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The Globalization of Tobacco Pipe Literature: Difference between revisions
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Is it possible that cigar smokers are more avid writers and readers — compared to pipe smokers — who believe that the more cigar books the better? It appears so by the extraordinary quantity of titles in so many languages. I have kept score through the years, and there are far too many books to list, but such a list would be of little interest to pipe smokers and pipe collectors. (BTW: there are at least five different English-language cigar magazines in circulation and just one for pipe smokers and collectors. Hint: It’s not The Pipe Smokers Journal offered on Amazon.) | Is it possible that cigar smokers are more avid writers and readers — compared to pipe smokers — who believe that the more cigar books the better? It appears so by the extraordinary quantity of titles in so many languages. I have kept score through the years, and there are far too many books to list, but such a list would be of little interest to pipe smokers and pipe collectors. (BTW: there are at least five different English-language cigar magazines in circulation and just one for pipe smokers and collectors. Hint: It’s not The Pipe Smokers Journal offered on Amazon.) | ||
In recent history, a few foreign-language pipe books have been released in English, and a couple English-language books have been published in foreign languages. This table lists only the authors, titles and the languages into which these books have been translated. Also included are titles penned by exophonic | In recent history, a few foreign-language pipe books have been released in English, and a couple English-language books have been published in foreign languages. This table lists only the authors, titles and the languages into which these books have been translated. Also included are titles penned by exophonic authors — writers of one nationality whose books have been published in a different language — which is an uncommon formula. Some books will be unfamiliar to those who do not read foreign languages, but their subject matter should be of interest to most pipe smokers. They are either (a) a history of tobacco pipes; (b) an illustrated survey of briar pipes and briar pipe makers; or (c) treatises on pipe smoking. No book on this list is solely about clay, meerschaum, porcelain, meerschaum, oriental, or ethnographic pipes. Hopefully, readers will find this article — exclusive to pipedia.org — elucidating and revelatory. | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {|class="wikitable" | ||
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Although intimately familiar with this field of literature, I am ill-equipped to answer why some books on this list were published in other languages, and others were not. It seems arbitrary ... no rhyme or reason. The fact that several English-language pipe books, e.g., Ehwa, Pimo, Schrier, Weber, and Wright, as examples, were not translated into other languages is a mystery to me. Admittedly, there are risks, such as cost and marketing concerns, but it’s probably the reputation of the author, or the scope of the book, or a combination of both that determines whether an English-language book gets published in a foreign language. To date, Hacker and Newcombe are the only exceptions. Both have name recognition beyond the United States, and both found willing German publishers, so there was, for a while, a welcoming market. As this list indicates, U.S. commercial publishing houses have not been actively seeking works in translation as part of their publishing mission, at least as of this writing. | Although intimately familiar with this field of literature, I am ill-equipped to answer why some books on this list were published in other languages, and others were not. It seems arbitrary ... no rhyme or reason. The fact that several English-language pipe books, e.g., Ehwa, Pimo, Schrier, Weber, and Wright, as examples, were not translated into other languages is a mystery to me. Admittedly, there are risks, such as cost and marketing concerns, but it’s probably the reputation of the author, or the scope of the book, or a combination of both that determines whether an English-language book gets published in a foreign language. To date, Hacker and Newcombe are the only exceptions. Both have name recognition beyond the United States, and both found willing German publishers, so there was, for a while, a welcoming market. As this list indicates, U.S. commercial publishing houses have not been actively seeking works in translation as part of their publishing mission, at least as of this writing. | ||
Today, if an American author has a print-ready manuscript, his challenge is to find an established publisher who would consider printing it. Getting a U.S. editor to stake his reputation on publishing a pipe (or tobacco) book in any language is notoriously difficult; getting it published in two languages is a double whammy. Self-publishing is also a challenge, and if the author wants his book to be bilingual, translation is much more than a word-swapping exercise between two languages. Translating a book from one language to another gives it visibility to an expanded audience. Nevertheless, pipe books are a tough sell in the United States | Today, if an American author has a print-ready manuscript, his challenge is to find an established publisher who would consider printing it. Getting a U.S. editor to stake his reputation on publishing a pipe (or tobacco) book in any language is notoriously difficult; getting it published in two languages is a double whammy. Self-publishing is also a challenge, and if the author wants his book to be bilingual, translation is much more than a word-swapping exercise between two languages. Translating a book from one language to another gives it visibility to an expanded audience. Nevertheless, pipe books are a tough sell in the United States nowadays — anti-tobacco books are not — and this may also be true in Europe where there is a very active anti-smoking battle and strict anti-smoking laws have been enacted. As an aside, the Hamburg, Germany, publisher Automatenverlag has refurbished and repurposed old cigarette automats to sell books in the belief that buyers will not “kick the habit” of buying them. | ||
Now to my own view on the book biz. The American pipe-smoking and -collecting community is substantial, yet there aren’t many folks authoring books on pipes lately and, coincidentally, there aren’t many pipers who are purchasing pipe books, whether in English or in a foreign language. What I do know with certainty is that the price of any pipe book in any language is a very small fraction of the cost of any pipe, so it can’t be the price that prevents a pipe smoker or collector from buying the occasional book. The internet is most likely the reason why pipe books no longer sell well. | Now to my own view on the book biz. The American pipe-smoking and -collecting community is substantial, yet there aren’t many folks authoring books on pipes lately and, coincidentally, there aren’t many pipers who are purchasing pipe books, whether in English or in a foreign language. What I do know with certainty is that the price of any pipe book in any language is a very small fraction of the cost of any pipe, so it can’t be the price that prevents a pipe smoker or collector from buying the occasional book. The internet is most likely the reason why pipe books no longer sell well. | ||