For those who may be interested in the true history of Dr. Grabow pipes: I had posted this on another thread, but realized that the subject matter deserves a thread all its own, because it is a topic that many of us may be interested in.
I have a friend with a family connection to Dr. Grabow pipes l. In the early 1950s, her uncle, Henry Levitas, bought a factory in North Carolina and manufactured the Dr. Grabow pipes. She is under the impression that he started the business, although she says it may be possible that it was a very small and relatively new business that Uncle Henry bought and then expanded. She remembers as a little girl that he installed shower facilities outside the main building for the workers to use before they began their shifts. As these were North Carolina hill-country people, the general notions of personal hygiene were not known to them, and Uncle Henry had to impose his standards in order to ensure that the facilities inside the main factory building, as well as the finished product were clean. She remembers watching with awe how pipes were made, and especially the pipe smoking machine, a large circular device onto which the newly manufactured pipes were placed to be pre-smoked prior to sale. She has no idea whether Dr. Grabow was a real person, but believes that it may have been a name cooked up by Uncle Henry to imply that the pipes observed the highest standards of health and cleanliness, similar to the ad which told you that four out of five doctors smoked camels. She thinks that he may have invented the name precisely because there was no Dr. Grabow anywhere in the country, and that it was not a last name that he could find, so there would be no infringement issues.
The factory was later sold, and she thinks it was to a large corporation--American Tobacco sticks out in her mind. She named her son Henry after her uncle.
She believes that she may have a few brand-new pipes from that era kicking around the attic somewhere, and told me that she will keep an eye peeled for them. She said if she finds them she will let me see them. She did not say have or sell. Dang!
Anyway if you wanted to know the real history of Dr. Grabow pipes, this is the story from an insider.
I have a friend with a family connection to Dr. Grabow pipes l. In the early 1950s, her uncle, Henry Levitas, bought a factory in North Carolina and manufactured the Dr. Grabow pipes. She is under the impression that he started the business, although she says it may be possible that it was a very small and relatively new business that Uncle Henry bought and then expanded. She remembers as a little girl that he installed shower facilities outside the main building for the workers to use before they began their shifts. As these were North Carolina hill-country people, the general notions of personal hygiene were not known to them, and Uncle Henry had to impose his standards in order to ensure that the facilities inside the main factory building, as well as the finished product were clean. She remembers watching with awe how pipes were made, and especially the pipe smoking machine, a large circular device onto which the newly manufactured pipes were placed to be pre-smoked prior to sale. She has no idea whether Dr. Grabow was a real person, but believes that it may have been a name cooked up by Uncle Henry to imply that the pipes observed the highest standards of health and cleanliness, similar to the ad which told you that four out of five doctors smoked camels. She thinks that he may have invented the name precisely because there was no Dr. Grabow anywhere in the country, and that it was not a last name that he could find, so there would be no infringement issues.
The factory was later sold, and she thinks it was to a large corporation--American Tobacco sticks out in her mind. She named her son Henry after her uncle.
She believes that she may have a few brand-new pipes from that era kicking around the attic somewhere, and told me that she will keep an eye peeled for them. She said if she finds them she will let me see them. She did not say have or sell. Dang!
Anyway if you wanted to know the real history of Dr. Grabow pipes, this is the story from an insider.
