90
edits
Cooke, James T.: Difference between revisions
m
no edit summary
mNo edit summary |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:AMBER BARK Natural Standing Dublin.jpeg|thumb|The Standing Dublin, A Cooke Signature Shape]] | [[File:AMBER BARK Natural Standing Dublin.jpeg|thumb|The Standing Dublin, A Cooke Signature Shape]] | ||
Vermont native James T. “J. T.” Cooke, (b. 1949) has variously been called “the Bo Nordh of the blast,” “the supreme master” and “the Tessla of Sandblasting.” <ref>Fred J. Hanna, ''The Perfect Smoke'' , 146; David M., “In A Class All His Own,” ''Tobacco Days,'' August 8, 2011. http://tobaccodays.com/2011/08/j-t-cooke-in-a-class-all-his-own/ accessed 1/4/2021; Chuck Stanion, “J. T. Cooke: The Tesla of Pipe Sandblasting,” https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/jt-cooke-the-tesla-pipe-sandblasting , accessed 1/4/2021. | Vermont native James T. “J. T.” Cooke, (b. 1949) has variously been called “the Bo Nordh of the blast,” “the supreme master” and “the Tessla of Sandblasting.” <ref>Fred J. Hanna, ''The Perfect Smoke'' , 146; David M., “In A Class All His Own,” ''Tobacco Days,'' August 8, 2011. http://tobaccodays.com/2011/08/j-t-cooke-in-a-class-all-his-own/ accessed 1/4/2021; Chuck Stanion, “J. T. Cooke: The Tesla of Pipe Sandblasting,” https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/jt-cooke-the-tesla-pipe-sandblasting , accessed 1/4/2021. | ||
</ref> In 2022, he was awarded Doctor of Pipes by the Chicago Pipe Collectors Club, the equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscar for Lifetime Achievement Oscar. <ref>Chuck Stanion, “Doctors and Masters of Pipes: A Timeline,” https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/doctors-and-masters-pipes-timeline?utm_source=Smokingpipes.com&utm_campaign=18848e7cd7-Sun_Jun_12_2022_DailyReader&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0e8b6a473f-18848e7cd7-209228005 , accessed June 12, 2022.</ref> He has made two pipes of the year for ''Pipes & Tobaccos'' magazine, one in 1999 (in a run of 250) and a second (in a run of 50) in 2008. In 2005, he made an edition of 25 straight dublins for the NASPC club pipe. <ref>http://www.naspc.org/Pipe%20of%20the%20Year.htm, accessed 6/10/22.</ref> His pipes are renowned for offering a tactile and visual experience unlike any others in the world. His work is in such continuous demand that commissioned pipes have sometimes taken three to four years, resulting in a robust estate market where his pipes routinely sell for more than newly commissioned ones. | </ref> In 2022, he was awarded Doctor of Pipes by the Chicago Pipe Collectors Club, the equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscar for Lifetime Achievement Oscar. <ref>Chuck Stanion, “Doctors and Masters of Pipes: A Timeline,” https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/doctors-and-masters-pipes-timeline?utm_source=Smokingpipes.com&utm_campaign=18848e7cd7-Sun_Jun_12_2022_DailyReader&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0e8b6a473f-18848e7cd7-209228005 , accessed June 12, 2022.</ref> He has made two pipes of the year for ''Pipes & Tobaccos'' magazine, one in 1999 (in a run of 250) and a second (in a run of 50) in 2008. In 2005, he made an edition of 25 straight dublins for the NASPC club pipe. <ref>http://www.naspc.org/Pipe%20of%20the%20Year.htm, accessed 6/10/22.</ref> His pipes are renowned for offering a tactile and visual experience unlike any others in the world. His work is in such continuous demand that commissioned pipes have sometimes taken three to four years, resulting in a robust estate market where his pipes routinely sell for more than newly commissioned ones. | ||
[[File:P&T2008 05.jpg|thumb|J. T. at the lathe]] | |||
== Design Language == | == Design Language == | ||
| Line 35: | Line 37: | ||
Barry Levin of Levin Pipes International (LPI) was a close friend of Cooke’s until his death and was instrumental in Cooke’s growth as a pipe maker, providing J.T. with the opportunity to study thousands of pipes as he restored them. An important outgrowth of his partnership with Levin was Cooke’s interest in creating reproduction stems, which would lead to creating his own hand-poured acrylic stems. <ref>"Road Less Traveled.”</ref> | Barry Levin of Levin Pipes International (LPI) was a close friend of Cooke’s until his death and was instrumental in Cooke’s growth as a pipe maker, providing J.T. with the opportunity to study thousands of pipes as he restored them. An important outgrowth of his partnership with Levin was Cooke’s interest in creating reproduction stems, which would lead to creating his own hand-poured acrylic stems. <ref>"Road Less Traveled.”</ref> | ||
[[File:Repro Stems.jpg | [[File:Repro Stems.jpg|thumb|The wide range of J.T.'s hand-made reproduction stems|alt=|left]] | ||
[[File:1990 January complete.jpg|left|thumb|Photos from the J.T.&D. Cooke mail out, January 1990]] | [[File:1990 January complete.jpg|left|thumb|Photos from the J.T.&D. Cooke mail out, January 1990]] | ||
[[File:C007 1990 complete.jpg|thumb|A second set of J.T.&D. Cooke pipes from their 1990 mail outs]] | [[File:C007 1990 complete.jpg|thumb|A second set of J.T.&D. Cooke pipes from their 1990 mail outs]] | ||
| Line 45: | Line 47: | ||
=== Middle Period === | === Middle Period === | ||
[[File:C009 P&T 1999 doublte page for pipedia.jpg|left|thumb|''Pipe & Tobacco'' magazine's first-ever Pipe of the Year, Cooke's billiard, in an edition of 250 pipes (courtesy ''P&T'')]] | [[File:C009 P&T 1999 doublte page for pipedia.jpg|left|thumb|''Pipe & Tobacco'' magazine's first-ever Pipe of the Year, Cooke's billiard, in an edition of 250 pipes (courtesy ''P&T'')]] | ||
The transition to J. T.’s Middle Period is easily dated from the 1999 Pipe of the Year he agreed to make the first Pipe of the Year for ''Pipes & Tobaccos'' magazine, following on the heels of the important 1997 interview with editor Chuck Stanion in that magazine. By this time sandblasting had become Cooke’s métier as an artisan. As Stanion writes, <blockquote>J.T. designs his pipes to be sandblasted. That is, unlike those who try to make a smooth pipe and then sandblast it when necessary, he designs a pipe so the proportions will be correct after sandblasting. J.T. knows classic shapes and is a stickler. All that experience with Dunhill and Barling classics made him a devotee of traditional shapes. In my opinion, J.T. Cooke is nearly alone in his ability to make a perfectly proportioned, sandblasted Billiard . . . . His pipes can appear a little on the chunky side until you realize that you're just not accustomed to seeing sandblasted pipes with proper proportions. Generally, deep, craggy blasts are necessarily reduced from their original proportions. Not so with Cooke pipes. <ref>Stanion, “Tesla.”</ref></blockquote>Produced in an edition of 250 pipes, J. T. used the opportunity to “try to perfect his blasting technique” as Stanion recalls. “I learned something new with every pipe,” Cooke said. “Can you imagine what a perfect classroom that was? All the same classic Billiard shape, no confounding factors. I think I blasted all but six of those 250 pipes. That experience was like having the keys to the candy store. Total immersion in the blasting process. What an education.” <ref>Stanion, “Tesla.”</ref> The overwhelming demand of creating this many pipes, however, led to severe carpal tunnel syndrome which required surgery in January of 2000. <ref>“In A Class All His Own”; the operation took place January 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2000, per Cooke in an email to Mark Irwin, June 25, 2022.</ref> | The transition to J. T.’s Middle Period is easily dated from the 1999 Pipe of the Year he agreed to make the first Pipe of the Year for ''Pipes & Tobaccos'' magazine, following on the heels of the important 1997 interview with editor Chuck Stanion in that magazine. By this time sandblasting had become Cooke’s métier as an artisan. As Stanion writes, <blockquote> | ||
J.T. designs his pipes to be sandblasted. That is, unlike those who try to make a smooth pipe and then sandblast it when necessary, he designs a pipe so the proportions will be correct after sandblasting. J.T. knows classic shapes and is a stickler. All that experience with Dunhill and Barling classics made him a devotee of traditional shapes. In my opinion, J.T. Cooke is nearly alone in his ability to make a perfectly proportioned, sandblasted Billiard . . . . His pipes can appear a little on the chunky side until you realize that you're just not accustomed to seeing sandblasted pipes with proper proportions. Generally, deep, craggy blasts are necessarily reduced from their original proportions. Not so with Cooke pipes. <ref>Stanion, “Tesla.”</ref></blockquote>Produced in an edition of 250 pipes, J. T. used the opportunity to “try to perfect his blasting technique” as Stanion recalls. “I learned something new with every pipe,” Cooke said. “Can you imagine what a perfect classroom that was? All the same classic Billiard shape, no confounding factors. I think I blasted all but six of those 250 pipes. That experience was like having the keys to the candy store. Total immersion in the blasting process. What an education.” <ref>Stanion, “Tesla.”</ref> The overwhelming demand of creating this many pipes, however, led to severe carpal tunnel syndrome which required surgery in January of 2000. <ref>“In A Class All His Own”; the operation took place January 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2000, per Cooke in an email to Mark Irwin, June 25, 2022.</ref> | |||
=== Late Period === | === Late Period === | ||