It's always interesting when a pipe emerges in an unaccustomed context, and so it is when I found a Peterson 10" churchwarden for $168 in the recent J. Peterman catalog. I think I saw it in an earlier catalog once or twice before, but it is a relatively new offering. For those not familiar with it, J. Peterman is a catalog and online vender that offers up-market merchandize always featuring high-fantasy romanticized descriptions describing the exotic sources and locales of the items. The Peterman catalog was roundly satirized in various Seinfeld episodes poking fun at the high-flown nonsense of their sales pitch. Here's a little of the pitch for the pipe: James Joyce smoked a Peterson. So did Mark Twain. As did practically every politician and industrialist. The famous Peterson System. Graduated bore in the mouthpiece makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. On this particular shape, extra long length of the mouthpiece ensures the coolest smoke possible. It's made of textured briarwood (looks like tree bark), grown in the Mediterranean. Albert Einstein said, "I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgement in all human affairs."
Well, they have a few things almost right, obviously not targeting the experienced pipe smoker, but a funny read.
Well, they have a few things almost right, obviously not targeting the experienced pipe smoker, but a funny read.
