Summer 1997 Volume I Issue 1

So, I'm walking down Madison Avenue on a lovely spring day. It's that special kind of day in New York, when the city radiates springtime and the feeling of rebirth is in the air - where people smile at each other and (God forbid) even strike up conversations with strangers. As I stroll along, I detect an aroma in the air that you don't get much in public anymore. The pleasing aroma wafts by me, undoubtedly a richly layered English style mixture, with the unique pungency of Latakia and Turkish tobaccos, offset by the natural sweetness of choice Virginia tobacco. Someone upwind is smoking a pipe!

Somewhere near 44th Street, I catch up with the fumer, a late twenty-something with a fine Dunhill Shell in his teeth. With him is a buddy who is lighting a brand new Butz-Choquin in the "Cobra" shape. He's obviously just bought the pipe at one of the top smokeshops in the area, evidenced by the small shopping bag he's holding. An attractive woman is with them. We stop and identify ourselves (it's that kind of day), and talk pipes.

It turns out that our three acquaintances (an ad man, a lawyer and a fashion editor) are cigar nuts and SMOKE readers - they represent the very reason we're publishing PipeSMOKE. "I just went to Barclay-Rex with my friends to buy some cigars," says the lawyer, "and I couldn't resist this pipe. The fashion editor says that she loves the smell of a pipe so much that she bought a pipe for herself. She produces a small, elegant briar with an amber mouthpiece.

Along with a growing number of contemporaries, our Madison Avenue trio have discovered the pipe and its enormous repertoire of tastes and they want to know more. This curiosity is what we at PipeSMOKE aim to satisfy. We want to bring you a pipe magazine with a difference.

Like SMOKE, we're about a lifestyle that includes sports, music, the arts, fashion, collecting, eats and drinks, travel, and anything else as it relates to what you do, with a pipe or without. Baggy tweeds, blazing fireplaces and shaggy professors are fine, but they're also yesterday's marketing cliches and stereotypes. The new image of the pipe is that it's "cool" because it's an intelligent way to enjoy tobacco, is a beautiful objet d'art, and, after the initial investment, is very cost effective. A well-tended, quality pipe can last a lifetime.

The pipe is back and it's here to stay, say our friends in the retail shops who see the trend developing every day. Their younger cigar smoking patrons are showing an increased interest in pipes and tobacco, and pipe sales are up by almost 15 percent. Additionally, this "new" way to enjoy fine tobacco is accompanied by some measure of social tolerance. Many non-smokers actually like the aroma of pipe tobacco and will accept the pipe even when they are adamantly against cigarettes or cigars.

With the advent of PipeSMOKE, we all embark on an adventure. We want to hear from you, our readers. Please let us know where you'd like to go, what you want to see and what you want to know. PipeSMOKE will get you there.

Alan Schwartz
Associate Publisher
Editorial Director, PipeSMOKE