S&R Woodcrafters for PCI 1989 Smooth Calabash Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Stephen and Roswitha Anderson, of S&R Woodcrafters, were two of the United States’ most renowned artisan pipe-makers. They were also one of the very few examples of a husband and wife pipe-making partnership, like Les and Dolly Wood of Ferndown or Love Geiger and Sara Mossberg of Geiger Pipes. Stephen and Roswitha began making pipes in the 1960s, soon developing a loyal following for their pipes in North America and in Europe. Stephen Anderson passed away in 2009, though Roswitha carries on the S&R legacy from the workshop the two once shared on a converted farm in Ohio.

As with the other PCI pipes 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 last PCI pipe of the year, Stephen and Roswitha Anderson of S&R Woodcrafters were enlisted. Though I’m not sure that it was known at the time that it would be the last PCI pipe, it is a more than fitting send-off for the club and magazine, especially as the pipe came from American home-grown talent. The pipe is a calabash shape, one that will have taken a high level of skill to construct due to its steep curvature. The pipe also has truly excellent straight grain and bird’s-eye patterns and an ebonite army mount and stem.

As with the other PCI pipes we’ve listed recently, this S&R is completely unsmoked, and comes with its original box, sleeve, and letter from PCI president Bruce Spencer (the letter is slightly torn but is overall intact). 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. In fact, I think we’re only one or two pipes short of having sold the whole set at one point or another.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.91 / 23.11mm

Bowl Depth: 1.85″ / 46.99mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g