The Briar Files

Raymond Chandler on writing

2013-05-21T19:00:00.001-05:00

Raymond Chandler on writing at BrainPickings.org.

"A Contemplative Pipe"

2013-05-18T19:19:00.000-05:00

Click for a collection of contemplative pipe-smoking illustrations at Power of Babel.

Pipe smoker quick fix: French soldier, 1918

2013-05-06T20:51:00.003-05:00

Via My Ear-Trumpet Has Been Struck By Lightning.

Give him a pipe to smoke all night

2013-05-06T14:34:00.001-05:00

Little-Known Second Verses of 10 Children's Songs.

Scroll down to #10 and read about "London Bridge is Falling Down."

A brief word on Nightcap

2013-03-29T17:39:00.000-05:00

Dunhill Nightcap. Back when I was a n00b pipe smoker hanging out on alt.smokers.pipes, I heard a lot about this stuff. Mostly, remarks on how strong it is. For some, the strength is a complaint, for others, a compliment.

I don't remember where I first bought some Dunhill tins to try, but back in ye olden days I bought one tin each of Early Morning Pipe, My Mixture 965, and Nightcap. Back then, the light latakia of EMP was my favorite and I bought and smoked a few more tins before I lost my interest in latakia as a primary flavor. I enjoyed smoking the 965 but it didn't impress me a lot and I never bought it again.

I must admit that the first few times I had Nightcap, I got a little dizzy. It seemed quite powerful for some reason.

I kept going back for more.

Some time ago I was given a $25 Visa gift card from my employer for some reason (maybe a safety bonus or something--I forget), and today I ran by The Humidor on San Pedro and picked up a tin of Nightcap, which I haven't had in years. Yes, literally years.

I still really like this stuff. But after so many pipes full of C&D's Bayou Night, as well as numerous other blends that I spiced up with formidable amounts of Perique, it doesn't make my head swim anymore.

I must admit that if I had some straight Perique on hand right now, I'd mix up a sample of Nightcap with some extra Perique in it, just for fun.

By the way, the last time I was there, a couple of months ago, I bought a tin of Perique, which I have since used up. When the guy handed it to me, he asked sharply, "You don't smoke it straight, do you?" "Well, I have..." I admitted. "But mostly I just mix it with other stuff."

I carried it over to the cash register and the other guy rang me up. Then suddenly he asked sharply, "You don't smoke that stuff straight, do you?" It cracked me up. Is there some kind of taboo against it? Anyway, I wouldn't recommend smoking it straight because it doesn't burn very well on its own. Mix it with a little something that burns easier, like some plain old burley or Virginia--or both--and you can still mix it pretty strong if you really want to blow the top of your head off.

Or if you can find some maduro that's been cut up for pipe smoking, mix it with that and give it a try. You may not like it, but it will keep the mosquitoes away.

Macro shot: Dunhill Nightcap

2013-03-29T17:15:00.001-05:00

Just could not get the color exactly right on this one.

Pipe smoker quick fix: Samuel Clemens

2013-03-26T17:38:00.002-05:00

With pipe and book and a little nap.

Quick pipe smoker fix

2013-03-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

Maurice Sendak's dad, seen here.

Vintage Ad: Catlin's Meerschaum Smoking Tobacco

2013-03-21T18:52:00.000-05:00

From the late 1800s.

Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer - "Just Like a Chap"

2013-03-20T15:06:00.003-05:00

Pipe smoking and banjolele playing, of course.

Pipes & Flannel

2013-02-15T20:21:00.001-06:00

Vintage Ad, 1968: The Playboy Pipe

2013-01-10T18:34:00.003-06:00

From Found in Mom's Basement. Click for a much larger image.

A very happy pipe smoker

2013-01-07T17:25:00.001-06:00

I came across this picture years ago. I don't remember where I found it and I don't know anything about it. But here it is.

Pipe Smoker (fictional): Charles Francis Xavier

2013-01-05T20:25:00.003-06:00

Oppression is no excuse for vengeance -- for murder. I wonder... does the death of innocent people -- cut down on the streets as they flee -- free you? I think not.

Charles Francis Xavier, also commonly referred to as Professor X, was born in New York City, the son of a nuclear scientist. He graduated from Harvard and in post-graduate studies achieved Ph.D.s in genetics, biophysics and psychology. He is a natural genius and his great intellectual achievements are also partly due to him being a very powerful telepath: he is able to read, control and influence human minds. He also possesses the ability of telekinesis, although to a lesser degree.

Xavier is a paraplegic due to a boulder being dropped on him by an alien known as Lucifer when he was in the Himalayas. He later founded the euphemistically-named Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, later renamed the Xavier Institute. "Gifted youngsters," in this case, means people who are born with natural super-powers. Xavier is highly respected by the government as well as by numerous other super-heroes and super-hero teams (such as the Fantastic Four). He is also the founder and leader of the X-Men, a team of mutant super-heroes. He has devoted his life to attempting to create a peaceful co-existence between mutants with super-powers and normal humans, as well as organizing the X-Men to combat mutants who wish to use their powers to dominate normal humans.

Professor X has a streak of arrogance and manipulativeness (demonstrated in the above illustration) that often puts him at odds with members of the X-Men.

The character of Xavier was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby of Marvel Comics, and first appeared in 1963. He has been portrayed by Patrick Stewart in movie adaptations of the comics.

links:
Wikipedia
Marvel Comics wiki

Unnamed R.A.F.pilot, 1942

2013-01-04T19:43:00.003-06:00

Russian criminal tattoo of a pipe-smoking cat

2013-01-03T19:31:00.002-06:00

Via My Ear-Trumpet Has Been Struck By Lightning:

A convict’s tattoo signifying ‘I am a recidivist convict. I have no resources to support a conscience’.

I have the same problem with my socks

2013-01-03T18:35:00.000-06:00

Since I have posted more than one photo of Albert Einstein, pipe smoker, I thought this article might also be of interest to readers of this blog: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, it includes no information regarding his pipe-smoking habits, but it does have several other entertaining bits of information.

Personally, I found I have at least one thing in common with Mr. Einstein.

Vintage Ad: Kirtland's Skull Pipe (1896)

2013-01-02T18:55:00.004-06:00

$1.50 in 1896 would be about $40 today, and I would certainly buy and smoke a briar pipe that looks like this for $40.

Hogarth: Time Smoking a Picture

2012-12-31T20:09:00.001-06:00

I don't have any New Year-related pipe-smoking pictures--probably--I have an awful lot of pictures saved and I don't always remember everything I've snagged. But anyway, here is a time-themed picture so it's in the same general theme area. "Time Smoking a Picture" by William Hogarth, created by Hogarth in 1761 but apparently not published until 1822. You can read about it here.

Steampunk pipe smoker #3

2012-12-30T19:51:00.002-06:00

From the Ear-Trumpet.

Pipe Smoker: Frank Blair

2012-12-25T15:14:00.001-06:00

Frank Blair (1916 - 1995)

Frank Blair was radio announcer who became an original member of NBC's Today Show, starting as a Washington correspondent in 1952 and then serving as the anchor from 1953 to 1975. This photo shows him having a pipe while helping one of his sons assemble a model train set on Christmas Day, 1956.

link: New York Times obituary
photo: Mental Floss

Pipe Smoker (fictional): Frosty the Snowman

2012-12-18T20:50:00.000-06:00

The legendary being known as Frosty the Snowman was created by luck, or perhaps, by magic. It is said that he came to life only when an old silk hat that had previously belonged to a magician was placed upon his head--leading to conjecture that there must have been some amount of magic in that hat. However, it is uncertain if any other snowman could have been animated by the hat, because Frosty had been formed from Christmas snow--snow that had fallen on Christmas Day. Thus we may assume that it was a special combination of the hat and the snow that caused his creation.

Frosty was, or is, an anthropomorphic being created from snow who wears no clothing other than his old silk hat, and he often wields a broom for reasons unknown. His nose is made from a button and his strangely black eyes from two lumps of coal. He also always has a corncob pipe firmly clenched in his mouth, but it is uncertain whether he actually smokes it or not. Although at first befriended only by children and considered something of an outlaw because of his antics, his sometimes nonsensical proclamations (shouting "happy birthday!" with little prompting), and his flagrant disregard for traffic regulations, he eventually came to be loved by all the townsfolk.

Unable to survive in temperatures above freezing, he was not able to remain a permanent resident in the town of his creation. When springtime brought higher temperatures that were lethal to him, he left for the North Pole, promising "I'll be back again someday."

Perhaps he lives still at the North Pole. Children around the world commemorate him in popular song and still wait for him to "be back again someday," but thus far he has not returned. In any case, tales of Frosty are still told wherever snow falls and whenever a bit of Christmas cheer is needed.

An unexpected pipe

2012-12-15T19:57:00.000-06:00

First, I want to say that I don't have any photos to post of this pipe yet because I can take decent pipe pictures only outdoors during the daylight, and I didn't have a chance to do so today since we got home after dark.

Today we had our early Christmas as is our tradition. Usually we have this celebration at my dad's house, but he is not up to it this time since he had some injuries to his hands (a dog attack) recently, so we went to an aunt's house instead.

A different aunt--not the one whose house we were at--gave me a gift bag with two books in it which look quite interesting and I'm sure I'm going to enjoy reading them. I poked around in the sack to make sure there wasn't anything else, like a card or something, then set it aside to keep enjoying the festivities--there was an enormous amount of food. So I heard this aunt tell my wife that she wanted to tell me something about my gift after I had opened it, so I said I had already opened it. She said, "I heard you collected pipes, so I thought you might like that one. It was Edwin's pipe." Edwin was her husband--my uncle (my dad's brother)--who passed away last year. "Pipe?" I said. So I looked in the bag again and found an old Kaywoodie Signet. Not a higher-end Kaywoodie to be sure, but still a Kaywoodie. I knew that my uncle had enjoyed an occasional cigar, but I hadn't known that he had ever smoked a pipe.

The pipe is worn and well-used, the cloverleaf having fallen out and leaving only the clover-shaped hole in the stem. The oddest thing about it is that although it is a bent pipe, the stem is too straight, as if it were made for a straight pipe. So I don't know if it's the original stem or not, and I'll have to try and put a bend in it before I ever try smoking it.

So that was a very nice gift, and I'm glad to have it. He was my favorite uncle, and I truly enjoyed his slightly twisted and self-deprecating sense of humor. He often told me stories which ended in some dumb mistake he had made, laughing hugely at himself the whole time.

Which reminds me, a few years ago one of my Christmas gifts was an odd-looking pipe stand from my dad. I'll have to post some photos of it, too.

Another photo with no explanation

2012-12-14T20:10:00.003-06:00

This is another photo I found with no explanation. If anyone has information on what this vehicle is, please leave a comment. Otherwise...well, here it is.

It looks to me like something Mr. Bean would probably run over.

Pipe Smoker (legendary): Nicolas Chauvin

2012-12-07T19:28:00.000-06:00

Did Nicolas Chauvin really exist? Probably not, it seems. Allegedly a French soldier during the Napoleonic era, his extreme nationalistic fervor was just cause for the creation of the word chauvinism, which in its original sense meant an extreme, possibly irrational patriotism similar to jingoism. And which later on, in some languages (such as English), came to describe a denigrating and prejudicial attitude toward women.

In any case, someone, somewhere, created what may well be the most ridiculous-looking portrait of a pipe smoker, ever.

link