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Before I proceed, I want to be clear about which pipe club I am writing about. It is not about the Pipe Club at Aston University in Great Britain that encourages entrepreneurial spirit and offers activities to individuals interested in starting a business in a variety of different sectors. It’s not about Pipe Club—No. 1 through No. 5 tobacco blends from Kohlhase, Kopp & Co. It’s not about the Tahoe Pipe Club, because its sole focus is educating the public about water-quality issues in the Lake Tahoe area. It’s not about the club that promotes and teaches uilleann pipes, the Irish version of bagpipes. It’s not about this pipe club: “Before 1876 all attempts to prevent it [intercommunication] had been virtually abandoned, and the political prisoners had formed what they called ‘Water-closet Clubs’ or ‘Pipe Clubs,’ for social intercourse and mutual improvement. Each club consisted of ten or twelve members, and had its own name and rules” (“Russian State Prisoners. ‘Pipe Clubs of Political Prisoners,’” The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, November 1887 to April 1888). And it’s certainly not about this pipe club: ''Macrotyphula fistulopsa'' (Typhulaceae), a fairly common, widespread fungus.
Before I proceed, I want to be clear about which pipe club I am writing about. It is not about the Pipe Club at Aston University in Great Britain that encourages entrepreneurial spirit and offers activities to individuals interested in starting a business in a variety of different sectors. It’s not about Pipe Club—No. 1 through No. 5 tobacco blends from Kohlhase, Kopp & Co. It’s not about the Tahoe Pipe Club, because its sole focus is educating the public about water-quality issues in the Lake Tahoe area. It’s not about the club that promotes and teaches uilleann pipes, the Irish version of bagpipes. It’s not about this pipe club: “Before 1876 all attempts to prevent it [intercommunication] had been virtually abandoned, and the political prisoners had formed what they called ‘Water-closet Clubs’ or ‘Pipe Clubs,’ for social intercourse and mutual improvement. Each club consisted of ten or twelve members, and had its own name and rules” (“Russian State Prisoners. ‘Pipe Clubs of Political Prisoners,’” ''The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine'', November 1887 to April 1888). And it’s certainly not about this pipe club: ''Macrotyphula fistulopsa'' (Typhulaceae), a fairly common, widespread fungus.


This narrative is about that place where men (and women) get together to enjoy the pleasures of pipes and tobacco. The pipe club has been a transformative phenomenon in pipe-smoking circles. It is not a recent event, as some newcomers to pipe-smoking might believe. Its appearance was in the 20th century, and its genesis is the smoking-room—the French called it ''le fumoir''—in 18th-century England. Smoking-clubs had the same purpose as pipe clubs today: pipes, tobacco, camaraderie and conversation.
This narrative is about that place where men (and women) get together to enjoy the pleasures of pipes and tobacco. The pipe club has been a transformative phenomenon in pipe-smoking circles. It is not a recent event, as some newcomers to pipe-smoking might believe. Its appearance was in the 20th century, and its genesis is the smoking-room—the French called it ''le fumoir''—in 18th-century England. Smoking-clubs had the same purpose as pipe clubs today: pipes, tobacco, camaraderie and conversation.
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Why this topic? I’ve been writing about pipes and tobacco for more than 50 years, and my creative engine, along with the rest of me, is slowing grinding to a halt. I have not smoked a pipe for a number of years, and I miss that small pleasure. In these same 50 years, I never joined a pipe club, although I’ve had opportunities to do so. I am well aware of their burgeoning popularity throughout the country and overseas. I have written about one club, the Seattle Pipe Club (''Pipes & Tobaccos'', Spring, 2009). I now write about its origin some 400 years earlier when it was known as a smoking-club and to make some observations about today’s pipe clubs.
Why this topic? I’ve been writing about pipes and tobacco for more than 50 years, and my creative engine, along with the rest of me, is slowing grinding to a halt. I have not smoked a pipe for a number of years, and I miss that small pleasure. In these same 50 years, I never joined a pipe club, although I’ve had opportunities to do so. I am well aware of their burgeoning popularity throughout the country and overseas. I have written about one club, the Seattle Pipe Club (''Pipes & Tobaccos'', Spring, 2009). I now write about its origin some 400 years earlier when it was known as a smoking-club and to make some observations about today’s pipe clubs.


I’ve made every effort to present historical facts and events in chronological order and, in places, I ignored the chronology to include many colorful comments, salty snippets, and tawdry tidbits that shed light on these bygone smoking-clubs, because they were the topic du jour for at least a half-century. These are presented in the order of their publication date, although they may refer to an earlier time.  
I’ve made every effort to present historical facts and events in chronological order and, in places, I ignored the chronology to include many colorful comments, salty snippets, and tawdry tidbits that shed light on these bygone smoking-clubs, because they were the topic ''du jour'' for at least a half-century. These are presented in the order of their publication date, although they may refer to an earlier time.  


To begin, the upper classes of 18th-century England indulged themselves heartily in tobacco, reveling in the thick, luscious clouds of smoke. A country gentleman might join a private club that had a smoking-room. The gentleman’s club was the locus, par excellence, for manly conversation and relaxation, aided by the consumption of a good glass of beer or punch and a fine, long, slow-burning pipeful of tobacco. During Queen Anne’s reign (1702–1714), the According to Margaret Bertha Synge, ''A short history of social life in England'' (2020), The Twopenny Club had some strict rules: “Every member shall fill his pipe out of his own box. If any member swears or curses, his neighbour may give him a kick upon the shins. If any member tell stories in the Club that are not true, he shall forfeit for every third Lie one Half-Penny.”  
To begin, the upper classes of 18th-century England indulged themselves heartily in tobacco, reveling in the thick, luscious clouds of smoke. A country gentleman might join a private club that had a smoking-room. The gentleman’s club was the locus, par excellence, for manly conversation and relaxation, aided by the consumption of a good glass of beer or punch and a fine, long, slow-burning pipeful of tobacco. During Queen Anne’s reign (1702–1714), the According to Margaret Bertha Synge, ''A short history of social life in England'' (2020), The Twopenny Club had some strict rules: “Every member shall fill his pipe out of his own box. If any member swears or curses, his neighbour may give him a kick upon the shins. If any member tell stories in the Club that are not true, he shall forfeit for every third Lie one Half-Penny.”  


[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-1.JPG|thumb|center|600px|James Gillray (1793/7), courtesy, cambridge.org]]
[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-1.JPG|thumb|center|600px|James Gillray (1793/7), courtesy, cambridge.org]]


In 1826, “Leigh Hunt [English critic, essayist, and poet] described with nostalgia the clouds of smoke that surrounded the community of pipe smokers in the early coffee houses. Yet Hunt associated pipes with drunkards, whilst cigars were the ‘mildest as well as the most fashionable form of tobacco-taking.’ For Hunt, cigar smoking was a private habit associated with the drawing-room. Otherwise, more genteel smokers gathered in male ‘smoking clubs’ or had to restrict their smoking to the alehouse. By 1800 it was noted with surprise how early eighteenth-century coffee houses had allowed smoking to be ‘permitted in the publick room’” (William Tullett, ''Smell in Eighteenth-Century England. A Social Sense'', 2019).
In 1826, “Leigh Hunt [English critic, essayist, and poet] described with nostalgia the clouds of smoke that surrounded the community of pipe smokers in the early coffee houses. Yet Hunt associated pipes with drunkards, whilst cigars were the ‘mildest as well as the most fashionable form of tobacco-taking.’ For Hunt, cigar smoking was a private habit associated with the drawing-room. Otherwise, more genteel smokers gathered in male ‘smoking clubs’ or had to restrict their smoking to the alehouse. By 1800 it was noted with surprise how early eighteenth-century coffee houses had allowed smoking to be ‘permitted in the publick room’” (William Tullett, ''Smell in Eighteenth-Century England. A Social Sense'', 2019).


<blockquote>“The object of clubs is often asserted to be, the promotion of trade, human conversation, and the communication of curious and scientific matter; but, according to an old writer, he gives this opinion, that ‘most considerate men who have ever been engaged in such sort of compotations, have found, by experience, that the general end thereof is a promiscuous encouragement of vice, faction, and folly. …There have been clubs so designated is most certain; but the practice of smoking is too universal to misapply the term when speaking of clubs in general” (Tavern Anecdotes, and Reminiscences of the Origin of Signs, Clubs, Coffee-Houses, Streets, City Companies, Wards, &c., 1825). </blockquote>
<blockquote>“The object of clubs is often asserted to be, the promotion of trade, human conversation, and the communication of curious and scientific matter; but, according to an old writer, he gives this opinion, that ‘most considerate men who have ever been engaged in such sort of compotations, have found, by experience, that the general end thereof is a promiscuous encouragement of vice, faction, and folly. …There have been clubs so designated is most certain; but the practice of smoking is too universal to misapply the term when speaking of clubs in general” (''Tavern Anecdotes, and Reminiscences of the Origin of Signs, Clubs, Coffee-Houses, Streets, City Companies, Wards, &c.'', 1825). </blockquote>


The Reverend George Crabbe penned a lengthy poem, “Clubs and Social Meetings” in 1845. I quote one segment:
The Reverend George Crabbe penned a lengthy poem, “Clubs and Social Meetings” in 1845. I quote one segment:


A Club there is of Smokers—Dare you come<br>
A Club there is of Smokers—Dare you come
To that close crowded, hot, narcotic room?<br>
To that close crowded, hot, narcotic room?
When midnight past, the very candles seem<br>
When midnight past, the very candles seem
Dying for air, and give a ghastly gleam;<br>
Dying for air, and give a ghastly gleam;
When curling fumes in lazy wreaths arise, <br>
When curling fumes in lazy wreaths arise,
When the long tale, renew’d when they last met,<br>
When the long tale, renew’d when they last met,
Is spliced anew, and is unfinish’d yet;<br>
Is spliced anew, and is unfinish’d yet;
When but a few are left the house to tire,<br>
When but a few are left the house to tire,
And they half sleeping by the sleepy fire;<br>
And they half sleeping by the sleepy fire;
Ev’n the poor ventilating Vane that flew<br>
Ev’n the poor ventilating Vane that flew
Of late, so fast, is now grown drowsy too.
Of late, so fast, is now grown drowsy too.


<blockquote>“O think, of that den of abomination, which, I am told, has been established in some clubs, called the Smoking Room,—think of the debauchees who congregate there, the quantities of reeking whiskey-punch or more dangerous sherry-cobbler which they consume; —think of them coming home at cock-crow and letting themselves into the quiet house with the Chubb key…” (“The Snobs of England,” ''Punch, or The London Charivari'', Volume The Twelfth, January to June 1847).
<blockquote>“O think, of that den of abomination, which, I am told, has been established in some clubs, called the Smoking Room,—think of the debauchees who congregate there, the quantities of reeking whiskey-punch or more dangerous sherry-cobbler which they consume; —think of them coming home at cock-crow and letting themselves into the quiet house with the Chubb key…” (“The Snobs of England,” ''Punch, or The London Charivari'', Volume The Twelfth, January to June 1847).
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[W]hen Thackeray wrote the story [Fitz-Boodle] smoking had not become the general habit it is to-day. No gentleman in those days was seen smoking even a ‘weed’ in the streets. Cigarettes were practically unheard of in England, and outside one’s private smoking-room pipes were tabooed. Men in Society slunk into their smoking-rooms, or, when there was no smoking-room, into the kitchen or servants’ hall, after the domestics had retired. A smoking-jacket was worn in place of their ordinary evening coat, and their well-oiled massive head of hair was protected by a gorgeously decorated smoking-cap” (William Makepeace Thackeray, ''The Fitz-Boodle Papers and Other Sketches'', 1911).</blockquote>
[W]hen Thackeray wrote the story [Fitz-Boodle] smoking had not become the general habit it is to-day. No gentleman in those days was seen smoking even a ‘weed’ in the streets. Cigarettes were practically unheard of in England, and outside one’s private smoking-room pipes were tabooed. Men in Society slunk into their smoking-rooms, or, when there was no smoking-room, into the kitchen or servants’ hall, after the domestics had retired. A smoking-jacket was worn in place of their ordinary evening coat, and their well-oiled massive head of hair was protected by a gorgeously decorated smoking-cap” (William Makepeace Thackeray, ''The Fitz-Boodle Papers and Other Sketches'', 1911).</blockquote>


By the way, velvet was the ideal material for the smoking-cap, also called a smoking-hat or lounging cap, because the velvet absorbed the smoke and did not contaminate clothes. (Read “Smoking-Cap: In Colors,” Peterson’s Magazine, 1867.) For the gentleman-smoker, there was also the smoking-suit.  
By the way, velvet was the ideal material for the smoking-cap, also called a smoking-hat or lounging cap, because the velvet absorbed the smoke and did not contaminate clothes. (Read “Smoking-Cap: In Colors,” ''Peterson’s Magazine'', 1867.) For the gentleman-smoker, there was also the smoking-suit.  


<blockquote>Nearly every man who goes out much has his smoking suit, and some worn by heavy swells are very elaborate and costly. I have heard of one that cost its owner the modest sum of £40. The code of the smoking suit was, according to this story, quite severely enforced by one’s peers. One suspects that the tale originated with the makers of such garments (''San Francisco Argonaut'', undated).
<blockquote>Nearly every man who goes out much has his smoking suit, and some worn by heavy swells are very elaborate and costly. I have heard of one that cost its owner the modest sum of £40. The code of the smoking suit was, according to this story, quite severely enforced by one’s peers. One suspects that the tale originated with the makers of such garments (''San Francisco Argonaut'', undated).


Mrs Daffodil’s Aide-memoire: Smoking suits, jackets, and caps were designed to keep the smell of tobacco, said to be offensive, particularly to the ladies, off the gentleman’s person. No doubt there were some households where smoking was forbidden and visiting smokers had to lie on their backs and smoke up the chimney, but it is also a fact that many ladies also enjoyed cigarettes in the privacy of their own boudoirs (''Birmingham [West Midlands England] Daily Post'', October 25, 1889).  
Mrs Daffodil’s ''Aide-memoire'': Smoking suits, jackets, and caps were designed to keep the smell of tobacco, said to be offensive, particularly to the ladies, off the gentleman’s person. No doubt there were some households where smoking was forbidden and visiting smokers had to lie on their backs and smoke up the chimney, but it is also a fact that many ladies also enjoyed cigarettes in the privacy of their own boudoirs (''Birmingham [West Midlands England] Daily Post'', October 25, 1889).  


After admitting the absolute necessity of ''allowing'' the members to smoke ''somewhere'' in the club, she continues: ‘To ''forbid'' smoking, therefore, is to exclude then men; to banish them to a separate smoking-room is to confirm and strengthen ''a bad habit'', but ''allow'' them to smoke in a club-room, where they are amused and occupied, and the pipe will go out, which often leads to the discarding of it altogether’” (B. T. Hall, ''Our Fifty Years: The Story of the Working Men’s Club And Institute Union'', 1912).
After admitting the absolute necessity of ''allowing'' the members to smoke ''somewhere'' in the club, she continues: ‘To ''forbid'' smoking, therefore, is to exclude then men; to banish them to a separate smoking-room is to confirm and strengthen ''a bad habit'', but ''allow'' them to smoke in a club-room, where they are amused and occupied, and the pipe will go out, which often leads to the discarding of it altogether’” (B. T. Hall, ''Our Fifty Years: The Story of the Working Men’s Club And Institute Union'', 1912).
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The most famous American public pipe club with a lengthy history is Keens in New York City. Before Keens was a restaurant, it was the Lambs Club—also written as Lamb’s Club—a famous theatre and literary group founded in London. Established in 1874, The Lambs Club was America’s first professional theatrical club for Broadway and film actors and actresses; its manager was Albert Keen. There are many comments as to how and when it began.  
The most famous American public pipe club with a lengthy history is Keens in New York City. Before Keens was a restaurant, it was the Lambs Club—also written as Lamb’s Club—a famous theatre and literary group founded in London. Established in 1874, The Lambs Club was America’s first professional theatrical club for Broadway and film actors and actresses; its manager was Albert Keen. There are many comments as to how and when it began.  


The Lambs Club became Keens when, in 1885, Albert Keen opened Keen’s English Chop House—now known as Keens Steakhouse—as a gentlemen’s smoking club that also served food. It’s the second-oldest steakhouse in the city. (The oldest is the Old Homestead Steakhouse that opened in the Meatpacking District in 1868.) Keens pipe club was established in the early 1900s with a display that may have replicated the concept of Ye Olde Tavern on Duane Street; some say that Keen adopted the idea from England. (There was a tradition in 17th-century England of travelers keeping their clay pipe at their favorite inn. Consider that one could not walk and, simultaneously, hold a churchwarden in his mouth; it was a pipe for sedentary contemplation.)  
The Lambs Club became Keens when, in 1885, Albert Keen opened Keen’s English Chop House—now known as [[Keens Steakhouse]]—as a gentlemen’s smoking club that also served food. It’s the second-oldest steakhouse in the city. (The oldest is the Old Homestead Steakhouse that opened in the Meatpacking District in 1868.) Keens pipe club was established in the early 1900s with a display that may have replicated the concept of Ye Olde Tavern on Duane Street; some say that Keen adopted the idea from England. (There was a tradition in 17th-century England of travelers keeping their clay pipe at their favorite inn. Consider that one could not walk and, simultaneously, hold a churchwarden in his mouth; it was a pipe for sedentary contemplation.)  


“Keens soon became the lively and accepted rendezvous of the famous. Actors in full stage make-up hurried through the rear door to ‘fortify’ themselves between acts at the neighboring Garrick Theatre. By the time Keens celebrated its 20th anniversary, you could glance into the Pipe Room and see the jovial congregations of producers, playwrights, publishers and newspaper men who frequented Keens” (keens.com). “Its low ceiling is lined with tens of thousands of clay churchwarden pipes, each numbered and carefully catalogued by a pipe warden so pipe boys would be sure to deliver the right smoking device to each one of the 90,000 members of the Pipe Club, a group that originated at Keens in the early 1900s” (Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin, ''The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook'', 2011). “Early in the early 20th century, the owners of what was then the Lambs Club restaurant/tavern began collecting long, thin-stemmed clay Colonial ‘churchwarden’ pipes. Tradition dictated that after you smoked your pipe in the tavern you gave it to a ‘warden’ to store for you, as they were so fragile they broke easily when transported. When you returned to the tavern, you asked for your pipe and the warden retrieved it” (Rick Browne, ''A Century of Restaurants'', 2013). “The clay churchwarden pipes were brought from the Netherlands and as many as 50,000 were ordered every three years. A pipe warden registered and stored the pipes, while pipe boys returned the pipes from storage to the patrons” (1000thingsnyc.com). According to ''Esquire'' magazine (Vol. 11, 1939): “Also the pipe club members receive a plum pudding at Christmas…” James Conley, Keen’s service director and house historian, declared that the pipe club was active until 1978.  
“Keens soon became the lively and accepted rendezvous of the famous. Actors in full stage make-up hurried through the rear door to ‘fortify’ themselves between acts at the neighboring Garrick Theatre. By the time Keens celebrated its 20th anniversary, you could glance into the Pipe Room and see the jovial congregations of producers, playwrights, publishers and newspaper men who frequented Keens” (keens.com). “Its low ceiling is lined with tens of thousands of clay churchwarden pipes, each numbered and carefully catalogued by a pipe warden so pipe boys would be sure to deliver the right smoking device to each one of the 90,000 members of the Pipe Club, a group that originated at Keens in the early 1900s” (Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin, ''The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook'', 2011). “Early in the early 20th century, the owners of what was then the Lambs Club restaurant/tavern began collecting long, thin-stemmed clay Colonial ‘churchwarden’ pipes. Tradition dictated that after you smoked your pipe in the tavern you gave it to a ‘warden’ to store for you, as they were so fragile they broke easily when transported. When you returned to the tavern, you asked for your pipe and the warden retrieved it” (Rick Browne, ''A Century of Restaurants'', 2013). “The clay churchwarden pipes were brought from the Netherlands and as many as 50,000 were ordered every three years. A pipe warden registered and stored the pipes, while pipe boys returned the pipes from storage to the patrons” (1000thingsnyc.com). According to ''Esquire'' magazine (Vol. 11, 1939): “Also the pipe club members receive a plum pudding at Christmas…” James Conley, Keen’s service director and house historian, declared that the pipe club was active until 1978.  
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This might have been the only American department store with a pipe club. In 1939, “A new pipe club was set up in the Esquire Room restaurant, with pipes, tobacco, and a dark oak pipe rack all supplied free of charge by Gable’s [a department store in Altoona, Pennsylvania]. Members had 131 pipes and high grade tobacco like Prince Albert and Sir Walter Raleigh at their disposal, for use in the Esquire Room. The only. Requirement was that the members be regular patrons of the Esquire Room restaurant” (Robert Jeschonek, ''The Glory of Gable’s'', 2019).
This might have been the only American department store with a pipe club. In 1939, “A new pipe club was set up in the Esquire Room restaurant, with pipes, tobacco, and a dark oak pipe rack all supplied free of charge by Gable’s [a department store in Altoona, Pennsylvania]. Members had 131 pipes and high grade tobacco like Prince Albert and Sir Walter Raleigh at their disposal, for use in the Esquire Room. The only. Requirement was that the members be regular patrons of the Esquire Room restaurant” (Robert Jeschonek, ''The Glory of Gable’s'', 2019).


[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-4.JPG|thumb|Courtesy, pipelovinladies.tumblr.com]]The earliest female club, the “Women’s Pipe Smokers Club,” was founded in 1926. The photo depicts its founders.  
[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-4.JPG|thumb|The Founders of the "Women's Pipe Smoking Club". Courtesy, pipelovinladies.tumblr.com]]The earliest female club, the “Women’s Pipe Smokers Club,” was founded in 1926. The photo depicts its founders.  


(The Merrilee Jones “Lady Pipe Smoker Club” is on Pinterest, and there’s a short black and white video clip, “Pipe Smoking Lady,” at British Pathé.)
(The Merrilee Jones “Lady Pipe Smoker Club” is on Pinterest, and there’s a short black and white video clip, “Pipe Smoking Lady,” at British Pathé.)
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[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-6.JPG|thumb|center|400px|Courtesy, lva.virginia.gov]]
[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-6.JPG|thumb|center|400px|Courtesy, lva.virginia.gov]]


On May 20, 1941, members of the Young Women’s Republican Club of Milford, Connecticut, got together to partake in the pleasure of pipe-smoking to demonstrate that smoking was not just an exclusive, collegial activity for men.
On May 20, 1941, members of the Young Women’s Republican Club of Milford, Connecticut, got together to partake in the pleasure of pipe-smoking to demonstrate that smoking was not just an exclusive, collegial activity for men.


[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-7.JPG|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, vintag.es]]
[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-7.JPG|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, vintag.es]]  


“In December 1942, Edwin La Fumee, Secretary of the Friends’ Pipe Club asked [Herbert] Hoover to send a used pipe for the club to display. First I must comment that La Fumee is the perfect name for a pipe advocate. Hoover graciously sent a ‘lightly used’ pipe to the club. Adding his stem to the ranks of pipes donated by such luminaries as: Jackie Cooper, Bing Crosby and Ronald Reagan [the actor, not yet a politician]” (Matthew Schaefer, “I Might as well Finish my Smoke…” hoover.blogs.archgives.gov). Unfortunately, I came up empty searching the Web for this club. George Yale, a tobacconist in New York City often advertised in Popular Mechanics in the early 1940s: “Free to all pipe smokers! A year’s subscription to our illustrated catalogs read by over 90,000 enthusiastic smokers. Collectors, connoisseurs, and ''pipe club members'' (my italics) will enjoy fascinating facts about briar, meerschaum, corncob, clay, odd pipes, tobaccos, blending, smokers’ accessories, etc. Send for your free copy today.”  
“In December 1942, Edwin La Fumee, Secretary of the Friends’ Pipe Club asked [Herbert] Hoover to send a used pipe for the club to display. First I must comment that La Fumee is the perfect name for a pipe advocate. Hoover graciously sent a ‘lightly used’ pipe to the club. Adding his stem to the ranks of pipes donated by such luminaries as: Jackie Cooper, Bing Crosby and Ronald Reagan [the actor, not yet a politician]” (Matthew Schaefer, “I Might as well Finish my Smoke…” hoover.blogs.archgives.gov). Unfortunately, I came up empty searching the Web for this club. George Yale, a tobacconist in New York City often advertised in Popular Mechanics in the early 1940s: “Free to all pipe smokers! A year’s subscription to our illustrated catalogs read by over 90,000 enthusiastic smokers. Collectors, connoisseurs, and ''pipe club members'' (my italics) will enjoy fascinating facts about briar, meerschaum, corncob, clay, odd pipes, tobaccos, blending, smokers’ accessories, etc. Send for your free copy today.”  
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This photo illustrates the participants at the first convention of the National Association of Pipe Smoking Clubs.  
This photo illustrates the participants at the first convention of the National Association of Pipe Smoking Clubs.  


[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-8.JPG|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, iapsc.net]]
[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-8.JPG|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, iapsc.net]]  


I may be the only critic, but the word “International” is a trifle hyperbolic. There are about a  dozen member clubs and they’re all in the United States. Since 1949, it has hosted an annual World Pipe Smoking Contest and posted the World Pipe Smoking Champions on its website, but these winners are from these clubs. None have competed in the International Pipe Smoking Championship hosted by the ''Comité International des Pipe Clubs'' (CIPC) in which members of every pipe club affiliated with it, including members of those clubs belonging to the United Pipe Clubs of America (UPCA) can compete. More about the CIPC and UPCA follows.  
I may be the only critic, but the word “International” is a trifle hyperbolic. There are about a  dozen member clubs and they’re all in the United States. Since 1949, it has hosted an annual World Pipe Smoking Contest and posted the World Pipe Smoking Champions on its website, but these winners are from these clubs. None have competed in the International Pipe Smoking Championship hosted by the ''Comité International des Pipe Clubs'' (CIPC) in which members of every pipe club affiliated with it, including members of those clubs belonging to the United Pipe Clubs of America (UPCA) can compete. More about the CIPC and UPCA follows.  
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This next pipe club was reported in the ''Montreal Gazette'' on April 13, 2019. “History Through Our Eyes: April 13, 1954, a pipe-smoking club.” The lead sentence was “Pipe-smoking as a club activity seems to have disappeared from the social landscape, but that was not the case in the 1950s.” Talk about sharing a puff, this is a 1954 photograph of members of the Maple Leaf Smoking Club partaking of the world’s “only known electric pipe.” (Pipe-smoking clubs may have disappeared in Canada, but they were popular elsewhere and for quite some time.)
This next pipe club was reported in the ''Montreal Gazette'' on April 13, 2019. “History Through Our Eyes: April 13, 1954, a pipe-smoking club.” The lead sentence was “Pipe-smoking as a club activity seems to have disappeared from the social landscape, but that was not the case in the 1950s.” Talk about sharing a puff, this is a 1954 photograph of members of the Maple Leaf Smoking Club partaking of the world’s “only known electric pipe.” (Pipe-smoking clubs may have disappeared in Canada, but they were popular elsewhere and for quite some time.)


[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-9.JPG|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, montrealgazette.com]]
[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-9.JPG|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, montrealgazette.com]]  


If you want to know all there is to know about pipe clubs in the United States in the mid-20th century, there’s only one place to find it: Pipe Lovers magazine. Just about every one of its 52 issues contained an announcement about the establishment of local and state-level pipe clubs. For example, in the January 1950 issue: “Pipe Clubs: New Nation-Wide Club of Lady Pipe Smokers Announces Five Chapters from Coast to Coast. Well men, the women are forging ahead. They’re really doing something about starting pipe clubs—of women—exclusively! The Toby Pipe Club Smoking Club which was first announced in the October [1949 issue] now has five chapters, with new ones being added daily.”  
If you want to know all there is to know about pipe clubs in the United States in the mid-20th century, there’s only one place to find it: ''Pipe Lovers'' magazine. Just about every one of its 52 issues contained an announcement about the establishment of local and state-level pipe clubs. For example, in the January 1950 issue: “Pipe Clubs: New Nation-Wide Club of Lady Pipe Smokers Announces Five Chapters from Coast to Coast. Well men, the women are forging ahead. They’re really doing something about starting pipe clubs—of women—exclusively! The Toby Pipe Club Smoking Club which was first announced in the October [1949 issue] now has five chapters, with new ones being added daily.”  


Ethan Colbert wrote this for ''The Missourian'', January 22, 2023: “The Photos Tell The Story: A look back to when pipe smoking enthusiasts descended on Washington” when the International Association of Pipe Smokers’ Clubs participated in its 17th annual convention and contest at the Washington Town & Country Fair in 1965. It was hosted by the Corn Cob Club of Washington, Missouri.
Ethan Colbert wrote this for ''The Missourian'', January 22, 2023: “The Photos Tell The Story: A look back to when pipe smoking enthusiasts descended on Washington” when the International Association of Pipe Smokers’ Clubs participated in its 17th annual convention and contest at the Washington Town & Country Fair in 1965. It was hosted by the Corn Cob Club of Washington, Missouri.


[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-10.JPG|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, emissourian.com]]
[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-10.JPG|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, emissourian.com]]


The oldest European collective is the CIPC, headquartered in Saint-Claude, France—the same city that hosts the ''Confrérie des Maîtres-Pipiers''—that brings together pipe clubs from around the world for a slow-smoking competition. It was founded in 1973, when there were very few pipe clubs in Europe. Its mission: “We foster links across the globe in honor of friendship and to celebrate the fraternity of pipe-smokers across all borders.” There are now 30 national member clubs across America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. As many as 400 or more participants, representing their national pipe clubs, attend the annual event.
The oldest European collective is the CIPC, headquartered in Saint-Claude, France—the same city that hosts the ''Confrérie des Maîtres-Pipiers''—that brings together pipe clubs from around the world for a slow-smoking competition. It was founded in 1973, when there were very few pipe clubs in Europe. Its mission: “We foster links across the globe in honor of friendship and to celebrate the fraternity of pipe-smokers across all borders.” There are now 30 national member clubs across America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. As many as 400 or more participants, representing their national pipe clubs, attend the annual event.
UPCA was established in 2002 as a federation of U.S. pipe clubs, and is a member organization of the CIPC. Its current membership is 21 active clubs and 10 expired clubs; expired may mean that the club may no longer be affiliated with UPCA, but may still be an active club. And, like the CIPC, it sponsors both national and regional pipe-smoking contests in accordance with CIPC “Regulations for International Pipe Smoking Championships.” It oversees the annual National Pipe Smoking Contest at the Chicagoland Pipe and Tobacciana show and designates three awardees: national champion, international champion, and women’s champion.
UPCA was established in 2002 as a federation of U.S. pipe clubs, and is a member organization of the CIPC. Its current membership is 21 active clubs and 10 expired clubs; expired may mean that the club may no longer be affiliated with UPCA, but may still be an active club. And, like the CIPC, it sponsors both national and regional pipe-smoking contests in accordance with CIPC “Regulations for International Pipe Smoking Championships.” It oversees the annual National Pipe Smoking Contest at the Chicagoland Pipe and Tobacciana show and designates three awardees: national champion, international champion, and women’s champion.
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*Smspipes.com.
*Smspipes.com.
*Pipesmagazine.com.
*Pipesmagazine.com.
*Newyorkpipeclub.clubexpress.com.  
*Newyorkpipeclub.clubexpress.com.
*The Briar Patch directory of U.S., English and Canadian clubs (the briarpatchforum.com).
*The Briar Patch directory of U.S., English and Canadian clubs (the briarpatchforum.com).
*Unitedpipeclubs.org.
*Unitedpipeclubs.org.
*Cipc.pipeclubs.com lists national federations (countries) and clubs by geographic region: Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe.
*Cipc.pipeclubs.com lists national federations (countries) and clubs by geographic region: Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe.
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*Facebook: Pipe Smokers Club; The Europe Pipe Smokers Club; The International Pipe Club; Pipe Club Europe Pipa Market; Pipe Club; The Gentlemen’s Pipe Smoking Society; Pipe Smokers of America; Pipe Smoking; Pipe Smokers Club; The League Pipe Club; Corn Cob Pipe Club of America; YouTube Pipe Community; Briar Nation—Pipe & Cigar Club; Pipe and Leaf Society; Pipe and Tobacco Society
*Facebook: Pipe Smokers Club; The Europe Pipe Smokers Club; The International Pipe Club; Pipe Club Europe Pipa Market; Pipe Club; The Gentlemen’s Pipe Smoking Society; Pipe Smokers of America; Pipe Smoking; Pipe Smokers Club; The League Pipe Club; Corn Cob Pipe Club of America; YouTube Pipe Community; Briar Nation—Pipe & Cigar Club; Pipe and Leaf Society; Pipe and Tobacco Society
*The Virtual Pipe Club is on YouTube.
*The Virtual Pipe Club is on YouTube.
*The International Peterson Pipe Club (petersonpipenotes.org.
* The International Peterson Pipe Club (petersonpipenotes.org.
*Instagram has a lot of member clubs.
*Instagram has a lot of member clubs.


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*“The Smoking Room. A Victorian space reimagined” (bowhillhouse.co.uk).
*“The Smoking Room. A Victorian space reimagined” (bowhillhouse.co.uk).
*“Smoking room” (en.wikipedia.org).
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_room “Smoking room” (en.wikipedia.org)].
*Cynthia Roman, “Smoking Clubs in Graphic Satire and the Anglicizing of Tobacco in Eighteenth-Century Britain” (cambridge.org).
*Cynthia Roman, “Smoking Clubs in Graphic Satire and the Anglicizing of Tobacco in Eighteenth-Century Britain” ([https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical-journal/article/abs/smoking-clubs-in-graphic-satire-and-the-anglicizing-of-tobacco-in-eighteenthcentury-britain/481124179ACA979D4B3D0E7B3B50EBA9 cambridge.org]).
*“Casa Vicens Gaudi is continuing the restauration of its most iconic room: the smoking room” (casavincens.org).  
*“Casa Vicens Gaudi is continuing the restauration of its most iconic room: the smoking room” ([https://casavicens.org/blog/casa-vicens-gaudi-is-continuing-the-restoration-of-its-most-iconic-room-the-smoking-room/ casavincens.org]).
*“The rise and fall of the smoking room, from essential feature to long-gone relic” (countrylife.co.uk).
*“The rise and fall of the smoking room, from essential feature to long-gone relic” [https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/rise-fall-smoking-room-86042 (countrylife.co.uk)].
*Tristan Bridges, “Smoking Rooms—Unintentionally Providing Space for Gender Inequality” (inequalitybyinteriordesign.wordpress.com).
*Tristan Bridges, “Smoking Rooms—Unintentionally Providing Space for Gender Inequality” ([https://inequalitybyinteriordesign.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/smoking-rooms-unintentionally-providing-space-for-gender-inequality/ inequalitybyinteriordesign.wordpress.com]).
*Jack Bettridge, “Smoking Rooms of the Gilded Age” (cigaraficionado.com).  
*Jack Bettridge, “Smoking Rooms of the Gilded Age” ([https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/smoking-rooms-of-the-gilded-age-7425 cigaraficionado.com]).
*“A Pig, a Dog and an Urchin” by Hallywyl Museum (artsandculture.google.com)
*“A Pig, a Dog and an Urchin” by Hallywyl Museum ([https://artsandculture.google.com/story/a-pig-a-dog-and-an-urchin-hallwyl-museum/5gUxZgIv09HDLQ?hl=en artsandculture.google.com])


See the collection of images from Wendy Sullivan, “British Smoking Room” at pinterest.com.   
See the collection of images from Wendy Sullivan, “British Smoking Room” at pinterest.com.   
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Thinking of starting a club? Guidance on how to organize and launch a local pipe club can be found at smokingpipes.com, unitedpipeclubs.org, and iapsc.net. There’s an exchange of comments about pipe-club leadership on pipesmagazine.com. Tom Wolfe of the Seattle Pipe Club had posted this warning on the UPCA website: “That old saw about success in the restaurant business has never rung more truly than with pipe clubs. Finding a good location for meetings is one of the hardest parts of making a club successful. Constantly changing where and when you will meet is going to hurt attendance and can be the downfall of many clubs.”  
Thinking of starting a club? Guidance on how to organize and launch a local pipe club can be found at smokingpipes.com, unitedpipeclubs.org, and iapsc.net. There’s an exchange of comments about pipe-club leadership on pipesmagazine.com. Tom Wolfe of the Seattle Pipe Club had posted this warning on the UPCA website: “That old saw about success in the restaurant business has never rung more truly than with pipe clubs. Finding a good location for meetings is one of the hardest parts of making a club successful. Constantly changing where and when you will meet is going to hurt attendance and can be the downfall of many clubs.”  


I want to mention pipe-smoking on campus. This is an illustration from Boston University’s 1943 Hub yearbook. The University’s Terriers are the school’s athletic teams.
I want to mention pipe-smoking on campus. This is an illustration from Boston University’s 1943 Hub yearbook. The University’s Terriers are the school’s athletic teams. (see right)


[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-11.JPG|thumb|Courtesy, bu.edu]]There was very little in the Press about college students and pipes in the last half of the 20th century because anti-smoking, not pro-smoking, was the cause célèbre in newspaper editorials, but I found this article in the Sausalito News, August 22, 1962: “College Man Still Favors Pipe Smoking.” (The 1964 Surgeon General’s 1964 ''Report on Smoking and Health'' claimed that pipe smokers lived longer than other smokers) Then, on February 20, 2009, ''The Wall Street Journal'' posted Mary Pilon, “The Latest Thing They’re Smoking in Pipes on College Campuses: Tobacco.” According to no-smoke.org, most local and state smoke-free laws do not include college or university campuses. I’m not interested in statistics but, if you’re curious, you can read about the prevalence of tobacco use on campus at jamanetwork.com.  
[[File:Rapaport-PipeClub-11.JPG|thumb|This is an illustration from Boston University’s 1943 Hub yearbook. Courtesy, bu.edu]]There was very little in the Press about college students and pipes in the last half of the 20th century because anti-smoking, not pro-smoking, was the cause célèbre in newspaper editorials, but I found this article in the Sausalito News, August 22, 1962: “College Man Still Favors Pipe Smoking.” (The 1964 Surgeon General’s 1964 ''Report on Smoking and Health'' claimed that pipe smokers lived longer than other smokers) Then, on February 20, 2009, ''The Wall Street Journal'' posted Mary Pilon, “The Latest Thing They’re Smoking in Pipes on College Campuses: Tobacco.” According to no-smoke.org, most local and state smoke-free laws do not include college or university campuses. I’m not interested in statistics but, if you’re curious, you can read about the prevalence of tobacco use on campus at jamanetwork.com.  


On June 19, 2014, Marcus Jones posted “Why Don’t People Smoke Pipes Any More,” stating that, after becoming involved with pipe smoking, some college students were saying, “Now, I am an intellectual college lad.” Well, that may have been the comment of a few effete campus nerds. Four years later, Alonzo Kittrels (“Back in the Day: Pipe smoking was social and intellectual,” ''The Philadelphia Tribune'', May 19, 2018) had this to say: “While I have no image of any of my friends being in this type of setting, I do have an appropriate and relevant statement related to pipe smoking that comes from a piece I read some time ago which I have paraphrased as follows, ‘I smoke pipes because it makes me appear to look intelligent even if I cannot recall where I left my automobile keys.’”
On June 19, 2014, Marcus Jones posted “Why Don’t People Smoke Pipes Any More,” stating that, after becoming involved with pipe smoking, some college students were saying, “Now, I am an intellectual college lad.” Well, that may have been the comment of a few effete campus nerds. Four years later, Alonzo Kittrels (“Back in the Day: Pipe smoking was social and intellectual,” ''The Philadelphia Tribune'', May 19, 2018) had this to say: “While I have no image of any of my friends being in this type of setting, I do have an appropriate and relevant statement related to pipe smoking that comes from a piece I read some time ago which I have paraphrased as follows, ‘I smoke pipes because it makes me appear to look intelligent even if I cannot recall where I left my automobile keys.’”
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