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.
What Would a Pipe Smoker in 1921 Have to Say About Pipe Smoking in 2021?
- Thread starter mikethompson
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Not any more dumbfounded than at the price of everything else. It's the value of the currency that has changed.
If the fellow was strictly looking at pipes and tobacco, he’d think we’re a bunch of limp dick dandies.
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.
AS IT SHOULD BE!!!!! I DON'T NEED ANY GODDAMN PROLETARIATS RUINING MY SMOKING LOUNGE!!!!!
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.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?
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:
Apparently 1921 was actually in a deflationary period. Your $100 pipe today would have cost you less than $7 back then.
Oh, for sure. This, like many other strange human actions, brings into question the very idea of intelligent life on Earth.
Agreed - jeans are worn everywhere now.
This is almost always forgotten by people who yearn for the 'good old day's.
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.
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?"
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.
