May 2004

Club Info & Events

The Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club's Official Web Site:
Discussion during the past couple of meetings around using club funds to pay for web space and a domain name for an official club website, ended in a positive vote (I'm currently using my own space to host the newsletter). The cost per year to host the site and reserve the domain name will be $110. If you check the address in your browser you will see that we are already using our new domain "shpcboston.org" . Developing the complete site will take some time but until then our newsletter will be our first home page with links to past newsletters and documented events.

Great Turnout and a Great Time with R.D Field
Another outstanding SHPC event! I think this was the biggest turnout since... dare I say it... the visit from James Norman, Ltd. last year. I believe Mr. Field was very impressed when comparing our group to the the Christopher Morley Pipe Club of PA., and in a slightly more favorable light I might add.
I couldn't help but notice the members that had arrived early, chomping at the bit so to speak, while watching David and Janice set up their display of Radice's, Il Ceppo's and all the rest. Then, like an army of ants on a fallen scoop of ice cream, we surrounded the table at the first available opportunity and began sampling each morsel of delectable briar. In fact, most of the time there was never very much vacant space around the table, although by the end of the night there were quite a few vacancies on the table. I'm sure the generous discount offered by Peretti's was a major factor in that. And speaking of Peretti's, they brought with them a dozen packages of our own Baskerville tobacco along with 2 pounds of their new and improved Century tobacco aptly named Century II (at least until they can come up with something new). Also, Steve Willett donated a one pound can of the Century II to our tobacco raffle which was happily won by Dante "Quincy" Canarozzi.
This event was one of the best we've had in a while and we look forward to having David and Janice back some time in the not too distant future. Maybe this time they'll bring the 3 truck loads of pipes they brought to Arizona. Hey! It doesn't hurt to mention it, does it?       visit rdfield.com
                          <<< Check out the Pics >>>

Estate Pipes.... At last!
I received and email from Geoff Stearn last month letting me know that his schedule has finally relaxed a bit and he was now ready for a visit to Mansfield with his collection of retired pipes. I emailed him this week just to make sure he is still coming to which he replied... "I've reserved the 12th against all enemies foreign and domestic! I'll be there!" So I think we can count on him this time.
As mentioned in previous newsletters, Geoff had to give up smoking and has a couple hundred pipes to sell. I don't think he'll bring them all but he did mention that he had several Petersons, Dunhills, at least one pre-war Ehrlich and a few from the Connoisseur Pipe Shop in NY. He said he will make an inventory this weekend. If this happens, I will do my best to pass it along to you. This may be an excellent opportunity to purchase a good quality pipe for a decent price so you won't want to miss this one.

Watch City Cigar - June Meeting and Patriots Day Visit.
Don't forget! Ernie Quintiliani from Watch City will be at the June meeting with what I believe will be a very nice selection of pipes including names like Rinaldo, Peterson, Armelini and Tsuge. This past Patriots Day a group of us met at Watch City for a relaxing smoke in the Tomahawk Room while we watched the end of the Sox game and part of the Marathon on the big screen tv. Can you believe it... the Kenyans took it again? What a shock! The staff at Watch City made us feel right at home and were readily available to answer questions or take a pipe from the case so we could take a closer look. The prices on many of the pipes was very reasonable and with the club discount Watch City offers, I was unable to leave there empty handed. I purchased a very nice sandblasted Viprati Canadian that whispers..."Psst! Smoke me!"... every time I walk by the rack where it currently resides. "You're just going to have to wait your turn, I reply telepathically, there are still a few a head of you." We also tried to convert a couple of cigar smokers who mentioned a desire to come to one of our club meetings so it's possible we may see some new faces in the future.
We had a great visit, the weather and the company was excellent and the Sox won... what more can you ask for? If you haven't already (or even if you have) I highly recommend making the trip up to Framingham for a visit. You'll be glad ya did. And for those of you who couldn't make it, or decided to drive through the Marathon instead of around it, click here for a few pics from our visit.

New York Pipe Shop Hop
Dock Perry and Steve Gutz are planning to trip the pipe fantastic in the Big Apple. Yes, they are planning yet another road trip to visit the famed pipe shops of New York City and would like to invite anyone that is interested. This should prove to be an excellent day as they hit all the hot spots like, Barclay Rex, Davidoff and Nat Sherman's. If you've never been to New York City, I couldn't imagine a better time to go. This is expected to happen in late June but it will be discussed further at the meeting. I'll keep you posted.

Aruba: Not Very Pipe Friendly - By Horace Harker
I'm not sure if it's due to the prevailing 25mph winds or the fact that it's so close to Cuba but the island of Aruba, which I recently had the pleasure to visit, does not have much in the way of pipes. Cigars on the other hand you can get in any size or shape. But if you're looking for pipes you'll have to settle for the small ones carved from stone or the ceramic kind with the water tube (but I don't think you'd be wanting to smoke any Nightcap or Escudo in one of those). Actually, the only establishment I could find that was even remotely related to pipe smokers is the place you see behind me in the photo and that's pushin' it. I'm glad I brought a few pipes with me but with that wind they practically smoked themselves.

Calabash Shoppee, Hamden Ct. - By Dock J.Perry
On April 9th partner in crime"Steve Gutz" rode the wagon train west to meet me at the family estate in Agawam.We spent some time looking over my pipe collection and introducing him to the three parrots who share the residence with us.We then hitched up the Yukon and headed south to The Calabash Shoppe in Hamden Ct (just outside of New Haven). We got sidetracked for a while at a large outdoor flea market in Wallingford. Sadly no pipes were there to be found. Just a couple of exits down the road we found our place. The Calabash is a quaint little mom and pop tobacconist operating at the same location for 20+ years. The owners are quite friendly and personable and the atmosphere is warm and inviting. They have a nice selection of pipes, tobaccos and giftware. I was thrilled to find many McClelland's tinned blends with date codes of 5-6 years old! They also had quite a few blends that I believe to be discontinued still sitting on their shelves. Needless to say Steve and I bought many of them and the owners were sure glad we came in. It's always fun to skip out from work occasionally and spend the day doing stuff like this with a good friend. We're planning another such get together for a tour of New York City shops at the end of June (see above). We'd sure like some other members to go too.
See a complete review of the Calabash Shoppee by smokeshopreview.com

I'm always looking for new items for this Newsletter. If you have an interesting article, or would like to share
your knowledge on a particular pipes and tobacco related subject, please send it along (preferably in email).