Thompson, Norm
Norman Anchor Thompson, Sr. (known as "Norm Thompson") was an immigrant from Britain. He had settled in Salt Lake City before fighting for Canada in World War I. After the war he lived briefly in Los Angeles before settling in Portland, Oregon. Norm Thompson started a mail order only business in 1949 as a way to sell his homemade flies for fly-fishing by placing an advertisement in Field & Stream. I understand tobacco products were sold via the mail order business, as well, to a limited degree. Around 1951 he handed over the mail order business to Peter Alport, his son-in-law. Alport worked to expand the company's product offerings beyond fly-fishing items and into clothing and other outdoor merchandise, plus he developed the company's slogan of "Escape from the ordinary".
Norm Thompson would go on to own seven pipe shops, the first one in 1959, and later two nightclubs, all in the Portland area. Norm Thompson Pipe Shops sold higher end pipes, from the likes of Dunhill, Charatan, and Savinelli. Norm Thompson died in 1968 from complications related to his exposure to mustard gas during his World War I military service in Europe.
The First Edition Norm Thompson Pipe Catalogue (right column of this article) was likely a publication that was a product of Peter Alport, as the slogan "Escape from the ordinary" (a slogan credited to Alport) is clearly seen in the publication. No date can be seen on the publication, but we conclude it is late 1960s to early 1970s. Of interest, is the evidence of collaboration between Norm Thompson and Charatan, with Charatan credited with making the Norm Thompson "Regent". This would have been during the Lane Era. It is also likely that Norm Thompson pipes stamped "Made in Italy" were a Norm Thompson - Savinelli collaboration.
A Norm Thompson-Charatan collaboration (above)
Norm Thompson pipes (above), likely made by Savinelli (Photos courtesy of Steve Charbonneau)
Article written by Steve Charbonneau (aka "Humblepipe")