Obama Administration renders all ivory-decorated pipes worthless.

If you own any pipes with ivory decorative insets or flocs, these pipes are effectively rendered valueless within the United States. An executive order issued by the White House and the Department of the Interior bans the sale, resale, import, and export of ivory. According to “The New York Times,” the order will take effect this summer, but with its announcement, it has essentially already done its damage.

This order was created to strengthen the Endangered Species Act protection for African elephants. Ironically, it will continue to be legal to import two freshly killed elephant trophies (with ivory tusks) per year into the United States, but selling Grandma’s Steinway piano could land you in prison.

This order renders valueless teacups, knives, snuff boxes, dice, pool cues, pianos, musical instruments, pipes, tampers, guns, walking sticks, chess pieces, netsuke, boxes, jewelry, and other items too numerous to mention.

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Pipe Photo Contest at Tobacco Days

My friend and fellow pipe-blogger, Tobacco Days’ David M, recently announced a fun photo contest. Winning photos will be exhibited at the Chicago Show, and on pipe websites around the world. First-, second-, and thirdplace winners will earn themselves $500, $300, and $200 credit toward pipes or tobaccos at leading tobacconists around the globe. One thing I love about this contest is that there will be TWO honorable mentions, as well.

As photo contests go, this one has a worthy goal: to encourage contestants and contest-followers to more fully appreciate and express their own and their fellow pipe-aficionado’s creativity, be they pipe-smoker or pipe-maker. As somebody who loves photography, I’m looking forward to seeing the submissions. How someone takes a photo reveals things about how that person sees and experiences the world. It’s interesting and stimulating to have the opportunity to experience the world through another person’s eyes.

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Einstein's Last Pipe

When it comes to the 20th Century and those people who make up humanity’s landscape of the times, there are a few people who towered above everyone else, who not only defined their own time but also the times to come. Albert Einstein was most certainly one of those people. His was truly an Olympian perspective.

I find this photograph tremendously evocative. It is a picture of Einstein’s desk at the time of his death. Nestled among his papers and notebooks we see his pipe and tobacco humidor. Captured here is a pipe-smoker’s place, a revelation of penultimate moments within which we see a man of ideas who loved his pipe.

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The Escape Pipe

An Escape Pipe assembledIt is a common misconception that all pipe manufacturing ceased during World War II when most pipe factories were repurposed to support the war effort. It is true that many factories were repurposed. For example, Comoys made blades that went into engines for the propulsion of aero engines. Civic made canvas items that included webbing for parachutes. But some pipe factories, for example Oppenheimer, continued to make pipes.

In fact, pipe-making was a protected industry during both World Wars I and II because soldiers smoked. Although the war effectively eliminated most makers’ ability to source briar, the Briar Pipe Trade Association allocated available briar stocks to manufacturers during the wars so that pipes could continue to be made for British forces. Some of those wartime pipes were special, indeed.

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Dobie's Four Square London Mixture

Every time I come across a tobacco with which I am unfamiliar, I wonder how many more are out there waiting to be discovered. So many blends have been made over the years. It seems impossible to know them all.

Adam Davidson introduced me to Dobie’s Four Square at the last West Coast Pipe Show. When I smoked this particular blend–London Mixture–I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. It falls into that old-fashioned, Virginias-based English sort of blend that has a distinctively natural flavor that is not overcome by additive toppings nor by a heavy dose of Latakia.

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