The Mill May 20, 2013; Before we tackle the issue of what makes a pipe worth $1,000, or $750 or $2500 (or more...gee I love when it's more) I need to buy myself more time to come up with some contrived answers for this spot to help save my hash, so I'll be posting a letter from a friend/customer below. He has some insights, based on humbling and pocket draining experience that might be worth a read. I am not revealing his name in the probably vain hope that he will once again feel the need to spend obsessive amounts of money on pipes and those pipes he spends that money on will be my pipes. Thus, no point in alienating him, yet. Marty
"When is a pipe worth a thousand bananas, indeed! I noted some time ago the Teddy Calabash was finally pried from your long term storage. Mazel tov. I'm thinking the $6500 Joura King may sprout roots and grow into fresh briar before your heirs return it to its consignor. Jeepers creepers, Honest Marty. That's a lot of cabbage for a wooden leaf burner......... Lest you think I'm merely some pot calling the kettle black, I will confess that I have recently started to rethink some of my pipe collecting habits. The short history is that when I started piping more seriously, maybe 10 or so years ago, I started binge buying, largely indiscriminately, and quickly amassed a large hodge podge; mostly dreck. Then I slowly became conscious of pipe quality, but not without a dose of pipe snobbery, as well. Then, I had to clamber after some ultra high grades. Now I think I have finally evolved a bit further, and I suspect a bit more in keeping with some of your sensibilities. Pipes are first and foremost for enjoying tobacco, and a close second would be that a pipe should satisfy some aesthetic sense in its owner. Now we both know that this can be readily accomplished over a broad range of prices from very modest to obscenely expensive. Another possible consideration is how important it may or may not be for a collector to own pieces that represent a certain rarity or cachet. This is, perhaps, the area where things are prone to descending into exaggerated concerns with prestige and snobbery. I suppose it must be in some measure defined by one's own financial situation, and at what point chasing the Joneses, or one's own ego, starts to strain one's budgetary sensibilities. I have certainly fallen prey to some of this self-deception.
Over the last year, I have been systematically divesting myself of a number of Lars, Nanna, Teddy, Micke, etc. pipes. Pipes that I rarely if ever smoke, some pipes that simply don't wow me, in spite of their proud pedigrees, and some that I just don't enjoy smoking. I am scaring myself by seeing how much money I have raised, even knowing that some of the pipes are being sold for something less than I may have paid for them. I still have way too many pipes. And pipes that I will be weeding out of my collection that include some that are pricey and some that are not especially expensive, but just sit collecting dust. I'm hoping to have the prudence to maintain a collection that only includes pipes that I really and truly enjoy, and some may meet or exceed your arbitrary $1000 threshold. But I'd have to really love and enjoy them to qualify them for retention; and pipes that may have a particular sentimental value as gifts or made by people with whom I have developed a personal connection making them valuable to me along these particular merits.
Lastly, I think with a bit of maturity, I have come to another epiphany: That my appetites vastly exceed my means to satisfy them, and include many tastes outside of pipes.......and that are more significant to me than pipes......So why do I have so many f---ing pipes? And why have I pissed away thousands of dollars on these baubles? This concludes my confession." Signed, S. P.S. Most recently posted were 4 pipes for the Italian page...all large pieces. They include 2 more Ardor Giants (both bent...as per some requests), one Ser Jacopo Maxima and one Maxima Maxima.
|
|