Seeking Information About Leavitt & Peirce Pipes

[jguss]

Sorry, hunter, no idea. I did just find out that Leavitt actually learned the trade from Brock before they became partners, after which he formed his new partnership with Peirce.
It's interesting to note that Leavitt, who never attended Harvard, was the only non-alum to be honored with membership in the Hasty Pudding Club, the DKE Club, and the Pi Eta Fraternity. On the day of his funeral the Harvard Square Business Men's Association requested that all shops fly flags at half mast, and be closed from 1-1:30pm.

 

[huntertrw]

jguss:
Thank-you, again, for the added information.
Were I to guess, then I would have to say that it is probable that the David P. Ehrlich Company manufactured pipes for Leavitt & Peirce after their acquisition of the company in 1956. Prior to that I wonder if L&P (as an area competitor to DPE) had their own pipe-makers? That would seem to make sense.

 

[jguss]

I did more digging, and can give a fuller history of the shop and its ownership if you're interested. But regarding the source of their pipes, Fred Leavitt, Wallace Peirce, and David Ehrlich were friends for decades. Ehrlich made pipes for Leavitt & Peirce both before and after it bought the shop in 1956.

 

[huntertrw]

jguss:
The Ehrlich connection is good news, indeed! I have a number of Ehrlich pipes in my collection, and they are all fine smokers. This gives me confidence that the estate L&P-branded pipe which I just purchased from Ms. Carole Burns of Pipeworks & Wilke will be likewise. I am eagerly awaiting its arrival.
As for the "fuller history of the shop and its ownership," yes, I am definitely interested in knowing more.

 

[huntertrw]

Bumping this thread in hopes that jguss will see it and provide the "fuller history of the shop and its ownership" which he mentioned in his post above.

 

[snowyowl]

It is a venerable establishment in Harvard Square, for the reasons already stated. Just the foot travel and word or mouth alone brings to world to their door, but Google Maps lets you enter the shop and look around. From the link below, click into the doorway, then drag and click some more to take a look around.

http://tinyurl.com/h4m5nty

 

[jpmcwjr]

This from their website (in general, the top line of links works)

...And then there's the smell. This can't be recreated without 124 years of evolution, or maybe marriage is a better term. The pipe tobacco aroma is in the wood by now. When people walk in, or rather, are drawn in, they take a deep breath, their shoulders relax, and they take it all in.The store is as much about discovery as it is shopping. One hundred-year-old display cases exhibit items thought long gone; old-fashioned straight razors and shave brushes, classic board games that regain your to think rather than fantasize, and gifts that seem perfect for that hard-to-shop-for person. Eventually, they are always drawn to the tobacco bar. If we could only put "smell" into a website than it could say, "Thanks for looking and smelling!"

It will be my first stop the next time in Boston. (I lived one year a few blocks off the square, on Cambridge Ave. The house was where Helen Keller had lived, and before that, Samuel Clemens' editor).