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Cooke, James T.: Difference between revisions
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=== Late Period === | === Late Period === | ||
The Late Period, again while somewhat arbitrary, | The Late Period, again while somewhat arbitrary, is conveniently dated by the second Pipe of the Year for ''Pipes & Tobaccos'' magazine in 2008, reinforced in the ephemera on Cooke by an important double-page spread of his pipes appearing in the spring 2008 Uptown’s Smoke Shop catalog. In the catalog we see the mature, fully-developed style—not that Cooke hadn’t made such masterpieces before—but now, the pages seem to say, ''this'' is what Cooke does, ''this'' is who he is as a pipe maker. | ||
Notice that while there’s only one smooth shape on the page, | Notice that while there’s only one smooth shape on the page, his abiding interest in classic English shapes is amply represented. There’s also, however, a volcano and a hawkbill, shapes newly in vogue at the time of the catalog and important in testifying to J. T.’s interest in current tastes and trends. The straight billiard—always a Cooke favorite—is also well represented. The Cobra Bulldog, which will be a Cooke signature shape, has also been developed by this time. | ||
Finally, notice the stem and stain work: in addition to black, the reproduction amber is also in evidence, as are the custom-color swirl stems in the volcano and the hawkbill (#4). | Finally, notice the stem and stain work: in addition to black, the reproduction amber is also in evidence, as are the custom-color swirl stems in the volcano and the hawkbill (#4). Cooke's three stain colors are also in evidence: the black (a midnight purple), the brown (which varies according to the wood used) and the natural, the most difficult to produce. | ||
While J. T.’s shape catalog has become more and more distinctive and uniquely his own over the past ten to fifteen years, there is constant experimentation and new shapes still appear with regularity. 13 For example, the Christmas Bell, a dublin bell with special stain and custom stem, has appeared since 2016, but only one is made annually, just before the holiday. | Cooke also agreed to do a second Pipe of the Year for ''Pipes & Tobaccos'' magazine for 2008, a distinctive brandy in an edition of fifty numbered pipes. | ||
While J. T.’s shape catalog has become more and more distinctive and uniquely his own over the past ten to fifteen years, there is constant experimentation and new shapes still appear with regularity. 13 For example, the Christmas Bell, a dublin bell shape with special stain and custom stem, has appeared since 2016, but only one is made annually, just before the holiday. | |||
== Engineering == | == Engineering == | ||
'' “I average one pipe a week, and that is a a long week of work.” '' | '' “I average one pipe a week, and that is a a long week of work.” ''—J. T. Cooke <ref>Email to Mark Irwin, June 24, 2022.</ref> | ||
—J. T. Cooke | |||
=== Airflow === | === Airflow === | ||
It goes without saying that pipe smokers are initially attracted visually to the pipes they choose to smoke. Far more important but either ignored or underestimated is a pipe’s engineering, on what’s going on inside the pipe. When J. T. parted from Briar Workshop upon their relocation to Florida to make his own pipes, he was, writes Chuck Stanion, “entranced by the possibilities of improved internal engineering and the reduction of smoke turbulence within a pipe.” 15 | It goes without saying that pipe smokers are initially attracted visually to the pipes they choose to smoke. Far more important but either ignored or underestimated is a pipe’s engineering, on what’s going on inside the pipe. When J. T. parted from Briar Workshop upon their relocation to Florida to make his own pipes, he was, writes Chuck Stanion, “entranced by the possibilities of improved internal engineering and the reduction of smoke turbulence within a pipe.” 15 | ||