Peterson Captain Pete (c. 1947-49) 406 Smooth Prince Estate Briar Pipe, Irish Estates

Description

Peterson pipes generally need no introduction, but just in case you’re unfamiliar: in 1876, a Latvian named Charles Peterson immigrated to Ireland and was hired making pipes in a workshop owned by Frederick and George Kapp. After rising through the ranks to become head craftsman, Peterson bought into the Kapp’s business, which was renamed, Kapp & Peterson (K&P). During this time, Peterson himself applied for several patents for pipe designs, including the world-famous Peterson’s System. Since then, Peterson has become one of the most recognizable names in pipe smoking and continues to produce high quality pipes from their headquarters in Dublin.

Peterson has sold pipes under the “Captain Peterson” and “Captain Pete” names since the 1940s, though what these names represent has shifted significantly in the decades since. Most recently, for example, “Captain Pete” was used for a line of pipes based on Peterson’s famous Sherlock Holmes series, with the former essentially being stubbier renditions of shapes from the latter. But the early Captain Pete was very different. Instead, it was a sub-brand of sorts, with Captain Pete pipes being modest renditions of standard Peterson shapes. Of course, as Peterson’s standard shape chart has been revised numerous times since the company’s founding, the forms a Captain Pete could take depended on what the catalog looked like at the time. This one, for example, is a shape from the 400 series, a 406 “Large Prince,” as Peterson originally termed it. Peterson historian Mark Irwin notes that the 406 appears to have been created in the 1940s (which would explain why Peterson considered it “large”), and it’s a that, until quite recently, had been completely out of production for several decades. Even after its reissue, however, the contemporary 406 is different to the older version. As can be seen quite clearly with this one (and in older catalogs), the 406 was, originally, a straight prince shape, whereas today’s 406 is slightly bent and more in keeping with the “prince” as is now commonly understood. Today, we might think of this one as a “squat tomato,” or something of that ilk. As for dating, the country of manufacture indicated on this Captain Pete is stamped in the circle (note: not oval) format “MADE IN IRELAND,” suggesting it was manufactured at the very end of the pre-Republic era. If Irwin is correct on the 406 shape’s debut, that would put this pipe somewhere around 1947-1949.

The condition is great, especially for the pipe’s expected age. Some very minor inner rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.75 / 19.05mm

Bowl Depth: 1.26″ / 32.00mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g