An Instructional Note to the Pipe Smoker
and Pipe Collector:
PRIVATE Recommended Reading
Ben Rapaport (Fall 2007)
In May 1987, I
had prepared a handout for a seminar on the history of tobacco
literature presented at Barry Levin's pipe show in Westborough,
Massachusetts. Since then, many other works have appeared in
print, and it is time to update the list for those into book
collecting. I feel qualified to assemble this list, because my
own library is comprised of more than 3,000 volumes, but if I
omitted any that should have rightfully deserved proper
recognition, I will apologize for those absent titles and add
them. The list is not proprietary, so reproduce it at will.
On the next
several pages I list only English-language books organized by
rather arbitrary topical headings. Using an arbitrary set of
topical headings is not a bibliographic crime, but it creates a
false sense about these domains; most books in this field cover
a multitude of related subjects. Not including foreign titles
denies the uninitiated foreign-language-fluent reader the
opportunity to know about some very lush and colorful books
published in foreign languages. The list also excludes books on
snuff, cigars, and cigarettes; since some pipe smokers also
smoke cigars, the right side of my brain has been telling me to
add cigar books to this list, and the left side of my brain has
been saying: "create a separate list for cigar smokers." I have
listened to both sides of my brain, and I have prepared a
separate list for the bookish cigar smoker. On this particular
list, you will find many rare and out-of-print titles cited. If
the book is a good reference, in my opinion it belongs on the
list, even if you cannot easily reach out and find it at your
used bookstore.
Preceding this
list are some of my observations, many formulated during the
last 40 years as a passionate bibliophile, and others formulated
during the past 10 years merchandising these books. If the
following snippets and the list serve you well in your search
for a new or an old book, this instructional note will have
served its purpose. I share these thoughts with you for
whatever they are worth.
☻
The literature of tobacco and smoking is an arcane field
because, today, few think of tobacco as a field of research.
However, would you believe that, next to religion, it’s an area
covered by many printed words? In 1989, when I published The
Global Guide to Tobacco Literature, I had counted some 5,800
titles in the predominant languages—English, French, German,
Italian, and Dutch. By mid-1994, another 150 or so books had
appeared in print! So, the inventory continues to expand, and
it covers a wealth of interrelated and, sometimes disparate,
areas such as: history of smoking customs and tobacco
technology; agriculture and farming; prose and poetry; and
occasional fiction; specialty books on pipe crafting; snuff and
its accouterments; tobacco boxes, jars, and pocket tins; cigar
boxes, labels, cigar bands and cigar accouterments; tobacco art;
cigarette packs; matchboxes, matchbox labels and match books;
cigar-store figures; industry and company histories; museum
exhibition catalogs; special auction house catalogs... and the
list goes on.
☻ The
range of material is as broad as the variegated interests of
most smokers who choose distinctive pipes and tobaccos to suit
their own particular tastes. Plenty of books are in print from
which to choose something suited to individual tastes. Many of
the titles appearing herein have been published privately, some
as a limited edition, others as vanity press or facsimile
reprints. Some were short-runs and the supply was exhausted
within six months to one year after the ink was dry. That may
be why your local tobacco shop and bookstore never stocked
them.
☻
Where do you get some of these hard-to-find titles? You know
your tobacconist better than I do, so you also know whether he
sells tobacco books. Some do, some do not, but most have as
difficult a time as the consumer determining what’s in print.
Why? There's no industry clearinghouse that keeps the retailer
apprised; few publishing houses know how to penetrate the
tobacco industry; and let's face it, books on tobacco just
aren't that profitable, and today’s tobacconist is trying to
stay alive with higher-profit-margin product lines. So, you’e
got to find other avenues such as researching Books in Print,
querying out-of-print and antiquarian book dealers, going to
book fairs and pipe shows, and getting on the good side of those
who have a personal library of tobacco books.
☻ One avenue to build a referential
library is through my newsletter, “Antiquarian Tobacciana.” It’s
not a totally free service, but it comes close to being free.
The newsletter is designed to keep its readership abreast of
‘baccy goings-on, including new releases from around the globe.
I do not stock every title, because I am very selective. I am
not interested in selling books that promote the anti-smoking
theme, and books on harvesting tobacco, after all, are not very
invigorating. My criteria are that the book be illustrated,
well written, and reasonably priced, and that the central theme
be popular and interesting. But, I am not averse to providing
you the bibliographic details about any book in print that I do
not stock so that you can order it directly from the
publisher/distributor.
☻
Comments on books in general? The very best of poetry and prose
was published in the late 19th Century–early 20th Century, and
the very best illustrated books are those published in the late
20th Century. As to the caliber of books — binding, quality of
paper and ink, photography, number of color illustrations as a
relative measure of merit to price — I would have to say that,
on average, foreign books win for their character and their ‘je
ne sais quoi.’ Because no foreign titles appear in this list,
write to me about your interests and I’ll offer you some
suggestions.
Cultural and Social History of Tobacco
Smoking (Best reads)
Apperson, G.L.
The Social History of Smoking (London, 1913; New York, 1916;
2006)
Billings, E.R.
Tobacco: Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and
Commerce, With an Account
of Its Various
Modes of Use, From Its First Discovery Until Now (Hartford,
1875;
Wilmington,
1973)
Corti, E.C.
A History of Smoking (London, 1931; New York, 1932; London,
1996)
Fairholt, F.W.
Tobacco: Its History and Associations (London, 1859 and 1876;
Detroit, 1968)
Goodman,
J. Tobacco in History. The Cultures of
Dependence (London and New York, 1993)
Heward, E.V.
St. Nicotine of the Peace Pipe (London, 1909)
Hilton,
M. Smoking in Britain, 1800-2000.
Perfect Pleasures (Manchester and New York, 2000)
Kiernan, V.G.
Tobacco: A History (London, 1991)
Mackenzie,
C. Sublime Tobacco (London, 1957;
Gloucester, 1984)
Penn, W.A.
The Soverane Herbe. A History of Tobacco (London, 1901; New
York, 1902)
Walton, J.
(ed.) The Faber Book of Smoking (London,
2000)
Cultural and Social History of Tobacco
Smoking (Next-best reads)
Bain, A.W.
Tobacco: Its History and Associations, Use and Abuse, Including
an Account of the
Plant, and Its
Modes of Use in All Ages and Countries; Shewing it to be the
Solace of
the King and the
Beggar (1836)
Barth,
I. The Smoking Life (Columbus,
1997)
Brooks, J.E.
The Mighty Leaf: Tobacco Through the Centuries (Boston, 1952;
London, 1953)
Burns, E.
The Smoke of the Gods. A Social History of
Tobacco (Philadelphia, 2006)
Gilman, S. L.,
and Smoke. A Global History of Smoking (London,
2004)
Zhou Xun (eds.)
Hamilton, A.E.
This Smoking World (New York, 1927; London, 1928)
Heimann, R.K.
Tobacco and Americans (New York, 1960)
Kuntz, K.M.
Smoke: Cigars, Cigarettes, Pipes and Other Combustibles (New
York, 1997)
Oropeza,
R. Between Puffs. Two Thousand Years
of Tobacco Use (Orlando, 2005)
Robert,
J.C. The Story of Tobacco in America
(New York, 1949; Chapel Hill, 1967)
Silberberg,
L. Tobacco: Its Use and Abuse (London,
1893)
Spinden,
H.J. Tobacco is American. The Story of
Tobacco Before the Coming of the White Man (New
York, 1950)
"How To"
Arias, J.
R. The Pleasurable Art of Pipe
Smoking (n.p., 1968)
BAT Co.,
Ltd. What Every Pipe Smoker Should Know
(London, 1968)
Beale,
M. Secrets of Enjoyable Pipe
Smoking (Mt. Pleasant, 1998)
Benson and Hedges Live
in Peace With Your Pipe (London, 1973)
Brown, J.L.
The Art of Pipe Smoking Pleasure; A Pipe Smoker's Handbook (New
York, 1946)
Caldwell,
R. On the Pleasures and Enjoyment of
Pipe Smoking (Venice, 1999)
Crole,
R. Pipe. The Art and Lore of a
Great Tradition (Rocklin, 1999)
Dunhill,
A.H. The Gentle Art of Smoking (London,
1954)
Elliott,
W.W. Pipe Smoking 101. A Guide for the
New Pipe Smoker (Elliottenterprises, Lulu.com,
2007)
Faught, M.C.
How to Scratch a Match and Other Secrets of Successful Pipe
Smoking (New York,
1947)
Gallant, P.A.
Pipe Smoking: The Pleasant Alternative to
Cigarettes (Chicago, 1978)
Graves,
C. A Pipe Smoker's Guide (London,
1969)
Herment,
G. The Pipe Book; A Serious yet
Diverting Treatise on the History of the Pipe and All Its
Appurtenances
(London and New York, 1954)
Hester, C.
R. My Love, My Pipe (www.lulu.com, 2006)
Jeffers, H.
P. The Perfect Pipe. A Celebration of
The Gentle Art of Pipe Smoking (Short Hills, 1998)
Kolpin,
E. The Story of Your Briar Pipe.
Prepared from over 40 Years Experience and Study on
Pipe and Tobacco
Combustion (Santa
Monica, 1969)
McMahon, K.
The Pipe Book. An Introduction to the Pleasures of Pipe Smoking
(Dublin, 1981)
Neelin, J.E.
An Introduction to Pipe Smoking (Ontario, 1980)
Ogden’s of Liverpool The
Pipeman’s Companion. From Ogden’s of Liverpool (Bristol, 2000)
Olrik,
P.C. Pipesmoker's ABC (Birkeröd,
1973)
Parker,
H. My Pipe, My Tobacco and I: A
Narrative Dedicated to the "Pipe Smoker Who Cares"
(Fresno, 1972)
Philip Morris,
Inc. Tidbits, Tips and Trivia on
The Art of Pipesmanship (n.d.)
Puffington, H.B.
How to Smoke a Pipe (New York, 1958)
Ram, S.P.
How to Get More Fun Out of Smoking: A Guide and Handbook for
Better Smoking
(Chicago, 1941;
revised edition, 1949)
R.J.
Reynolds Love That Pipe. A Fun Guide to
Pipe Smoking (1966)
Spaniola, J.W.
Smoke A Pipe (Flint, Michigan, n.d.)
Tobacco Assn. of
America Pipe Smoker’s Guide (n.p., n.d.)
Verdaguer,
J. The Art of Pipe Smoking (London, 1958,
1968)
Weber, C.B.
Guide to Pipes and Pipe Smoking (New York, 1962, 1983)
______. The Pleasures of Pipe
Smoking (New York, 1965)
Weber,
R.J. Everyman’s Guide to Pipe-Smoking
and Tobaccos (Victoria, 1983)
Yunker,
A.D. Toward a Theology of Pipesmoking
(St. Louis, 1970)
Art of Briar Pipe-making
Cole, J.W.
The GBD St. Claude Story (London, 1976)
Doll,
E. The Art and Craft of
Smoking Pipes (New York, 1947)
Gregorio, J.M.
How to Make Smoking Pipes (New York, 1971)
PIMO
Guide to Pipe Crafting at Home (Chicago, 1976; Manchester
Center, 1996)
General Appreciation of Contemporary Pipes
Cole,
J.P. Briar Pipe Shapes and Styles
(Surrey, 1985)
Douwe-Egberts
Concise Encyclopaedia for the Pipe Smoker (Groningen, 1988)
Ehwa,
C. The Book of Pipes and Tobacco
(New York, 1974)
Hacker, R.C.
The Christmas Pipe (Beverly Hills, 1986)
______. The Ultimate Pipe Book
(Beverly Hills, 1984; London, 1985, and later
editions/printings)
______. Rare Smoke: The Ultimate
Guide to Pipe Collecting (Vol. I) (Beverly Hills, 1999)
______. Pipesmoking. A 21st
Century Guide (Beverly Hills, 2000)
Jeffers, H.P.
The Perfect Pipe. A Celebration of The Gentle Art of Pipe
Smoking (New Jersey, 1998)
Liebaert,
A. The Illustrated History of the Pipe
(Suffolk, 1994)
& A.
Maya
Lopes,
J. Pipes: Artisans
and Trademarks (Lisbon, 2005)
Loring,
J.C. The Dunhill Briar Pipe. The
Patent Years and After (self-published, Chicago, 1998)
_____. The
Dunhill Briar Pipe.
Vol. I, The Early Years, 1910–1926; Vol. II, The Elegant
Years, 1927–1935;
and Vol. III, The Later Years, 1936–1962 (self-published,
Chicago,
1999)
Luccieanno, A.
Pappa Luccieanno’s Guide to Modern Day Meerschaum Pipes (n.p.,
1995)
Newcombe,
R. In Search of Pipe Dreams (Sumner Books,
Los Angeles, 2003)
Rathburn, L.
A. The History of The Fort Wayne Falcon
Featherweight 1945 (self-published, Fort Wayne,
1995)
Reemtsma GmbH
Tabago: A Picture Book of Tobacco and the Pleasures of Smoking
(Munich, 1960)
Schmidt, J. Pipe-Smoking Contest.
What a Pipe-Smoker Should Know (Poznan, 2004)
______.
The
Pipe’s Rebirth. Production, Maintenance and Restoration
(Poznan, 2005)
Stokes, R.W. Collector’s Guide to
Kaywoodie Pipes. A Partial Chronology of Kaywoodie Grades,
Shapes,
and Prices, 1936-1969 (self-published, Houston, 1989)
Taylor, W., II
The Pipe. Manufacturing and
Marketing Pyrolitic Graphite Pipes from Development to Demise
(self-published, Kettering, 2000)
The Pipe Merchant (pseud.). Estate Pipes. A Guide to Cleaning &
Restoration (self-published, 2005)
Turmac Tabakmaat-
Tobacco, Pipes, and the Pleasures of Smoking (Amsterdam, 1960)
Schappij, N.V.
Unger, W.E.
As Individual as a Thumbprint: The Custom-Bilt Pipe Story
(Columbus, 2000)
West,
G. All About Pipes
and Pipe Tobaccos. A Handbook for Tobacconists (London, n.d.)
Wilczak,
H. Who Made That Pipe? A Directory of
Briar Names, Their Makers/Sellers, and Countries
and T.
Colwell of Origin in the 19th &
20th Centuries (self-published, New York, 1997)
Worth, K. A.
Back From the Ashes: Uncovering The Lost History
of G.L. Hunt and the
Falcon Pipe (Studio City, 2007)
Wright,
D. The Pipe Companion. A
Connoisseur’s Guide (Philadelphia, 2000)
History and Provenance of Antique and
Vintage Pipes
Armero,
C. Antique Pipes (A Journey Around a
World) (Madrid, 1989)
______, and Rapaport The
Arts of an Addiction. Qing Dynasty Opium Pipes and Accessories
(Canada, 2005)
Bakla, E. Tophane
Lüleciligi. The Pipe-Making Industry of Tophane (Istanbul,
1993)
Barton, J.T.
A Portfolio of William Bragge and His
Pipes of All Peoples (Herts., 1991)
Bewlay’s
Pipes of All Peoples (London, n.d.)
Cope's Tobacco
Pipes and Meerschaum. Pipes: A Familiar History. Part The
First. American Pipes.
Cope’s Smoke
Room Booklet Number 9 (Liverpool, 1895)
______. Pipes and Meerschaum.
Pipes: A Familiar History. Part The Second. Pipes. The Pipes
of Asia and
Africa. Cope’s Smoke Room Booklet Number 11 (Liverpool, 1895)
______. Pipes and Meerschaum.
Pipes: A Familiar History. Part The Third. Pipes. English
and European.
Cope’s Smoke Room Booklet Number 12 (Liverpool, 1896)
Dunhill,
A. The Pipe Book (London and New
York, 1924; revised ed., London, New York, and
Toronto, 1969
and later reprints; New York, 1999)
Fairchild,
D. The South African Pipe Calabash (US
Dept of Agriculture, Washington, DC, 1909)
& Collins, G.N.
Fisher, R.L.
The Odyssey of Tobacco (Litchfield, 1939)
Fresco-Corbu, R.
European Pipes (Guildford, Surrey, 1982)
Gehlbach,
D. Ohio’s Prehistoric Pipes (1997)
Goes,
B. The Intriguing Design of
Tobacco Pipes (Leiden, 1993)
Hungarian National
The History of the Hungarian Pipemaker’s Craft. Hungarian
History Through the
Museum Pipemaker’s Art (Budapest,
2000)
Jung, S.
P. 19th Century Patents, Designs,
and Trademarks for Tobacco Pipes and Related Material
Issued by the
U.S. Patent Office 1858-1899, 2 volumes (self-published, Bel
Air, 1987)
______. Tobacco Pipe
Manufacturers and Distributors Found in U.S. Directories in The
Library of Congress (to be published in 1999)
Larus & Brother Co.
Pipe-ology. From Mayan to Modern (Richmond, n.d.)
Levardy,
F. Our Pipe-Smoking Forebears
(Budapest-Pecs-Velburg, 1994)
Libert,
L. Tobacco, Snuff Boxes, and
Pipes (London, 1986)
Museum of Tobacco
Meerschaum Masterpieces. The Premiere Art of Pipes (Nashville,
1990)
Art and History.
Orhant,
A. Up in Smoke. The Art of
Collectibles (Paris, 2000)
Pritchett, J.R.
Ye Smokiana, Historical, Ethnographical (London, 1890)
Rafferty, S. & Mann, R.
Smoking and Culture. The Archaeology of Tobacco Pipes in Eastern
(eds.)
North America (Knoxville,
2005)
Rapaport,
B. A Complete Guide to Collecting
Antique Pipes (Exton, 1979; revised, 1998)
______. Collecting Antique
Meerschaums: Miniature to Majestic Art, 1850-1925 (Atglen,
1999)
______. Museum of Tobacco Art &
History Guide Book (Nashville, 1996)
Rebeyrolles,
J. Collectible Pipes (Paris,
2002)
Schmied-Duperrex, A. e. The
Lausanne Pipe Museum/Il Museo della Pipa di Losanna e degli
Oggetti da Tabacco
Boccazzi-Varotto, A. (Ivrea,
1989)
Schrier, G.B.
The History of the Calabash Pipe (privately printed, n.p., 2006)
Scott, A. &
C. Smoking Antiques (Hertfordshire, 1970;
Bucks, 1981)
______. Tobacco and the
Collector (London, 1966)
Silverman,
H. History of the Pipe (Atlanta, 1895)
Vandalis, G.E.
Water Pipes (Athens, 2000)
Yates,
S. Smoking Accessories. A
Collector’s Guide (London, 2000)
Tobacco: General Survey for the Smoker
Association of
The A.I.T.S. Tobacco Index (Exeter, n.d.)
Ind.
Tobacconists
Blair, L.C.M.
Tobacco Blender’s Handbook (Montclair, New Jersey, n.d.)
Brennan, W.A.
Tobacco Leaves: Being a Book of Facts for Smokers (Menasha,
1915)
Players From Plantation to
"Players." A Brief History of Tobacco, Including Cultivation and
Manufacture
(Bristol, 1936)
Sherman, M.M.
All About Tobacco (New York, 1970, 1974)
Tanner, A.E.
Tobacco. From the Grower to the Smoker (Bath, 1912)
Werner,
C.A. A Textbook on Tobacco (New York,
1909, 1914)
______. Tobaccoland (New York,
1922)
Winans, R.F.
The Pipe Smoker's Tobacco Book (Provincetown, 1977)
Wolf, F.A.
Aromatic or Oriental Tobacco (College Station, 1962)
Prose and Poetry
Adams, C.S.
Poem on the Use of Tobacco (Boston, 1852)
Allen & Ginter
With The Poets in Smokeland (Richmond, n.d., c. 1886)
Anon. An Arm-Chair in the
Smoking Room; or, Fiction, Anecdote, Humour, and Fancy for
Dreamy
Half-Hours (London, 1868)
Anon. Joys of Tobacco
(Boston, London and Edinburgh, n.d.)
Anon (Ferguson, R.) The
Social Pipe; or, Gentlemen's Recreations. A Poem (London, 1826)
Bain,
J. Tobacco in Song and Story
(Boston, 1896; New York, 1953)
______. Tobacco Leaves (Boston,
1903)
Braley, B.
The oracle on smoke; being a few utterances in a
simple and not at all delphic style, with
certain
so-called poems there among scattered; all reported and written
by... (Madison,
1905)
Browne, I.H.
A Pipe of Tobacco: In Imitation of Six Several Authors (London,
1736; New York,
1924)
Chaffee,
F. Smoke Rings and Roses (Cleveland,
1904)
Edwards, G.W.
Thus Think and Smoke. Tobacco. A Rhyme (XVII Century) (New
York, 1891)
Hamilton,
W. An Odd Volume for Smokers; A Lyttel
Parcell of Poems and Parodyes in Prayse of
Tobacco (London,
1889)
Harrison, J.L.
With Pipe and Book. A Collection of College Verse (Providence,
1897)
Herford, O.,
and The Smoker's Year Book (New York, 1908)
S.
Collins
Hutchison, W.G.
Lyra Nicotiana: Poems and Verses Concerning Tobacco (London,
1898)
Jenkinson, A. M.
Whifflets (Pittsburg, 1897; 1900)
King, W.H.
My Smoking-Room Companions (New York, 1899)
Knight,
J. A Smoker's Reveries (Boston,
1909)
______. Pipe and Pouch;The
Smoker's Own Book of Poetry (Boston, 1894; Freeport, 1970)
Lloyd,
H. The Smoking Concert Reciter
(London, 1890)
Miles,
A.H. The "Smoker" Reciter (London,
1902)
Miltoun,
F. The "Sov'rane Herb" and the
Smoker's Year. A Calendar for MDCCCCV, With
(McManus, B.)
Certain Excerpts from the Wits and Historians of All Ages;
Concerning the Virtues of
the Necessitous
Weed (Boston, 1904)
Mitchell, C.L.
Puffs From An Old Pipe. Random Thoughts Of An Old Amateur (New
York, c. 1919)
O'Neil,
H. Invocation to My Pipe (London,
1871)
Ousley,
C. Rings o' Smoke (New York,
London, Montreal, 1902)
J.B. Pace Tobacco Co. A
Bit of Advice (Richmond, n.d.)
Palmer, C.W.
The Weed: A Poem (London, 1880)
Partington,
W. Smoke Rings and Roundelays; Blendings
from Prose and Verse (London, 1924; New
York, 1925)
Perry,
R. The Pipe Smokers. An Eclogue
for an Unspecified Occasion (Miami, 1959)
Potter, E.D.
Ode to My Pipe (Toledo, 1905)
Rayner, G.H.
Notes From My Pipe. A Book of Rhyme and Verse for Smokers
(Leeds, 1896)
Reynolds,
D.C. A Romance in Smoke (Providence, 1876)
Reynolds Metals Co. In
Praise of Tobacco: A Collection of Poems from Many Pens
(Richmond, 1960)
Rossetti, D.G.
The Ballad of Jan Van Hunks (London, 1929; J. R. Wahl [ed.],
Arents Tobacco
Collection
Publication No. 3, New York Public Library, New York, 1952)
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