J.M. Boswell was born in Elba, Alabama, and grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he began making pipes in 1975 for local pipe maker Richard Johnson. Most of the pipes stamped Johnson Handmade in those years were his work. In February 1980 he opened his own shop in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and the family business, Boswell’s, is still there today, with his son Dan carving side by side with him. Boswell hand engraves his name on his pipes instead of stamping it, and he has dated his pipes since the mid 1980s.
Boswell tobacco pipes are known as rugged, hardy smokers. Many are freehands in the Danish inspired American tradition, often rusticated or spot carved with plateau rims, while others are sturdy American takes on classic shapes like the poker, Oom Paul, Rhodesian and author. For his army mount pipes, he uses a genuine shotgun shell casing as the mount. This page brings together the estate J.M. Boswell pipes we list, from everyday smoking pipes to long churchwardens, whenever they come to us from smokers and collectors.
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J.M. Boswell Tobacco Pipe FAQ
J.M. Boswell is an American pipe maker born in Elba, Alabama. His family moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania when he was 10, and as a young man he went to work for Richard Johnson, who ran a small pipe shop in Carlisle and had worked for the Weber Pipe Company. From 1975 to early 1980 he made most of the pipes stamped Johnson Handmade. In February 1980 he opened J.M. Boswell's Handmade Pipes on South Main Street in Chambersburg, and in 1997 the business moved to a larger building on Lincoln Way East in the same town. He also became a U.S. importer of briar, supplying other pipe makers. His son Dan now makes pipes side by side with him, and his wife Gail, whose father, uncles and aunt made pipes for Weber in the late 1930s, is part of the family business too.
Boswell's is the Boswell family's pipe and tobacco shop in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where J.M. and Dan Boswell make their pipes, and the family also runs a second store in Alexandria, Pennsylvania. When pipe smokers talk about a Boswell pipe, they mean a pipe made by J.M. Boswell or his son Dan. MBSD is a separate shop. We list estate Boswell pipes as they come to us from smokers and collectors, so pipes titled J.M. Boswell, JM Boswell, Boswell or Boswell's on our site are all J.M. Boswell pipes.
Look at the signature and the date. According to Boswell's own nomenclature notes, J.M. Boswell hand engraves his name on his pipes instead of using a metal stamp, because he believes a work of art should be signed. Pipes he made while working for Richard Johnson from 1975 to early 1980 are stamped Johnson Handmade, and some late ones also carry his engraved signature on the underside. He began dating all of his pipes in the mid 1980s, after customers asked for it, so a pipe from 2001 is marked 2001. Around 1998 he started carving his name more clearly and adding USA along with his name and the year. The 1981 meerschaum pipes, about 50 in all, are the exception: they carry a J.M. Boswell stamp and no date.
An army mount Boswell uses a genuine shotgun shell casing as the mount, which gives these pipes their old school American look. The army mount pipes we have listed used Winchester 12 gauge casings, including a 2024 smooth poker with a tortoiseshell acrylic stem and a 2024 smooth apple with bird's eye grain and a coffee swirl acrylic stem that matched its brass mount.
Many Boswell pipes are freehands in the Danish inspired American tradition, often rusticated, spot carved or finished with a rough plateau rim. He also makes hearty, no nonsense versions of classic shapes. The Boswell pipes we have listed include pokers, Oom Pauls, Rhodesians, authors, a bent billiard, an apple, a panel and a spiral carved freehand churchwarden just over 10 inches long. Boswell does not grade his pipes. According to the Boswell family, each pipe is priced on its detail and the time spent making it, so the right Boswell is simply the one that fits your hand.
MBSD lists estate J.M. Boswell pipes as they come to us from pipe smokers and collectors, and a few of those we have listed so far arrived unsmoked. Each one is listed with photos, measurements and condition notes, and smoked pipes are cleaned and restored first. New pipes go up on the site nightly at 9 PM ET, and availability changes, so check this page regularly. To see the week's highlights every Monday, sign up for our newsletter.
Yes, we buy J.M. Boswell pipes, from a single pipe to a whole collection. Cash offers are 50% of the current retail price, or 60% in store credit. To sell, fill out the quote form on our We Buy Smoking Pipes page. To trade toward your next pipe, use the form on our pipe trade-in page. For U.S. sellers, we can send a prepaid shipping label and deduct its cost from your quote, and we buy from sellers outside the U.S. too. Our guide on how to pack and ship a pipe collection shows how to box them safely. You will hear back with an itemized quote within 3 to 5 business days after your pipes arrive. Once you accept, payment goes out right away by check, PayPal or Zelle.
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