To paraphrase Roy Scheider, from his famous role as the much-put upon protagonist of Jaws, I think we're going to need a bigger shelf. Each year with the arrival of the holiday season the size of our updates grow considerably, and as of today the counter-top which runs the length of one end of the pipe library is completely packed with a sprawling range of stacked pipe trays; a display of leviathan vastness. Or to put it another way, in a space where we normally keep two weeks' worth of update materials, there is now packed (and precariously stacked) the pipe selection for only today and next Monday's updates. There are up-sides to this state of affairs, of course, like that we tend to get to see a lot of stuff which is either on the rarer side, or entirely new, around this time of year. And then, there are also the downsides; we have a ton more work to do, crammed into the same regular deadlines, for one, and for another, Adam and I are in constant danger of our young lives being implacably snuffed out by a sudden and inescapable briarlanche.

You, our loyal customers, however, need not worry about any of that -fortunate devils that you are, this time of year means only an even bigger, broader selection of briars available for your perusal and consideration. So it is that today we present, in their multitudes: classics from Stanwell, Peterson, Savinelli, Neerup, and Brebbia; affordable Freehands by Nording, and fine meerschaums by IMP; Italian artisanal beauties by Ardor and Giancarlo Guidi's Ser Jacopo; the exceptional works of Rad Davis, Peter Heding, and Michael Lindner; last but not least, a full sixty estate pipes of Danish, Irish, English, Italian, American, German, French, and other assorted national origins.

Eric Squires: Copywriter