Show Off Your Tom Howard Pipes

[Briar Lee]

This is my first Tom Howard and likely will not be my last.

Howard was a comedian who made pipes in a one man shop in the forties.

Tom Howard (comedian) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Howard - Pipedia

pipedia.org

These were made mostly as a labor of love by Howard. He was a skilled pipe maker and this copy of a very large Marxman Benchmade is perfectly done and an incredibly great smoker.

I can’t tell if Howard helped this one along by stain or it’s assumed the reddish brown color a Marxman gets after considerable smoking.

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I’ve read where it took Howard several hours to make each pipe.

This pipe is more highly polished than a Benchmade “Big Boy” and the carving is artistic and well done, with no putty or pits I can see.

 

[Briar Lee]

More information on Tom Howard pipes,

September 2018 – The Pipe Steward

4 posts published by Dal during September 2018

thepipesteward.com

I can’t say this is a better pipe than a big Marxman but it’s noticeably more carefully made, and finished than a Marxman, as wonderful of pipes as they were.


If you’d like the definition of a hand made pipe, get a Tom Howard.

 

[milk]

This is my first Tom Howard and likely will not be my last.

Howard was a comedian who made pipes in a one man shop in the forties.

Tom Howard (comedian) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Howard - Pipedia

pipedia.org

These were made mostly as a labor of love by Howard. He was a skilled pipe maker and this copy of a very large Marxman Benchmade is perfectly done and an incredibly great smoker.

I can’t tell if Howard helped this one along by stain or it’s assumed the reddish brown color a Marxman gets after considerable smoking.

View attachment 268034View attachment 268035View attachment 268036View attachment 268037View attachment 268038

I’ve read where it took Howard several hours to make each pipe.

This pipe is more highly polished than a Benchmade “Big Boy” and the carving is artistic and well done, with no putty or pits I can see.

Somehow I missed this post. Nice pipe! I’m really looking for a Howard. There’s a great Bullmoose on Etsy but it doesn’t ship to Japan. Curious, does the “Eric” person who makes these videos post on this site? He also made a video about Custombilt. I haven’t looked to see if he’s made one on Marxman. I like his videos.

 

[towhee89]

Picked up my first Tom Howard stamped pipe today. It's a nice and large smooth with saddle bit. I am almost P Positive this Aged Algerian worm carved is too, but it isn't stamped. I kinda like the rusticated better but, finding a smooth means they used a Briar block with less pitting.

And the Aged Algerian (I have dedicated this pipe to Briar Lee):

 

[towhee89]

Somehow I missed this post. Nice pipe! I’m really looking for a Howard. There’s a great Bullmoose on Etsy but it doesn’t ship to Japan. Curious, does the “Eric” person who makes these videos post on this site? He also made a video about Custombilt. I haven’t looked to see if he’s made one on Marxman. I like his videos.

He owns some Marxman pipes but I don't recall if he did a video about them or not. By the way if you're on Facebook I started Custombilt and Marxman pipe groups, message me if you need the link and I'll add you.

 

[Briar Lee]

I can’t know, but I suspect Tom Howard contracted for this magnificent full bent Aged Algerian George Yale.



It has fantastic marble cake grain.



The 1941 George Yale catalog lists a similar shape as an Oom Paul.



But this massive pipe never sold for $1.33. There has never been an Algerian briar pipe fairy.

This is top of the top shelf quality with hand made construction.

 

[towhee89]

I can’t know, but I suspect Tom Howard contracted for this magnificent full bent Aged Algerian George Yale.

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It has fantastic marble cake grain.

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The 1941 George Yale catalog lists a similar shape as an Oom Paul.

View attachment 391268

But this pipe never sold for $1.33. There has never been an Algerian briar pipe fairy.

This is top of the top shelf quality with hand made construction.

Very nice and Oom Paul-ish. I'd concur on that. I Think Greenwich House made these Aged Algerian pipes and stamped them for different pipe shops etc. That's my best guess anyway.

I think there's a difference between the pipes Tom Howard made in his garage and the mass produced ones by Greenwich House. Could be wrong though. I'd love to dig up more info about Greenwich House. Tom stated plumbing such as stingers etc had "no place in pipes." I agree fully

 

[ClinchKnot]

Eric Kelly’s video on Tom Howards is fairly conclusive: Tom Howard made pipes for himself and friends, but most Tom Howards were made by Greenwich House and sold at affordable prices through drugstore advertisements.

I’ve owned several and they were all good pipes.

 

[towhee89]

Eric Kelly’s video on Tom Howards is fairly conclusive: Tom Howard made pipes for himself and friends, but most Tom Howards were made by Greenwich House and sold at affordable prices through drugstore advertisements.

I’ve owned several and they were all good pipes.

I did see that video. Good stuff!

 

[jguss]

Eric Kelly’s video on Tom Howards is fairly conclusive: Tom Howard made pipes for himself and friends, but most Tom Howards were made by Greenwich House and sold at affordable prices through drugstore advertisements.

Absolutely right. Howard was making hundreds of thousands of dollar a year in the 1940s when that was much bigger money than it is today (and it's still a very nice chunk of change). He wasn't spending his nights and weekends cranking out pipes for the masses. Here's the original November 1946 notice from the United States Tobacco Journal:



And here's an early USTJ ad to the trade from the Spring of 1947:

 

[towhee89]

Absolutely right. Howard was making hundreds of thousands of dollar a year in the 1940s when that was much bigger money than it is today (and it's still a very nice chunk of change). He wasn't spending his nights and weekends cranking out pipes for the masses. Here's the original November 1946 notice from the United States Tobacco Journal:

View attachment 391287

And here's an early USTJ ad to the trade from the Spring of 1947:

View attachment 391288

Wow , jackpot! Thanks ! I am amazed at how you are able to dig these ads and articles up!

 

[jguss]

Wow , jackpot! Thanks ! I am amazed at how you are able to dig these ads and articles up!

Thank you. Unfortunately the sources are almost entirely undigitized. You have to find a paper archive and wade through many tens of thousands of pages of trade publications. The NYPL is the preeminent resource in the States; it contains the Arents collection. In the UK it’s probably the British Library in London and the Wills archive in Bristol. I haven’t visited the latter two but know the NYPL very well.

 

[Briar Lee]

Algeria was a huge province of France and there had to be briar that was used in 25 cent pipes (there were some) and 25 dollar and up pipes.

1941 George Yale catalog.



It’s kind of like white oak trees in the Ozarks.

I own twenty acres of standing white oak (mostly) timber that’s been in my family since 1876.

Most of those thousands of oaks are only good for firewood at $150 per cord, aged, split, delivered and stacked, and ash is much, much better firewood.

A few are sawlog grade. Those might be worth a a few hundred for a giant oak centuries old.

And almost sixty years ago now, my father thought a a couple or three nice white oaks were stave bolt grade, but Harry Hosterman said they were mere sawlogs.

I counted over 250 rings on one of the stumps.

The best Algerian briar was always rare, and expensive.

 

[anotherbob]

This is my first Tom Howard and likely will not be my last.

Howard was a comedian who made pipes in a one man shop in the forties.

Tom Howard (comedian) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Howard - Pipedia

pipedia.org

These were made mostly as a labor of love by Howard. He was a skilled pipe maker and this copy of a very large Marxman Benchmade is perfectly done and an incredibly great smoker.

I can’t tell if Howard helped this one along by stain or it’s assumed the reddish brown color a Marxman gets after considerable smoking.

View attachment 268034View attachment 268035View attachment 268036View attachment 268037View attachment 268038

I’ve read where it took Howard several hours to make each pipe.

This pipe is more highly polished than a Benchmade “Big Boy” and the carving is artistic and well done, with no putty or pits I can see.

wait which marx brother made the marxmen?

 

[Briar Lee]

wait which marx brother made the marxmen?

I’ve looked and find no trace of him being part of the famous Marx family—-

But if he was a cousin—-

It would solve the baffling riddle of who would loan a 29 year old the money in 1934 to start up a brand new pipe company in downtown New York City.

 

[anotherbob]

I’ve looked and find no trace of him being part of the famous Marx family—-

But if he was a cousin—-

It would solve the baffling riddle of who would loan a 29 year old the money in 1934 to start up a brand new pipe company in downtown New York City.

well if he's a comedian making pipes and naming them after himself then I assume either Harpo or Zeppo (probably Zeppo) made "Marx"men. Then again till the end of my days I'll be a Groucho Marxist.

 

[huntertrw]

Don't know about Tom Howard pipes, but here's Moe Howard with his own pipe:

 

[jguss]

Don't know about Tom Howard pipes, but here's Moe Howard with his own pipe:

View attachment 391794

Don’t forget the other brothers, Trevor:



And Leslie: