It seems like not only the pipe photos, but the historical advertisement photos and trivia on pipedia comes from this person. I know he sells pipes on eBay. Now here’s a person I would have expected to hear on the PM podcast but, as far as I can tell, that’s not happened. I was just curious if anyone knew a bit about this person who seems to be behind a great deal of the resources available on pipe history.
Who is Doug Valitchka?
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Never heard of him but admittedly I've never been into the history of pipes or pipe smoking.
You are right, he is all over Pipepedia, and a prolific seller on eBay. However I don't know anyone who has met or been acquainted with him, which is a little odd.
I don't really see much pipedia. But if it's old documentation on pipes and tobaccos, I miss Chris Keene's page.
Did you try Googling him?
He’s an Oregon-based professional photographer, with pages on LinkedIn and Facebook. Drop Brian a line, if you think he’d make a good PMRS guest.
He has some really good photos on there of older pipes of certain makers, wouldn't say all the "trivia" or history comes from him, looks like others are the authors of their articles? How is he behind "a great deal of the resources" available on pipe history.
You'll find some great photos of older pipes of interest from some members here on some sites as well.
Love his pics, he sells a lot of pipes.
It may be a case of not liking a lot of exposure.
True. Photographers are very concerned about exposure.
Have bought a couple pipes from him amd he does go the extra mile to give a lot of detail about each pipe he sells, and yes his photography is excellent.
I've dealt with Doug several times and purchased his pipes many times over the years. I think what has happened is that Doug draws from Pipedia to help enhance his listings, though on occasion I've had cause to question his certainty regarding the identity of certain pipes. Sethile, who runs Pipedia, populates several of the pages with photos from Doug's sales from eBay, and bases this on Doug's eBay descriptions. It's a little precarious in the sense that Doug draws from Pipedia and Pipedia draws from Doug but I'm not sure how much deeper than that the fact checking goes, and many of the pipes are really from Doug's sales and not from a historically curated collection per se.
Case in point: Doug sold a "Champion" pipe as a "Ben Wade" sub-brand. I emailed Doug to let him know that the there was no evidence that this pipe was a "Ben Wade Champion," as it was described in a 1930s Leeds-era Ben Wade catalog as a lower-quality briar with a silveroid band, and we have no hard evidence that Ben Wade manufactured its sub-brands in London (this is an area of active research). He didn't respond, nor did he apparently feel the need to update the eBay listing. The pipe sold. Then Sethile updated the "Ben Wade" Pipedia page to include the eBay photos of the "Champion" under the heading "What appears to be a Ben Wad Champion, courtesy Doug Valitchka."
I leave it to you to decide how factual or historically accurate this might be. I personally wouldn't have updated the Pipedia page with potentially misleading information based, ostensibly, on a single "Who Made That Pipe" entry (which does not provide dates or city of manufacture), but this happens all the time. In any case, my opinion is that it's always best to rely on multiple primary sources of evidence. If you ask me whether that's a "real" Ben Wade Champion, I'd tell you, based on primary evidence: maybe but we have absolutely no hard proof, and I can tell you conclusively that this is not a 1930s Ben Wade Champion.
Furthermore there are entries for an English-make "Champion" manufactured by Ben Wade, as well as "John Pollock", "Costwold Dist.," "Hall & Fitzgerald," and "Sam McLardy." On the surface any of these, without deeper digging, may also have manufactured the pipe. Why not? The evidence goes no deeper than Wilczak & Colwell.
Case in point: Doug sold a "Champion" pipe as a "Ben Wade" sub-brand. I emailed Doug to let him know that the there was no evidence that this pipe was a "Ben Wade Champion," as it was described in a 1930s Leeds-era Ben Wade catalog as a lower-quality briar with a silveroid band, and we have no hard evidence that Ben Wade manufactured its sub-brands in London (this is an area of active research). He didn't respond, nor did he apparently feel the need to update the eBay listing. The pipe sold. Then Sethile updated the "Ben Wade" Pipedia page to include the eBay photos of the "Champion" under the heading "What appears to be a Ben Wad Champion, courtesy Doug Valitchka."
I leave it to you to decide how factual or historically accurate this might be. I personally wouldn't have updated the Pipedia page with potentially misleading information based, ostensibly, on a single "Who Made That Pipe" entry (which does not provide dates or city of manufacture), but this happens all the time. In any case, my opinion is that it's always best to rely on multiple primary sources of evidence. If you ask me whether that's a "real" Ben Wade Champion, I'd tell you, based on primary evidence: maybe but we have absolutely no hard proof, and I can tell you conclusively that this is not a 1930s Ben Wade Champion.
Furthermore there are entries for an English-make "Champion" manufactured by Ben Wade, as well as "John Pollock", "Costwold Dist.," "Hall & Fitzgerald," and "Sam McLardy." On the surface any of these, without deeper digging, may also have manufactured the pipe. Why not? The evidence goes no deeper than Wilczak & Colwell.
When it comes to "facts", the Internet can easily become a feedback loop of bullshit.
Once upon a time things moved more slowly---shelves of books, physical classrooms, layers of certifications and degrees, peer review, and so forth were required---which made becoming an overnight expert essentially impossible. All assertions had lots of "soak time" as well, which allowed for society to determine a person's character. And getting your own book published by a reputable outfit (as opposed to a vanity house) once you WERE an expert also had layers of checks built into it.
The Knowledge Journey was slow but accurate in the overall "net" sense.
Today? Anyone can speak to the near-entirety of Planet Earth at any time, for any reason, and say anything. And if what gets said is emotionally appealing enough to a sufficient number of other people, it will soon become Truth.
Once upon a time things moved more slowly---shelves of books, physical classrooms, layers of certifications and degrees, peer review, and so forth were required---which made becoming an overnight expert essentially impossible. All assertions had lots of "soak time" as well, which allowed for society to determine a person's character. And getting your own book published by a reputable outfit (as opposed to a vanity house) once you WERE an expert also had layers of checks built into it.
The Knowledge Journey was slow but accurate in the overall "net" sense.
Today? Anyone can speak to the near-entirety of Planet Earth at any time, for any reason, and say anything. And if what gets said is emotionally appealing enough to a sufficient number of other people, it will soon become Truth.
I have never heard of the guy before this. He does have a substantial presence on eBay which may or may not be good thing.
Years ago I used to email back and forth with Doug a bit. Seemed likke a nice fellow, photographer by trade, at least at that time, lived up in Oregon. He was a big fan of Kaywoodie, IIRC.
We spoke through Feebay every now and then.
Kind gentleman and a good taste for pipes. Great photographer too.
Kind gentleman and a good taste for pipes. Great photographer too.
I don’t know Doug, but have bought from him
He is one of the few EBay retailers who provides great photos and background information on his pipes.
His pipes arrive in a clean condition.
Unfortunately historical information on pipes are frequently inaccurate.
Even the manufacturer often can’t shed much light on pieces made decades ago if archives aren’t kept meticulously
He is one of the few EBay retailers who provides great photos and background information on his pipes.
His pipes arrive in a clean condition.
Unfortunately historical information on pipes are frequently inaccurate.
Even the manufacturer often can’t shed much light on pieces made decades ago if archives aren’t kept meticulously
He resold a pipe of mine he got off fleabay. Listed it as lightly smoked. I abused that pipe to death. Often wondered about the restoration process after that.
Now that you mention it, there was another thing I questioned recently, regarding a “HoleySmoke” which seemed to me to be the guy who partnered and continued after Mincer, rather than Mincer (of Custombilt) but I could be totally wrong as I know nothing. Really, I could be totally off. But anyway, maybe I shouldn’t have brought up this topic. I don’t know the guy. He takes great pictures. I don’t know about his details; his for-sale pipes look very nice.