Fall 1997 Volume I Issue 2

Smoking a pipe may have a mystique, but it's not a mystery or some arcane ritual that only the initiate are privy to. All that you need is a decent pipe, some tobacco that satisfies you with its taste and aroma, and you're in business. As you progress, you'll want a pouch to carry your tobacco, a tamper so you don't bum your fingers, a lighter or matches, and lots of pipe cleaners. After that there aren't any "musts," just the enjoyment of a whole range of tobacco taste simply not available in cigars or cigarettes.

So we're here to help new and even not so new pipe fanciers get the most out of that furnace for tobacco they've bought.

Disrespect? Not possible from this quarter! But realism, we hope. The hat in hand veneration accorded to some products, particularly the more costly or supposedly rare ones, is sometimes silly to us. The prospect of a group of the devout at a pipe conclave, opening a twenty year old tin of tobacco amid orgasmic sighs and emotional laments for the way "things" have changed brings sad smiles to the manufacturers. They know that after such a long time, what you find in the tin is either expensive straw, or worse, compost. Vacuum seals only exhaust about 40% of the air. The remaining air will evaporate the essential oils, just more slowly The parallel is with over-aged wine which becomes expensive vinegar. Three years is optimal for tinned tobacco, after six, forget it.

There are plenty of excellent tobaccos around today, and the past is prologue. This is the reason we are instituting a new feature in PipeSMOKE, called "P.S. Maven's Choice." Here, a tobacco expert will review the new and the traditional tobacco choices as a guide for our readers. "The Beloved Tobacco Maven," an experienced pipe and tobacco professional who knows the secrets, will seek to guide the novice and the initiate alike. Write to him, and maybe he'll "kibbitz" you in print!

In this issue, there's also an article by Ben Rapaport, a leading authority on antique tobacciana, on collecting tobacco tins, an inexpensive and colorful hobby, which can also turn base metal to gold. Then there's Rick Hacker, the author of The Ultimate Pipe Book, on how to choose a pipe. He should know. And yours truly tells how Richard Dunhill, the head of the best known pipe company in the world, selects the top of the line in his posh London office.

The response to the premier issue of PipeSMOKE has been gratifying because evidently our pre-publication research was on target. A surprising number of you responded by e-mail, letter, fax, and phone to tell us that you like what we are trying to do. Great! Keep the communication coming so we can know what you want to read about in the universe of pipes and tobacco. We'll do our best to keep you informed about any pipe and tobacco "culture" that may add to your smoking pleasure.

And finally, in the last issue we inadvertently left off the author bio-tags at the end of each article. "Hollywood Pipes: Part One" scribe, Laurie Jacobson, lives in L.A. and writes about many subjects although her specialty is the gloried history of Hollywood. Look for "Hollywood Pipes: Part Two" in a future issue of PipeSMOKE. Smoke in our eyes and egg on our face for not telling you that Mary McNiel (humble apologies; we spelled her name incorrectly in two different iterations!) is the CEO of McClelland Tobacco Co. and speaks of pipe tobaccos on an inside track.

Alan Schwartz
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
and EDITORIAL DIRECTOR