My tastes when it comes to my pipe collection is catholic (small “c”). While there are brands that I collect in-depth, there are limitations and divisions within those groups dictated by my aesthetic preferences and prejudices. I have Savinelli pipes from circa late 19th–early 20th Century to present from the Milano and Genova branches of the family brand; I’ve got multiples in different finishes of several specific model numbers, but don’t collect every number issued—there’s a part of me that could envision going that thorough route, but there isn’t enough money or time to realistically go there. By extension, I also collect Brebbia pipes, partially because of their historical overlap of sharing staff from the ’50s–‘60s.
For some reason, the Poker shape doesn’t often appeal to me, yet I collect Ropp Cherrywoods, which are essentially Pokers. Ropp is another brand I collect, but the main focus when it comes to that brand are the 19th Century ones from the Bussang workshop. I also buy the new pipes that are Ropp in name only, made with old stummels from the Chapuis-Comoy factory.
I have collected a number of Colossus Pipe Factory pipes by Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy, and by extension delved into Kaywoodie (I especially love the miniature pipes in purple velvet cases). Longchamp leather wrapped pipes are a focus, and also by extension their parent company, Forestier-Bourgeois Cie (FBC).
Comoy’s, Dunhill, GBD, Peterson, and many others occupy space. I love the odd and unique and am thrilled I was able to locate a Comoy’s Olympic and a GBD Chairman (I’m still hoping to get some nice 19th Century Barling’s Make, Comoy’s, and Peterson pipes).
I have a smattering of artisan pipes and novelty pipes. I enjoy pipes made from briar, corn cobs, sepiolite, what have you—I have pipes with pyrolytic graphite inserts; ones made with Brylon, porcelain, clay—I’ve drawn the line with asbestos (I figure smoking one carcinogen is enough for now, but I might not rule out getting one just to have). I love pairing pipes made for specific tobacconists with a blend by that tobacconist (Barclay-Rex pipe with a Barclay-Rex blend, Uhle pipe with Uhle blend, etc.) Because my father was a package designer, I love finding pipes with their original packaging. While I appreciate that pipes are a smokable art and are meant to be smoked, from my book collecting, I often take a historical and archival approach to things and have no problem with preserving something “as is” and keeping a pipe unsmoked. I have a good number of pipes in virginal states with their original packaging and they will remain that way while under my care. If I have a desire to smoke a particular model, I’ll just locate a used stunt double and take a flame to that one and smoke it, while preserving the unused one.
Lately, I’ve been gravitating towards acquiring Magnum-sized pipes to use during my watching UFC fights on Saturdays. The prelims and main card usually last about six hours, and the post show is another hour. So, pipes with large chambers that can last five to eight hours with one fill are good candidates these days. It also helps to use slower burning chunky blends to last longer. I have one large pipe that is dedicated to a specific blend that is ribbon-like, which is not ideal because it burns more quickly than something like a cake (I may need to rethink the blend dedication to take advantage of the big pipe’s potential smoking time).
In some ways, there are no limits. I collect what I enjoy and I enjoy what I collect, whether I smoke it or not.
