Peterson De Luxe X105 Smooth Billiard 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.

While “De Luxe” is an appellation typically associated with Peterson’s famous System pipes, it has an almost equally long history of use for non-System pipes. Here Peterson historian Mark Irwin is resourceful as always, tracing first appearances of the non-System “Deluxe” or, rather “De Luxe” or “De-Luxe” (the English language has never been entirely consistent when it comes to compounds) to the 1910s. As one can imagine, a lot can happen to a line of pipes in the space of over 100 years. In addition to the linguistic closure of the “Deluxe” appellation, the De Luxe/De-Luxe/Deluxe line underwent changes in finishes, precious metal mountings, and its place in Peterson’s overall grade structure over the decades, before disappearing around the end of the 2000s, and finally being reborn in 2020 as the Deluxe Classic still in production today.
The question, then, is which De Luxe/De-Luxe/Deluxe is this X105? We can rule out certain periods, such as all pipes produced after 2020, in addition to all pipes produced after 1997, as these Deluxes were all silver-mounted. Similarly, neither the finish on this one, nor the “P” stem logo, bear resemblance to the De Luxe Classic pipes of the late 1970s and after. Instead, the style and stem logo of the pipe look to indicate a mid-1970s make or earlier (it is certainly post-1949), back when the De Luxe finish was a light brown matte. This would also be a time when the De Luxe was still near the very top of Peterson’s grade structure, which makes sense given this one’s excellent bird’s-eye briar.

The condition is very good. Some darkening and finish fading on the rim, minor handling marks, and very slight tooth chatter,

Details:

Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.54″ / 39.11mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g