Paul Perri Smooth Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, American Estates

Description

When Paul Perri passed away in 2021, at the ripe old age of 101, he established a record that I don’t think will be broken any time soon: he had, to paraphrase Marty Pulvers, “been making pipes for 95 years.” Obviously, Perri started young and hit the ground running, having been born to a father who owned a pipe shop in New York and who himself made pipes. Perri kept with it, and ultimately started his own pipe shop. He made and sold pipes, and he was one of America’s foremost pipe repairmen, and was even the official repairman for Dunhill’s US branch. From stories during his lifetime and tributes after his passing, it seems that there really was nothing one could know about pipes that Paul Perri didn’t know. So, when I look at this straight grain, very Danish freehand piece from Paul Perri, it’s a little different than if I was handling one from your average artisan. I can see that it’s beautifully carved and I can inspect the internals and see that they’re well made, but there’s also a general sense of guarantee to it through Perri’s profound stature in pipes. Reputation precedes, after all.

The condition is very good. Some minor inner rim darkening and slight handling marks.

 

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.95 / 24.13mm

Bowl Depth: 1.63″ / 41.40mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 82g