Old Leather Tobacco Pouches

[jpmcwjr]

Curious about the above (and below book cover) I did a Google Images search and found a clearer copy.

And was amazed at how many books on pipes there are.

 

[Alejo R.]

 

[Joe H]

I'll keep an eye out for that book, it looks like a good read. We have some nice used book stores in town.

Getting back to pouches, below are both sides and an inside view of my dad’s black dress pouch (with a standard sized Zippo for scale). I suspect this was ordered out of the Wards catalog after one of those pre-Christmas conversations couples have after they’ve been married long enough to not really worry about surprises anymore. In my imagination, it probably went like:

"Mom: Do you want another pipe for Christmas this year?

Dad: No, I’ve got enough…maybe a tobacco pouch…

Mom: You’ve got one right there (tapping his shirt pocket).

Dad: No, a nicer one, for when we go to church or dancing..."

This pouch is a well-worn Rogers model with their Air-Lok rubber interior. It’s a pretty slick design; the rubber lining is straight forward enough, but up at the top are thin rubber tubes that run along the zipper on either side. When the zipper is closed, the two tubes are pressed together sealing in the moist tobacco. I can imagine it must work more efficiently than a plain leather pouch. I personally rarely smoke more than a single bowl per day and store my tobacco in the pipe chamber under a bit wine cork, so haven‘t tried it yet. I'll bring it along on the next camping trip or vacation we take to test it out. This pouch has little of the original outer texture intact and none of the embossing remaining. Still, in comparison to dad’s work pouch, this one had a much easier life.

The next and last pouch was dad’s slightly larger capacity brown dress one. Dad’s dressiest clothes were black or dark grey, the brown dress clothes were a step down and so the brown pouch would have been used more than the black one, and it shows.

 

[JOHN72]

I remember my father with his leather bag, taking out the tobacco early in the morning, to smoke a pipe. It's fantastic that mix of aromas, tobacco, leather, the morning dew, the coffee at home, or the one from the roadside restaurant, all smoking there, like Siberian trains. And those old-fashioned colognes that were used. I'm a fan of leather. I'm still embarrassed to buy leather underpants though. Lovely photos, thanks for sharing.

 

[Alejo R.]

I'll keep an eye out for that book, it looks like a good read. We have some nice used book stores in town.

Getting back to pouches, below are both sides and an inside view of my dad’s black dress pouch (with a standard sized Zippo for scale). I suspect this was ordered out of the Wards catalog after one of those pre-Christmas conversations couples have after they’ve been married long enough to not really worry about surprises anymore. In my imagination, it probably went like:

"Mom: Do you want another pipe for Christmas this year?

Dad: No, I’ve got enough…maybe a tobacco pouch…

Mom: You’ve got one right there (tapping his shirt pocket).

Dad: No, a nicer one, for when we go to church or dancing..."

This pouch is a well-worn Rogers model with their Air-Lok rubber interior. It’s a pretty slick design; the rubber lining is straight forward enough, but up at the top are thin rubber tubes that run along the zipper on either side. When the zipper is closed, the two tubes are pressed together sealing in the moist tobacco. I can imagine it must work more efficiently than a plain leather pouch. I personally rarely smoke more than a single bowl per day and store my tobacco in the pipe chamber under a bit wine cork, so haven‘t tried it yet. I'll bring it along on the next camping trip or vacation we take to test it out. This pouch has little of the original outer texture intact and none of the embossing remaining. Still, in comparison to dad’s work pouch, this one had a much easier life.

The next and last pouch was dad’s slightly larger capacity brown dress one. Dad’s dressiest clothes were black or dark grey, the brown dress clothes were a step down and so the brown pouch would have been used more than the black one, and it shows.

View attachment 322640
View attachment 322642View attachment 322641

It seems that your father had a correct dress code, customs that, unfortunately, have been lost.

 

[Joe H]

This is the final pouch for this thread. I found it with the black dress pouch; dad’s work pouch was in a different spot. The zipper on the brown dress pouch was broken and the rubber liner (which looked identical to the black Rogers) was cracked and dried out. I cut the liner and the zipper out and stitched a flap of scrap leather on one side. It was the wrong color to I used brown markers and shoe polish to darken the outside. If I ever track down where my leather dye went, I’ll darken the flap to better match the body.

If I need a pouch I’ll probably go to this one. It’s big enough to fit a zip-lock bag of an ounce and a half of tobacco.

All three are on display in my little pipe nook and I am thoroughly grateful they survived in the house over 30 years while dad lived there, but didn’t smoke, and then another dozen years after he passed away. I guess it’s a testament to how much dad liked his smoking stuff, and how rarely he threw out stuff. Well, I’m doing it now and it is like an archeology dig. If I find anything else noteworthy and pipe-related, I’ll be sure to post. Thank you to everyone who shared their comments and pictures of cool old tobacco related treasures!

 

[TheIronMonkey]

@Joe H

Thanks for your story and pics! As requested, I’m posting some of my vintage pipe tobacco pouches.

A Dunhill with its box:





A GBD in box with original plastic bag with GBD logo still intact:








A tiny Savinelli in box:



A larger Savinelli with no packaging:

 

[DeerparkDays]

This is the final pouch for this thread. I found it with the black dress pouch; dad’s work pouch was in a different spot. The zipper on the brown dress pouch was broken and the rubber liner (which looked identical to the black Rogers) was cracked and dried out. I cut the liner and the zipper out and stitched a flap of scrap leather on one side. It was the wrong color to I used brown markers and shoe polish to darken the outside. If I ever track down where my leather dye went, I’ll darken the flap to better match the body.

If I need a pouch I’ll probably go to this one. It’s big enough to fit a zip-lock bag of an ounce and a half of tobacco.

All three are on display in my little pipe nook and I am thoroughly grateful they survived in the house over 30 years while dad lived there, but didn’t smoke, and then another dozen years after he passed away. I guess it’s a testament to how much dad liked his smoking stuff, and how rarely he threw out stuff. Well, I’m doing it now and it is like an archeology dig. If I find anything else noteworthy and pipe-related, I’ll be sure to post. Thank you to everyone who shared their comments and pictures of cool old tobacco related treasures!

View attachment 322829View attachment 322830View attachment 322831View attachment 322832

Hi Joe,
I have really enjoyed reading this thread, thank you for taking the time to put it all together. Cheers, Adam.

 

[PLANofMAN]

This was the "first" tobacco related accessory I ever purchased back in 1994. It's a replica of an American Civil War era tobacco pouch, and I used it as a tobacco pouch for a couple of years when I was a reenactor, then as a wallet for a decade, then back to occasional tobacco use. Plug and twist tobaccos aren't as delicate as modern tobaccos, and didn't require a double fold and rubberized interior like 'modern' bags, though as I recall, the seller also had double fold versions as well, also unlined.

They were popular with the reenactors as both tobacco pouches and as a period correct way to disguise the contents of a modern men's wallet. Despite Visa's tagline, "it's everywhere you want to be," credit cards and a driver's license were definitely not part of a 1860's artilleryman's daily accoutrements.

Now it sits in a drawer most days as a momento of days gone by.

 

[Joe H]

That is very cool - if you don't mind me asking, what sort of pipes did you use in your reenacting days?

 

[PLANofMAN]

That is very cool - if you don't mind me asking, what sort of pipes did you use in your reenacting days?

I'd like to say clays or hand carved cherrywood, since that would be period correct, but no, it was my Danish made Stanwell Vario 63M purchased new in 1996.