Spring 98 Volume I Issue 4

For many American pipesmokers, London is to pipes what a mythical and lost Havana is to cigars. But London is still here for us, and is so closely associated with both the entire history of pipes and tobacco and the American colonial heritage, that the English pipe culture, real and stereotyped, is an attractive indulgence for the pipe and tobacco enthusiast. A monument to tobacco history, London's lore, and maybe a few nice pipes and some untried tobaccos, await.

The American pipesmoker's principle attractions are the concentration of fine pipe shops in central London, and the handful of world-class pipernakers who will individually finish a pipe chosen from a pre-cut selection of "virgin" bowls, or fashion a new pipe from a briar block either to a standard or your own design. For convenience we'll use tailor's terms: "off the rack" (in Britain, "off the peg") for a ready-made pipe; "custom-made" for the personally chosen finish and cutting of the mouthpiece to your specifications; "made to measure" for a special cutting of a standard shape; and "bespoke" for an original design carried out to personal specifications.

The Dunhill flagship store, on the comer of Duke and Jermyn Streets in the heart of London's St. James's district, is the first shrine of the English pipe. Most pipesmokers will visit Dunhill first, if only to look. Here you buy pipes "off the rack." In the newly reconfigured shop, pipes and tobaccos are up on a mezzanine, along with the cigar humidor. Large leather armchairs overlooking the shop below, and coffee tables (with coffee for the asking) with magazines to browse through, make this stop an unhurried respite where you can sit and smoke a pipe or buy one, try a new tobacco or have a special blend created, or buy a few of those forbidden cigars you won't find stateside. In the Dunhill Museum downstairs is the last pipe Sir Walter Raleigh smoked before his execution.

Marc Burrows, who oversees the pipe and tobacco section, is a knowledgeable thirtyish man who is always willing to dispense excellent advice to novice and expert alike. During our visit, we watched him help an American visitor who was interested in moving from cigars to pipes. Burrows suggested the right pipe size and the appropriate tobacco, showed the customer how to fill, light, tamp, re-light, and draw properly, and then sat him down in an armchair with a coffee and told him to "practice" for awhile and to ask questions as he went along. Pleasing the customer is obviously top priority in this shop.

Dunhill prices, while steep, are more attractive this side of the pond.(see sidebar) Here, a standard "Shell" sandblast goes from E95 ($156) to E223 ($366), depending on size. Smooth-finish "Root" briars range from f:162 ($266) to E402 ($659). That's at least one-third less than they cost in the U.S., and the selection is phenomenal, especially for shapes and sizes that never get across the ocean.

A rebate of the value-added tax [VAT] of 15 to 18%, depending on the class of goods, applies to all purchases by non-residents. On the spot if you send the pipe to the U.S. If you carry the pipe and present a certificate to U.K. Customs, they stamp it and you mail the certificate back to the shop. A credit is then applied to your charge card, or rebated by check. We recommend the charge card option, as American bank service charges on overseas checks can eat up the rebate.

A few doors west along Jermyn Street (towards St. James's) is the Piccadilly Arcade, a passage from Jermyn Street to Piccadilly housing a number of top-drawer shops. One of them is Astleys, a wonderful jewel in the pipe capital's crown. The family of the current owner/manager Paul Bentley has owned Astleys since the 1930s, and before that Astleys had been a Jermyn Street fixture since 1862. A distinction of this shop is that they sell only pipes tobacco, no cigars. There's an odd pouch or rack, but the serious business here is pipes.

Paul eyes each pipe like an art appraiser. Indeed, he was one, having worked with Sotheby's, and running his own art gallery, before taking over the family business. He brings to the pipe not only a love for its natural beauty and form, but a very refined sense of proportion, and another British characteristic: a meticulous eye for finish. Astleys are mostly classic shapes that practically cry out, "England made me!" with a few top-of-the- line freehands virtually indistinguishable from old Charatans. Stamped and ready for sale, the sheer number of beautiful pipes in this tiny shop is overwhelming. There is no junk here; you could buy blindfolded with assurance. Prices range from E95 to E450 ($156 to $584).

At the corner of Jermyn Street and St. James's Street, to the left facing the Piccadilly Arcade, is another world-class smokers' emporium, Davidoff. Edward Sahakian, the courtly, elegantly mannered managing director, says that, although pipes and tobacco are only a small part of his turnover - the big items are cigars and accessories - he keeps a large stock of pipes and a premier selection of tobaccos. His pipes are Davidoff, naturally, and Dunhill, a good sampling of Peterson, Comoy, and Charatan, as well as Wilmer pipes, not well known in the States, but made in England by a very good small company devoted largely to private-label pipe manufacturing. Douglas Elliott, Davidoff's pipe specialist, tells us, "The pipe smoker needs education, and I try to give it to them, if they've got the patience."

On St. James's, facing Davidoff's entrance, a walk to the right of a short block (south, away from Piccadilly) takes the pipe pilgrim to James J. Fox and Robert Lewis, established 1787, and on St. James's Street since 1830. This shop has the time-worn quality of a fine old shoe. There's a selection of mid-range Petersons and Comoys, and a good selection of tobacco, of which their house brand is highly recommended.

Fox/Lewis has special meaning for cigar smokers, because it was here that the great Winston Churchill bought most of his cigars. The shop's most famous customer from 1900 to 1964, Churchill was introduced by his mother (you had to be recommended in order to have an account) on 9 August 1890.

It's all in the shop ledgers, which manager Tim Cox or director Robert Emery will show if asked (just say that Alan Schwartz at PipeSMOKE sent you), along with accounts for Oscar Wilde, who ordered his exclusive gold-tipped cigarettes here, and left this world with all unsettled bill! There's also the Duke of Windsor's humidor and cigars handmade in Havana by Luis Marx, the only box in existence by the inventor of shade grown wrapper; and lots of other interesting tobacco related, history-kissed items.

The Fox/Lewis pipe selection is really for the cigar patron who wants a decent pipe for a change of pace, not a collectible. But the shop and its memorabilia - and certainly the immense cigar selection - make this store a must visit.

For some spectacular briars, exit the Fox/Lewis history center and turn right, up the hill towards Piccadilly. Cross Piccadilly, go right one street, then turn left onto Old Bond Street. At #13, you'll find the original Benson & Hedges, where there's a fine selection of top briars, including James Upshall, Ashton, Peterson, Cornoy, as well as an interesting choice of B&H brand tobaccos.

Particularly good here is the selection of James Upshall, especially some of the newer iterations: large, straight-grained beauties in the E150 ($245) range, as well as some very well-sand-blasted tan "shells." (To end a pernicious myth started recently by some pipe "weenies" with nothing better to do: Upshalls are still made in the same place, Tilshead, by the same people, Barry Jones and his assistants. Only the ownership of the company has changed. In fact, with more financial clout than before, the briar is of better quality, and this critic thinks that the new Upshalls are truly great.)

For a further look at large displays of pipes of many brands, the next stop is Selfridges, or Harrods, or both. Selfridges is closest. Continue north (left, facing B&H) on Old Bond Street - which changes to New Bond Street a bit further along - to Oxford Street, cross over, and turn left to Selfridges, a major department store that is on a par with Macy's.

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