Books Archives - Vermont Freehand

Comprehensive Dunhill Dating Guide

$20.00

Comprehensive Guide to Dating Dunhill Pipes: 1912 to Current is an indispensable field reference for collectors, dealers, restorers, and enthusiasts seeking to identify and accurately date Dunhill pipes.

Designed for practical use, the guide takes readers step by step through the markings found on a pipe—including patent numbers, date-code suffixes, finish names, shape numbers, group sizes, stem details, and White Spot branding—to establish a reliable and defensible date range. It covers every major dating period, from the earliest patent-era pipes through modern production, and includes a complete post-1960 suffix key.

Clear tables, worked examples, quick-reference sheets, and an easy in-hand dating workflow help readers avoid common and costly identification mistakes. Important finish dates—including Shell Briar, Root Briar, Tanshell, Redbark, and Cumberland—provide additional evidence for confirming or challenging a pipe’s attributed age.
Compiled from recognized Dunhill dating resources, historical marking charts, official brand history, and contemporary trade examples, this accessible guide brings scattered information together in one convenient volume. Whether assessing a new acquisition, cataloguing a collection, preparing a pipe for sale, or verifying a dealer’s description, readers will find it a valuable companion for making better-informed decisions. 29 pages. Softcover (folded and stapled) though the cover looks like a hardcover book

Additional note from Steve - For anyone looking for pipe restoration or repair, I send ALL our friends and customers to Rich at Briarville.com. He's taken really good care of restoring pipes for me and he'll take equally as good care with your pipes. "Pipe repair as close as your mailbox!"

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The Definitive History of Stanwell Tobacco Pipes and Shape Guide

$40.00

The Definitive History of Stanwell Tobacco Pipes: From Wartime Denmark to the Birth of the Danish Pipe Revolution traces Stanwell’s journey from its beginnings during World War II to its role in transforming Danish pipes into internationally celebrated works of craftsmanship and design.

Written by pipe historian, collector, and professional restorer Rich Messineo of Briarville Pipe Repair & Restoration, this richly researched volume explores Stanwell’s collaboration with legendary designers such as Sixten Ivarsson, the development of its distinctive shapes and product lines, and the innovation that made exceptional Danish design accessible to pipe smokers around the world.

Featuring detailed information on shapes, series, finishes, markings, dating, rarity, and identification, the book is both an engaging history and a practical reference guide. Whether you are an experienced collector, dealer, restorer, historian, or newcomer to the hobby, this definitive guide will deepen your understanding and appreciation of Stanwell’s enduring legacy.

104 pages and entire list of Stanwell Shape codes in the back. Softcover though the cover looks like a hardcover book

Additional note from Steve - For anyone looking for pipe restoration or repair, I send ALL our friends and customers to Rich at Briarville.com. He's taken really good care of restoring pipes for me and he'll take equally as good care with your pipes. "Pipe repair as close as your mailbox!"

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Three Generations Of Ivarsson

$155.00

266 pages, hardcover contains some of the best to-scale pipe photos ever published in a book An Ivarsson Product: Three Generations of Ivarsson weighs nearly seven pounds, and if a picture is worth a thousand words, this book is worth somewhere north of 222,000 words. That's not even counting the introductions, two of them, one written by Rick Newcombe and one by our own Sykes Wilford. Keeping the bulk of this book (which is, as mentioned, considerable) in the universal language of photography, the publisher has created a timeline covering three generations of Ivarsson pipemakers, with pages 44-266 dedicated to three sections of full-page, color photographs of Ivarsson pipes: those of Sixten, those of Lars, and those of Nanna. Additionally, there is further content in Chinese text: a short preface by the publisher, translations of Rick and Sykes's pieces, and separate interviews with Lars and Nanna. Though many of us may not be able to read these, they do include quite a number of additional photographs of the artisans, their workshops, pipes, and design sketches.

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The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes

$125.00

Coming soon!!! From Ben Rapaport, the author of The Global Guide to Tobacco Literature and A Tobacco Source Book, comes his latest book, The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes, an exploration of pre-briar pipes from around the globe. Compiling detailed information and over 400 photographs, The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes offers an invaluable opportunity to delve into the intricacies of an often unexamined piece of pipe history.

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The Unknown Canadian Pipe Smoker

$45.00

The historic influence of France, England, Denmark, and other countries on pipe making has been well documented over the decades. Few sources, though, recount the rich pipe history of Canada. In Fraser Moss's The Unknown Canadian Pipe Smoker, readers will explore five Canadian pipe companies that helped shape pipe smoking for the better. Combining historical review with literary journalism and Moss's own personal experience, The Unknown Canadian Pipe Smoker is an essential library addition for every discerning and passionate pipe smoker.

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Castello Le Pipe, Mie Figlie

$70.00

Written by Castello's current director, Franco "Kino" Coppo, Le Pipe, Mie Figlie explores the venerated workshop's legacy. Meaning "The Pipes, My Daughters" in English, Le Pipe, Mie Figlie beautifully captures the passion and detailed craftsmanship that goes into making each Castello pipe. This bilingual, Italian/English book contains dozens of high-quality pipe photos across 38 chapters and over 200 pages of content. Featuring fascinating stories from the marque's early days and personal anecdotes from Coppo, this a must-have for Castello collectors or any pipe smoker who appreciates the rich history of Italian pipe making.

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The X Pipe

$28.95

345 pages, softcover The X Pipe and Other Mystagogic Stories for the pipe smoker is a blend of pipe lore, contemplative practice and academic pastiche, stoved and pressed before being sliced into seven tails of two pipe men. Mundungus and Sparks on their singular quest to uncover the truth about a miraculous pipe in the Vatican secret archives. Their search takes them on a wild ride as they bounce in time and space across the globe to travel abroad the last convict ship to Australia, smoke J.S. Bach’s pipe, discuss the sacred pipe religion of the Lakota, and eat black cake with Emily Dickinson. Along the way, they discussed the ultimate mysteries of Pipes smoking expounded in the books of the 19th century Irish Fryer and pipe carver known as Nicholai de Tabakkuk.

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Pipe Smoking In Middle Earth

$19.00

87 pages, softcover Critically acclaimed author, blogger, pipe smoker, and collector, Mark Irwin is the voice behind such books as The Peterson Pipe: The Story of Kapp & Peterson and The Pipes of Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes. Originally published a decade ago, Pipe Smoking in Middle Earth: The Fellowship of the Smoke Rings has been updated for a third edition. The book details the pipes and tobacco of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth and Peter Jackson's corresponding film adaptations. With expert analysis and accompanying illustrations, Mark takes readers on a journey through Tolkien's seminal works, including an index chronicling all pipe-smoking accounts, a tutorial on smoke rings, and much more.

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Brigham Pipes A Century of Canadian Briar

$24.00

92 pages, softcover This book tells the story of the first 100 years of Brigham pipes, painstakingly pieced together from corporate archives, historical records, company legend and first-hand accounts from long-time staff at what is now Brigham Enterprises Inc. It is a tale of personal and professional grit, adaptation, invention and survival over three generations, two World Wars, the Great Depression and radical shifts in society’s attitude towards the tobacco industry.
The quintessential collector’s guide, this book lays out not only the chronology of Canada’s most prominent pipe-maker but also never before compiled information on the pipes themselves, including the stamps, grading schemes and pinning patterns used between 1906 and 2006. Also featured is an updated version of the Brigham Pipes Shape Chart and a full list of Limited Edition pipes.

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About Smoke Dunhill Catalog

$40.00

A special-edition release for the 90th Anniversary of the original volume's printing, the 5th edition of About Smoke is the ultimate smoker's catalog from the most famous pipe smoker's address: 30 Duke Street, London. Never again will such a story of merchandise be told as in this 190-page book of pipes, tobacco, cigars, and smoker's requisites. A masterpiece defining the great age of pipe smoking. Featuring a special introduction from longtime Dunhill collector and pipe scholar Richard Esserman, this special anniversary edition is certain to make for a treasured edition to the aficionado's library.

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The Pipe

$110.00

304 pages, hardcover The purpose of this book according to authors Justin Hummerston and Morten Ehrhorn is to "make you love pipes [or] at least develop a respect for the stunning curves and lines that the portrayed pipe makers are able to find in the humble briar wood." The Pipe: A Functional Work of Art published by Forlaget focuses on the great Danish carvers, both contemporary and of old — the Ivarssons, Poul Ilsted, Tom Eltang, Manduela, Jess Chonowitsch, Tao, S. Bang, and Kent Rasmussen, to name a few. It's chock full of stunning visuals of the carvers, their workshops, and most importantly their stunning creations and also dives into the evolution of pipe making as a whole, the use of alternative materials, as well as information about tobacco and advice on how to pack and smoke a pipe. In essence, it's a 300+ page volume that encompasses all aspects of pipe making and smoking, with the Danish tradition as the framework. The perfect coffee table book, this compilation, now translated into Mandarin, is a must need for every avid pipe smoker and collector and the perfect introduction for any beginner.

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Of Pipes And Men

$18.00

49 pages, softcover Of Pipes and Men by Larry Gosser and Mark Irwin overviews 25 historic pipe-smoking icons — including Jacques Cousteau, Albert Einstein, Greta Garbo, Jackie Kennedy, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien — detailing their lives and legacies in one-page summaries accompanied by individualistic illustrations. With playful prose and comic-style artwork, Of Pipes and Men tastefully and informatively combines the illustrative prowess of Larry Gosser, an illustrator whose accomplishments include work for Peterson of Dublin as well as a licensed Classic Popeye art-print series, with the literary acumen of Mark Irwin, well known pipe blogger and co-author of The Peterson Pipe: The Story of Kapp & Peterson. It's an ideal resource for every pipe smoker, elevated by quick and easy organization, brief yet detailed biographies, quick wit, and a stylish aesthetic.

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