On Liverpools

Comoy Blue Riband Liverpools: Shapes 133, 30, and 434Compared to its cousins, the Canadian and the Lovat, the Liverpool attracts fewer admirers. In my experience, many pipe smokers are not even sure what a Liverpool is. However, this seems to be changing. For mysterious reasons, the Liverpool’s star is rising. It is true for me, and I’ve noticed of late that more than a few of my friends are enthusing about the Liverpools I’ve seen them smoking.

Like the Canadian and the Lovat, the Liverpool is a long-shanked variant of the Billiard shape. Unlike the oval-shanked Canadian, the Liverpool’s shank is round. Unlike the saddle-stemmed Lovat, the Liverpool’s stem is tapered. Like the Lovat, the Liverpool’s billiardish bowl is slightly forward-canted. In summary, a Liverpool is a long- and round-shanked pipe with a tapered stem and a slightly forward-canted, billiard-like bowl.

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Chris Asteriou and his Masterful Classic Pipes

In the worlds of philosophy, art, and literature the fountainhead of the classics is Greece. And, although the briar pipe was born in St. Claude, France, most of us in the pipe world identify London as the home of classic pipes. Indeed, during the first half of the 20th century when pipes were sold worldwide by the millions, having the words “Made in London” or “London-made” stamped on a pipe’s shank created a powerful marketing advantage for those companies who associated their pipes with the British Empire’s capital city. Barling, BBB, Comoy, Dunhill, GBD,  Loewe, and Orlik comprised the classical canon of the British pipe.

Chris AsteriouGiven the London-DNA of the classic pipe, it is particularly interesting to me that some of the most extraordinary classic pipes are emerging outside the United Kingdom. One such pipemaker is the Greek pipemaker Chris Asteriou who is also an architect. That Asteriou is an architect shows up in the execution of his finished work and in the process he uses with buyers who commission pipes from him. It seems somehow fitting that extraordinary classic pipes would come from Greece.

Although I was aware of Asteriou’s name, two other pipe collectors piqued my interest: Michael Lankton, who writes the blog, Cake and Dottle; and Memphis-collector and friend, Tim Crowder.  Michael Lankton interviewed Asteriou for his blog, and it is well worth reading. (Click to read).

My decision to commission an Asteriou pipe was clinched during a visit to Memphis several months ago. I arrived the day before my engagement began, and I drove out to Tim Crowder’s home to spend the evening visiting, having dinner, and smoking pipes together. While I was there, I noticed Tim smoking a particularly beautiful Liverpool. I asked him about the pipe, and he told me he had recently received the pipe from Chris Asteriou. When he handed the pipe to me for inspection, I was astonished at how perfect it was.

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The Package

Late Thursday afternoon the doorbell rang. I wondered why the mail carrier was at the door. To my knowledge, we weren’t expecting anything. There was a package addressed to me from an old friend who I have been corresponding with for years.

This friend is a gentleman in his seventies who has, in his collection, a pipe I have tried to buy (a Comoy Blue Riband Lovat) with no success for a long, long time. Although he thought about selling it to me four years ago, he decided not to because his wife bought the pipe for him for a birthday present - a good reason we would all agree. I recently received a letter from him apprising me that he had willed the pipe to me and that I would receive it and a couple of others when he passed on.

Comoy Blue Riband Ad Panel from in-box BrochureWhen I wrote back, I told him that I really hoped his death was not necessary for me to pry the pipe out of his hands. I was trying to lighten the moment, but I worried that something was wrong because he’d also written me recently about an upcoming surgery, but with no details as to why the surgery.

I had received packages from him in the past. Among other things, he is also a pipemaker, and a pretty darn skilled one at that. I have two pipes that he’s made and they are both lovely pipes that smoke wonderfully. I wondered if there was another of his creations in the box.

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