Preben Holm for PCI 1984 Smooth Brandy Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Though he would tragically pass away at the age of 42, Preben Holm was one of the pioneering figures in the ‘Danish design’ movement in 20th century pipe-making – a movement that still dominates the high-grade pipe scene. By hand-shaping his pipes on a belt sander, Holm was able to make the most of the patterns of grain hidden within briar, creating spectacular works of pipe art that looked just as good as they smoked. Owing to Holm’s untimely passing, his pipes are even more highly sought after than they were during his lifetime.

Just like some of the Stanwell, Becker, and American Smoking Pipe Company we’ve listed recently, this pipe has an important back story to it, so I’ll try to summarize that briefly as possible. In 1983, an American pipe collector named Bruce Spencer created a magazine for fellow pipe collectors, called Pipe Smoker. In tandem with Pipe Smoker, he founded Pipe Collectors International, a kind of pipe club that the magazine would be the publishing arm of. In 1984, PCI started releasing a yearly, limited edition pipe for its members, with the first being made by Preben Holm. And PCI took these pipes very seriously. Because they were meant to be collectors’ items, PCI kept a registry of all of the pipes that had been purchased, along with the member that had purchased them. If the pipe was sold on, PCI even asked that the previous owner contact them, so that their records of ownership could be updated, presumably so that a paper trail documenting the pipe’s provenance could be maintained. Ultimately, in 1989, PCI and Pipe Smoker were dissolved.

For the very first PCI pipe of the year, Preben Holm was enlisted. The design he created was an interesting one – it wasn’t like the rocky and rugged freehands he was largely known for, but was instead closer to the “Traditional” series of pipes Holm had made previously. Of course, it wasn’t “traditional” in the sense of English or French pipe shapes, but was instead a softer and more elegant design. In fact, this particular bent brandy design strongly reminds me of a Traditional series, Private Collection grade pipe I’ve seen before from Holm, which makes me wonder if that, or something like it, was the model for this PCI one.

As with the other’s we’ve listed recently, this PCI Preben is completely unsmoked, and comes with its original box, sleeve, and letter from PCI president Bruce Spencer. Each of these pipes came to us via our consignment program, and to be honest I’m really grateful that they did, as learning more about the PCI project as a result has been extremely enlightening, and the pipes have been a pleasure to see, too.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.82″ / 46.22mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 66g