"A Contemplative Pipe"

Click for a collection of contemplative pipe-smoking illustrations at Power of Babel.

Pipe smoker quick fix: French soldier, 1918

Via My Ear-Trumpet Has Been Struck By Lightning.

Give him a pipe to smoke all night

Little-Known Second Verses of 10 Children's Songs.

Scroll down to #10 and read about "London Bridge is Falling Down."

A brief word on Nightcap

Dunhill Nightcap.  Back when I was a n00b pipe smoker hanging out on alt.smokers.pipes, I heard a lot about this stuff.  Mostly, remarks on how strong it is.  For some, the strength is a complaint, for others, a compliment.

I don't remember where I first bought some Dunhill tins to try, but back in ye olden days I bought one tin each of Early Morning Pipe, My Mixture 965, and Nightcap.  Back then, the light latakia of EMP was my favorite and I bought and smoked a few more tins before I lost my interest in latakia as a primary flavor.  I enjoyed smoking the 965 but it didn't impress me a lot and I never bought it again.

I must admit that the first few times I had Nightcap, I got a little dizzy.  It seemed quite powerful for some reason.

I kept going back for more.

Some time ago I was given a $25 Visa gift card from my employer for some reason (maybe a safety bonus or something--I forget), and today I ran by The Humidor on San Pedro and picked up a tin of Nightcap, which I haven't had in years.  Yes, literally years.

I still really like this stuff.  But after so many pipes full of C&D's Bayou Night, as well as numerous other blends that I spiced up with formidable amounts of Perique, it doesn't make my head swim anymore.

I must admit that if I had some straight Perique on hand right now, I'd mix up a sample of Nightcap with some extra Perique in it, just for fun.

By the way, the last time I was there, a couple of months ago, I bought a tin of Perique, which I have since used up.  When the guy handed it to me, he asked sharply, "You don't smoke it straight, do you?"  "Well, I have..." I admitted.  "But mostly I just mix it with other stuff."

I carried it over to the cash register and the other guy rang me up.  Then suddenly he asked sharply, "You don't smoke that stuff straight, do you?"  It cracked me up.  Is there some kind of taboo against it?  Anyway, I wouldn't recommend smoking it straight because it doesn't burn very well on its own.  Mix it with a little something that burns easier, like some plain old burley or Virginia--or both--and you can still mix it pretty strong if you really want to blow the top of your head off.

Or if you can find some maduro that's been cut up for pipe smoking, mix it with that and give it a try.  You may not like it, but it will keep the mosquitoes away.

Macro shot: Dunhill Nightcap

Just could not get the color exactly right on this one.

Pipe smoker quick fix: Samuel Clemens

With pipe and book and a little nap.

Quick pipe smoker fix

Maurice Sendak's dad, seen here.

Vintage Ad: Catlin's Meerschaum Smoking Tobacco

From the late 1800s.

Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer - "Just Like a Chap"

Pipe smoking and banjolele playing, of course.

Pipes & Flannel

Vintage Ad, 1968: The Playboy Pipe

From Found in Mom's Basement.  Click for a much larger image.

A very happy pipe smoker

I came across this picture years ago.  I don't remember where I found it and I don't know anything about it.  But here it is.

Pipe Smoker (fictional): Charles Francis Xavier

Oppression is no excuse for vengeance -- for murder. I wonder... does the death of innocent people -- cut down on the streets as they flee -- free you? I think not.

Charles Francis Xavier, also commonly referred to as Professor X, was born in New York City, the son of a nuclear scientist.  He graduated from Harvard and in post-graduate studies achieved Ph.D.s in genetics, biophysics and psychology.  He is a natural genius and his great intellectual achievements are also partly due to him being a very powerful telepath:  he is able to read, control and influence human minds.  He also possesses the ability of telekinesis, although to a lesser degree.

Xavier is a paraplegic due to a boulder being dropped on him by an alien known as Lucifer when he was in the Himalayas.  He later founded the euphemistically-named Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, later renamed the Xavier Institute.  "Gifted youngsters," in this case, means people who are born with natural super-powers.  Xavier is highly respected by the government as well as by numerous other super-heroes and super-hero teams (such as the Fantastic Four).   He is also the founder and leader of the X-Men, a team of mutant super-heroes.   He has devoted his life to attempting to create a peaceful co-existence between mutants with super-powers and normal humans, as well as organizing the X-Men to combat mutants who wish to use their powers to dominate normal humans.

Professor X has a streak of arrogance and manipulativeness (demonstrated in the above illustration) that often puts him at odds with members of the X-Men.

The character of Xavier was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby of Marvel Comics, and first appeared in 1963.  He has been portrayed by Patrick Stewart in movie adaptations of the comics.

links:
Wikipedia
Marvel Comics wiki

Unnamed R.A.F.pilot, 1942

Russian criminal tattoo of a pipe-smoking cat

Via My Ear-Trumpet Has Been Struck By Lightning:

A convict’s tattoo signifying ‘I am a recidivist convict. I have no resources to support a conscience’.

I have the same problem with my socks

Since I have posted more than one photo of Albert Einstein, pipe smoker, I thought this article might also be of interest to readers of this blog:  Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Albert Einstein.  Unfortunately, it includes no information regarding his pipe-smoking habits, but it does have several other entertaining bits of information.

Personally, I found I have at least one thing in common with Mr. Einstein.

Vintage Ad: Kirtland's Skull Pipe (1896)

$1.50 in 1896 would be about $40 today, and I would certainly buy and smoke a briar pipe that looks like this for $40.

Hogarth: Time Smoking a Picture

I don't have any New Year-related pipe-smoking pictures--probably--I have an awful lot of pictures saved and I don't always remember everything I've snagged.  But anyway, here is a time-themed picture so it's in the same general theme area.  "Time Smoking a Picture" by William Hogarth, created by Hogarth in 1761 but apparently not published until 1822.  You can read about it here.