.

 

[SoddenJack]

They’d shit themselves over the taxes and regulations in certain states and countries.

They’d laugh at the notion of “pipe collectors” that spend thousands of dollars on a pipe and often don’t smoke them. Maybe think we’re odd to view pipe smoking as a hobby.

They’d be amused that young upstart Dunhill is still around

They’d be amazed at the variety of blends and pipes available without leaving you home, and the speed of shipping. Might be difficult to wrap their head around the exponential growth in choices while at the same time pipe smoking is practically nonexistent.

 

[kcghost]

I think they would be stunned by how much money we would spend to buy the very pipe they are smoking which didn't cost them $10.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Oh wow, toilet paper?

 

[SoddenJack]

They’d think I can’t belive I survived months in trenches at the Somme so my descendants can spend their free time debating proper moisture levels, while complaining about the draft holes and how they don’t like the feel of certain stem materials on their teeth with other grown men they’ve never met.

 

[sablebrush52]

Contrary to the picture being painted in some responses, pipe smoking wasn’t restricted to crackers sitting around a pickle barrel.
People did collect pipes, a few quite extensively, and by 1921, did have pipe cleaners.
I think that most would be nonplussed by the idea of cellaring. It would make little sense to them.
Unlike today, much of what they bought was already well aged.
They would be astonished by how marginalized pipe smoking has become.
They would likely find a lot of today’s shapes silly. And most would think an interest in owning and smoking a vintage pipe ridiculous and possibly revolting unless there was some familial connection.
They would also be astonished at the variety of blends available and wonder why so many that taste pretty much alike, and they might find many flavors strange.
They would likely find the idea of an “artisan” pipe an absurdity, more so shelling out a ton of money for one when a factory pipe will do just as well, or better.

 

[danish]

If I could afford a good life, in for example London in 1921, I would easily enjoy being a pipe smoker. Wouldn't miss modern aromatics and pipe shapes. But I would miss this forum?

 

[mso489]

A pipe smoker transported to today from 1921 would be dumfounded at the prices for a pipe and a tin of tobacco. He would laugh and vow to quit smoking forever. From the numbers of pipes owned by one person, he would assume we were either starting a pipe shop or museum. The variety of shapes, sizes, and finishes would be fascinating but not tempting -- too many. Likewise the variety of blends would make him grab one of the old codger blends still around from the old days and turn his back on the rest. Even a fine gent in spats would say, "Too fancy for me."

 

[cosmicfolklore]

pipe smoking wasn’t restricted to crackers sitting around a pickle barrel.

I think that even the crackers setting around a pickle barrel would be repulsed by the way most men dress now. Most farmers took great care in their clothes and considered them selves gentleman farmers.