The most premium of all Peterson annual limited editions, the Pipe of the Year has become a window into the company's storied past, renewing iconic shapes from earlier epochs of Peterson history and reinvigorating the lost designs that our great-grandfathers enjoyed.

Peterson has reinforced that tradition with their rediscovery of a pipe that many collectors have thought was gone forever: the X160, a traditionally engineered bent Billiard with an irresistible swan-neck curve, sterling silver army mount, and iconic P-Lip mouthpiece in black Ebonite.

The year 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of Charles Peterson's mouthpiece patent completing the three major components of his System, making this year's Pipe of the Year particularly relevant. Though not a System pipe, the X160 benefits from the mouthpiece's graduated bore, which helps keep moisture from rising up the stem, and P-Lip button, which spreads smoke across the palate for fuller flavor and reduces the possibility of tongue bite.

The X160 appeared in Peterson's catalogs as early as 1906. Defined by its softly rounded, Egg-like bowl and deep, curling "swan neck" bend, this singular bent Billiard design is once again available, elevated by Peterson's signature silverwork and modern finishing techniques. When the X160 was last produced, only smooth pipes were made because pipe sandblasting and texturing had not yet been discovered or explored. The modern era has conferred on the X160 a number of finishes it did not experience in its original incarnation, and its many possibilities have been liberated.

It has become a tradition at Peterson to resurrect lost shapes for the Pipe of the Year, and Glen Whelan, Director of Sales, is always intimately involved. "Around the same time every year," he says, "we know it's time to find a shape for the Pipe of the Year and I start trawling through old catalogs, looking for inspiration, and this X160 stood out and attracted my attention. It's such a unique shape. Our current 69 shape has evolved from the X160, but the original X160 is a tremendously classical shape in its own right. The eggy nature of the bowl, the slender shank — it just has such a beautiful flow to it, and there really is no other shape like it in our portfolio. I just felt like it was something we had to go for."

Resurrecting a Lost Shape

The initial hurdles in resurrecting a shape from a 117-year-old catalog image were significant. As one might imagine, images of the time were not the high-resolution photos that we enjoy today, making it much harder to engineer an entire pipe shape.

"I don't know how the images were made for those old catalogs," says Peterson Director Josh Burgess, "but they look pretty good, considering. We've done this several times now and know the challenges in working from a catalog image to build a physical model. Proportions and measurements for each element are always difficult, though."

Much of the responsibility for interpreting the image fell on Pipe Specialist Giacomo Penzo. "He was able to recreate the shape from scratch," says Glen. "Giacomo is a hugely valuable resource. It's very hard to relate the intricacies of taking a shape from a two-dimensional drawing and making it happen in front of your eyes, but he really captured the shape beautifully."

While Giacomo was able to render a first prototype that had all the elements and proportions of the original and that fit the Peterson design tradition, he was unable to confirm exact dimensions until Glen located two surviving originals. "We were very fortunate to get our hands on a physical model," says Josh. "Glen tracked one down from a collection that he knew about, and then found another. Every pipe has small differences and there are evolutions over time, but having a physical model to complement the 1906 catalog was a huge help. Giacomo made one based solely on the catalog and then was able to make refinements based on the physical models."

"In comparison to the original, I think we've got it pretty much bang on," says Glen.

"It's a spectacular-looking pipe," says Josh. "To be honest, I didn't expect to like a non-System Peterson pipe so very much, but that curve, that swan neck, the proportions — it's irresistible."

Josh says that even so, reaching that point was difficult. "Getting that shank just right was a particular challenge. While creating the first prototype during the modeling process, that's probably where we most struggled. It wasn't that it was difficult to execute — it was capturing the correct feel of that shape, especially regarding the shank. We experimented considerably with the thickness at the transition, where the shank meets the bowl. Our first model was a little too meaty there, so we reworked it a few times to get that curve and the transition just right."

The Intricacies of Redesign

Even small changes, however, can have consequences. "It's one thing," says Josh, "to decide, 'Well, aesthetically, it should be trimmer,' but you also have to think about the internals that may be affected. You have to be mindful of the airway placement, for example, and things like drilling, positioning the airway, and positioning the silver. All of those things are affected by changes that seem on the surface to be purely aesthetic."

The stem itself was another consideration. "We had to make modifications," says Josh. "One of the most difficult aspects, as simple as it may sound, was determining the appropriate length of the stem. We had two original models to work with, one with a longer stem and one with a shorter stem. A lot of those old shapes would be available with different stem configurations: a long version and a short version. In this case, I think we were just trying to figure out what was most consistent with that 1906 catalog, and we decided on the shorter of the two. But the stem was an area of experimentation." Stem length can drastically alter the proportions of a pipe, especially with a design that depends so heavily on soft, consistent curvature and bowl-to-shank-to-stem proportions.

"We've brought touches of modern pipe manufacturing to Pipe of the Year," says Glen, "with last year introducing the Rua finish to the Pipe of the Year. That's a modern technique we've employed while maintaining the classic shape aesthetic. I think that's most important for Peterson. The company is built on classic shapes and executing them perfectly. I think we have to stay on that road when it comes to the Pipe of the Year."

Where the 2023 Pipe of the Year deviates most from the original is in its available finishes. The Rua finish is an example. There were no contrast sandblasts, or any sandblasts in 1906, nor was there an Ebony finish, or a Supreme Sandblasted finish highlighting natural, unstained briar. Charles Peterson would likely be impressed with the variety available today.

Finishes for the Pipe of the Year 2023

It's worth noting that the Rusticated with Silver Cap variation is available in very limited numbers. "The cap is handmade from silver sheet, custom fitted to each pipe, and very time consuming," says Josh.

The silverwork is particularly prominent and adds considerably to the personality of this pipe. "I think the army style shows off our silver work very well, especially with the dome at the top of the silver," says Glen. "It isn't the usual severe dome that you would see on System pipes — it's a shallower dome that lends itself better to the way the shank flows and to the overall aesthetic of the pipe. With Jason Hinch, we have one of the best silversmiths around. Jason would tell you that it wasn't any more difficult than usual, but he's being modest. I think all silver work is challenging, but Jason and his team just make it look very easy. Everybody involved in manufacturing understands how difficult the process really is."

A Non-System Classic

The X160's alluring and graceful bend is in part possible because it is a non-System pipe. "What I especially like about these pipes is that they represent one of the earliest non- System designs produced by Peterson," says Josh. "When we think about that early 20th century shape chart, what Peterson was primarily known for was the System pipe and its particular aesthetic — very muscular and meaty, with a heavier shank. This pipe is still uniquely Peterson, but it's not a System. It has design elements that you wouldn't find on a System pipe, namely that trim, really elegant shank. So I think it is distinctively Peterson, but it's a unique aesthetic that's not informed by the System."

It's a dedication to tradition that informs the Peterson Pipe of the Year. "We're all highly imaginative people here," says Glen, "and we could certainly do something completely out of the ordinary. But I think people enjoy what we're doing at the moment, and I think it's very important that we maintain that classic style that Peterson is so renowned for."

Now that they have invested the months of design time and experimentation and the hours and hours of silversmithing, texturing, sanding, and finishing, the hard-working people of Peterson await the reaction of the public. "I know that our consumers understand that we put an awful lot of thought and effort into a project like this," says Glen. "When we see the reaction of customers and the excitement surrounding new releases, that gives us a great sense of pride in what we're doing here. As long as we can keep making good pipes for our customers, it keeps everybody in every department happy. Everyone here appreciates it when there's a rush for Peterson pipes — whenever customers have a good reaction to any new release, it's a tip of the hat to the guys in the factory."