Churchwarden Rusticated Barrel Fishtail Tobacco Pipe

In Peterson's 1945 catalog, the Irish marque introduced four Speciality shapes: the Barrel, Tankard, Calabash, and Belgique. The line forgoes Peterson's conventional stamping and shaping cues. Each design receives a name rather than a shape number, and the whole lineup is united by a slender, petite disposition — a stark contrast to the robust, muscular aesthetic that dominates the Irish firm's portfolio. These are the smallest, most lightweight designs Peterson has to offer, and they've been popular favorites over the past 70+ years, with many pipesmokers devoting them to flake tobaccos. Presented here is the rotund Barrel shape which, like the Tankard, is a take on the sturdy-sitting Poker design but one with a more streamlined shank and stem and a rounded bowl reminiscent of its namesake.

Peterson first introduced Churchwarden pipes in 1945, the long, willowy profiles inherently forgoing the muscular aesthetic that has come to define the Irish marque's approach to pipe design. Such length is much more suited to extended, relaxing smoking sessions, however, the stem allowing for minimal movement while smoking in an armchair. It's for this reason that Churchwardens are often preferred while reading, the Germans going so far as to translate "Churchwarden" as Lesepfeife, which literally means "reading pipe." Slender and lightweight, Peterson's Churchwardens may not be convenient pocket pipes, but they more than make up for it in the comfortable smoking posture they promote — with this particular one commended by a delightful, chocolate-stained rustication and flashy nickel.

Note: While most of our other pipes are photographed individually, these are not, and you may expect some reasonable cosmetic variation between the example we've photographed and the pipe you've received.