Peterson Shannon Of A Different Sort (Pics)

[agnosticpipe]

Here's a little pipe made by Peterson that you might not be familiar with. Now I'm not a Peterson collector or authority of any sort, but I just got this pipe yesterday from an ebay auction, and I thought it was kind of interesting. I believe that Peterson currently makes a series of pipes called Shannon. This is not one of them. This is a different Shannon from Peterson. Strangely it doesn't say Peterson anywhere on the pipe, but after doing some research, I discovered that Peterson sold pipes at duty free shops one of which was located at the Shannon Airport, one of Irelands main airports. They sold pipes under the Peterson brand of course, but made a series of mid-grade pipes that were labeled under the name of Shannon, in the early 1970s. As you can see from the stampings on the pipe, it shows Shannon Airport, "Abbey" and Made in Dublin Ireland. It also has the letters BPL stamped on the shank and the stem, but I haven't been able to find out what that stands for. The pipe needed some cleaning up but came out rather nice. Looks like a nice little billiard and I'll probably try smoking tomorrow.

Any Peterson fans out there know anything else about these pipes?

 

[pitchfork]

That's really cool. I just picked up a Peterson "Made for Shannon Airport" pipe that's due to arrive this week. BPL? That's very curious, but I can't imagine it's anything but a Peterson.

 

[captainsousie]

Nice pipe. The only problem? It's not a Peterson, it's a B.P.L. Other info here. I've been looking for one in nice shape to add to my collection but no luck so far.

 

[piperl12]

Interesting, Captain could BLP have been the midgrade pipe line from Peterson or where they a totally different company unaffiliated with Peterson?

 

[agnosticpipe]

Well, color my face red! I had no idea that there were other pipe makers in Ireland. I mistakenly assumed it was a Peterson second of some sort. So when reading about Peterson history, I saw they stamped some pipes Shannon for sale at the duty free shop at the Shannon Airport, I thought that was what this was. Never assume anything is the lesson here. Now the problem is, the only thing I can find about BPL is that it stands for Briar Pipes Limited. I can't seem to find anything about who they were, or when they made their pipes. Anyone have any info about this?

Sorry again for the misinformation. Life is a learning experience, right?

 

[rmbittner]

The *only* thing I can contribute to this thread is that the Kapp & Peterson store at Shannon Free Airport was no longer in business by the early-to-mid 1980s. Back around that time, I'd discovered their address in some old pipe magazine and written to them about ordering. I received a reply stating that they were no longer in business.
Of course, the shop may have gone out of business -- and the practice of stamping "Shannon" on these pipes may have ended -- much earlier than the early 1980s. The OP mentioned "early 1970s," and that may be exactly right.
Bob

 

[captainsousie]

As far as I can find, B.P.L. was an entirely different pipe making company operating in Ireland. It has different stamping, COM marks and shape numbers/names.
No need to be sorry agnosticpipe, people regularly confuse Peterson with companies like BPL and Pioneer. In point of fact, I recently picked up a really nice looking "Peterson" pipe. It had some nomenclature I wasn't familiar with but since it was branded Pipe N Pouch with the script "P" I figured it was just a re-branded Pete...wrong. The reason I couldn't figure out the nomenclature was I had fallen victim to the mistake I have warned about, mixing up Pioneer and Peterson. What I actually have is a really nice looking Pioneer.

 

[numbersix]

Thanks for sharing - a great pipe and a great story too.

 

[agnosticpipe]

Ok, this is the only other thing I can say about this pipe. I can't find ANYTHING about BPL pipes, other than they were Briar Pipes Limited, a pipe maker in Dublin Ireland. I have no idea who the company was, or when they made pipes, they seem to have vanished into thin air.

But on the other hand, this is one of the better smoking pipes I've smoked recently. A simple billiard, with a rather short stem, but an easy draw, and a pleasant experience loaded with some 1-Q. Guess it's a keeper.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I have heard about these pipes. I even looked for a pipe store the last time I flew into Shannon, but sadly, I could not find one. It is a beautiful pipe.

 

[agnosticpipe]

I know I'm reviving an old thread here, but I gotta tell you, this little Shannon Airport billiard is becoming one of my favorite pipes! I'm smoking some Frog Morton Cellar in it right now and it's such a nice smoke. I'm appreciating the billiard shape more and more as I smoke, and this pipe is one of the best I've smoked. Odd that I've can't find anything else about the BPL pipe company in Ireland. I guess I'll just have to keep on looking.

Oh, and finally it's gotten up into the 50's today so it's nice to be smoking outside and enjoying the big outdoors and the birds again. Hope thing warm up for everyone else soon.