What Would a Pipe Smoker in 1921 Have to Say About Pipe Smoking in 2021?

[sablebrush52]

Yes, a jacket and tie were the dress of a landowner and suitable for farm work, hunting and fishing, as photographs of the period show. And yeah, "crackers" tend to be anyone who doesn't look like they have as much as the speaker does. I know from kicking around the boonies, some "crackers" are good folks, and some "crackers" are filthy rich. Some crackers in the Everglades shared their fried turtle with us college kids and it was fine.

Mebbe. I wonder about some of this. Decades ago having your picture taken was not a casual thing. It wouldn't be beyond consideration to dress up a bit for such an occasion.

 

[brian64]

A pipe smoker transported to today from 1921 would be dumfounded at the prices for a pipe and a tin of tobacco.

Not any more dumbfounded than at the price of everything else. It's the value of the currency that has changed.

 

[jpberg]

If the fellow was strictly looking at pipes and tobacco, he’d think we’re a bunch of limp dick dandies.

 

[SoddenJack]

I wonder what ever happened to that charming young German lance corporal I met during the war? He talked about becoming a painter some day.

 

[OzPiper]

Kind of cool to think that people would be shopping at Perretti, Peterson, Freiburg & Treyer (?), Dunhill, etc.

Only for the privileged -not the hoi polloi !

 

[alaskanpiper]

Only for the privileged -not the hoi polloi !

AS IT SHOULD BE!!!!! I DON'T NEED ANY GODDAMN PROLETARIATS RUINING MY SMOKING LOUNGE!!!!!

 

[swampgrizzly]

I just finished a great book about English life in 1914, on the eve and early months of the First World War. Things we take for granted now were unheard of then. For instance for Christmas 1914, grocers started offering fully cooked turkeys and sides that just needed heating up in the oven. It was unheard of before.

I wonder how someone plucked out of 1921 would find pipe smoking today. My guess is they would be astonished at the variety and availability of pipes and tobacco, but confused that there are hardly any B&Ms from which to buy them.

I would rather this not go into a *things were much better in the past* because I certainly don't think so, but what observations do you think an average 1921 pipe smoker would make of everything today?

I don't think they would ever comprehend the spectacle of a J. F. Germain's "Esoterica Drop" and the related aftermarket sales. I've been living through them and I'm still amazed.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

AS IT SHOULD BE!!!!! I DON'T NEED ANY GODDAMN PROLETARIATS RUINING MY SMOKING LOUNGE!!!!!

The miners were big smokers back then.

Miner circa 1920:


His little boy with his pet chicken:


The family dog:


Even dogs owned by the aristocracy smoked:

 

[lraisch]

Apparently 1921 was actually in a deflationary period. Your $100 pipe today would have cost you less than $7 back then.

 

[sablebrush52]

I don't think they would ever comprehend the spectacle of a J. F. Germain's "Esoterica Drop" and the related aftermarket sales. I've been living through them and I'm still amazed.

Oh, for sure. This, like many other strange human actions, brings into question the very idea of intelligent life on Earth.

 

[seagullplayer]

Well he might find a bic to be a handy addition.

 

[mikethompson]

Every picture of my great grandfather, he is wearing a full suit and tie, whether he is on the tractor or working on the car. I am just amazed at what I see some men wear nowadays, even to a really nice restaurant or church.

Agreed - jeans are worn everywhere now.

often reminded me the good old days weren't always that good

This is almost always forgotten by people who yearn for the 'good old day's.

 

[scloyd]

Agreed - jeans are worn everywhere now.

Also pajama bottoms, sweatpants and basketball shorts.

 

[pappymac]

A pipe smoker transported to today from 1921 would be dumfounded at the prices for a pipe and a tin of tobacco. He would laugh and vow to quit smoking forever. From the numbers of pipes owned by one person, he would assume we were either starting a pipe shop or museum. The variety of shapes, sizes, and finishes would be fascinating but not tempting -- too many. Likewise the variety of blends would make him grab one of the old codger blends still around from the old days and turn his back on the rest. Even a fine gent in spats would say, "Too fancy for me."

But once the pipe smoker of 1921 was told about inflation, he would realize that the $10 pipe he bought in 1921 would cost him roughly $146 dollars in 2021. (I used the online inflation calculator: https://www.in2013dollars.com/us) The same with the cost of tobacco. An ounce of bulk tobacco we pay $4.65 for today would have only cost around 32 cents back then. Of course, that doesn't take into account other factors such as what tobacco shops were actually charging back then.

Everything else you stated, I tend to agree with.

 

[Ethan]

Actually, someone in the 1920's would know a LOT about prohibition, but the confusion would be, "you mean I can drink all I want now, but I can't smoke? Where's the speakeasy tobacconists?"

Indeed....where are the speak easy tobacconists??

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Indeed....where are the speak easy tobacconists??

And underground smoking lounges?

It would be more interesting to select half o dozen of US and send them to 1920. I'm sure the first things a few of us would say is, "so, what do I wipe my ass with?" and, "Why does everything and everybody stink so bad here?"

 

[mikethompson]

Indeed....where are the speak easy tobacconists??

And underground smoking lounges?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

View attachment 70975

And brothels, don't forget the brothels. They used to be in every city across the country. They were where artists, writers, businessmen, men of culture could gather, and swap ideas and just be men.

 

[samuelgawith01]

Where did they all go???

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Where did they all go???

The Methodist movement throughout the South shut most down. I imagine prohibition put a lot of others out of biz.