Photographed and written by 

John M. Young

This blog was originally posted on 12/01/2024 on Mark Irwin’s Peterson Pipe Notes 432.  It is reposted here as part of my ongoing saga.  It appears here with permission of the author, me. Also, this pipe is not available for sale.

There are a few searches that I run on eBay frequently and Peterson Dunmore pipes are one of them.  When I first saw this rusticated rascal I thought about my budget and decided to give it a go.  The recent prices for estate pipes have been volatile to say the least.  I’ve watched auctions increase in price significantly over the past several years, sometimes going for far more than what I think something is worth and other times nowhere near the item’s value, in my mind.  This one would have been a hard pass 3 years ago but with inflation it fell within acceptable limits.  Besides, it was gorgeous.  The auction was won and after a Midwest adventure from Deerfield, Illinois to the wilds of southeast Nebraska it was home.  The pipe came with what I thought was the original box and ephemera.  At least that what they looked like in the eBay listing:

The box looked correct in style for the early 1970s.  Upon examination I saw the following:

Well, this sure as heck is not a 313 and it certainly is not smooth.  I messaged the seller explaining my disappointment.  They sounded sincere in their explanation that the pipe arrived to them in this box and that they did not intend to mislead.  I call this a learning moment for myself  and was reminded to avoid getting caught up in emotion.  I nevertheless provided very objective and honest feedback on eBay regarding the seller’s inaccurate item description. Live and learn, I guess.

Below are some photos of the pipe prior to doing any work on it.  I also photographed the pamphlet and pipe sock and include those below as well.

Background

On June 25, 2024 I posted a blog about the restoration of a Peterson Dunmore 606.  Being a proud Generation X member, also known as a total slacker, I will include the background from that post in its near entirety (Original post:  Peterson Dunmore 606 Pot).

“As much as I love the history of the Kapp and Peterson company and Peterson pipes, I will not get into that other than give you resources to read the history for yourself.  I will delve into the Dunmore, or Dunmoor line of pipes at greater depth.

For a great history Mark Irwin and Gary Marlburg’s book is a must read for a Pete Geek.

(Available at https://www.smokingpipes.com/accessories/books/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=471478)  Given the price is a bit high but worth every penny for a Peterson aficionado.

The next site is pipedia.org’s History of Peterson by Jim Lilley (Peterson – Pipedia)

Lastly the pipephil.eu site for all things logo:  Peterson: historical pipes — Pipes: Logos & Markings (pipephil.eu)  They also have a few other links to things like the Peterson timeline and P-lip information.

Now to the stuff regarding this pipe:  A Peterson Dunmore.  I refer to Mark Irwin again here and his blog, Peterson Pipe Notes.  I can wholeheartedly recommend the free at

https://petersonpipenotes.org/  Yes, you will get emails but only for things like the weekly blog post and occasional Peterson pipe drops (like the Peterson Pipe Notes Pipe of the Year) or offers for cool Pete Geek merchandise.  Anyway Mark has an article on the Dunmore line that is great. https://petersonpipenotes.org/226-documenting-the-dunmore-system-and-classic-lines/

I will include the text here in its entirety but recommend the link for the photos. This is used with permission of the author (thank you Mark).

“226. Documenting the Dunmore System and Classic Lines

Milos “Mike” Bera at PipesPens&More.com on eBay recently wrote me to say that he’d run across two examples of a Peterson Dunmore Classic line he’d never seen before—a higher-grade line with a briar-in-brass sandwich band. As I thought they were not only gorgeous but undocumented, the time seemed right to take a look back at the history of the Dunmore System and Classic lines.

I’ve been a fan of the Dunmore lines since I first saw them through the case back in the late 1980s and had to have one, a fat-bottom 72 (the 302 equivalent). Like everyone else, I thought there was some kind of mistake—“Where’s the nickel mount?” I remember asking. But the Dunmore System set out to be something a little different, yet within the classic Kapp & Peterson house style.

The line originated in collaboration with Iwan Reis in 1971. How it came about is anyone’s guess at this point. Chuck Levi, the man who more than any other was responsible for bringing the great Danish artisan pipes to the US, was working with the creative minds at K&P to bring something new to the IRC catalog, and this was one of about a dozen K&P lines that debuted as exclusives in the Iwan Reis catalogs of that era.

The concept was to modernize the System pipe by removing what was perceived as the old-fashioned nickel mount. And old-fashioned it was—if you look at pipe catalogs from the 1940s on through most of the rest of the 20th century, nickel ferrules and even bands were almost non-existent. K&P was virtually the only hold out, using sterling bands on the Sterling Silver Classic line and on the Premier & De Luxe Systems. A bead was then carved around the stummel at the mortise end. As you can see from the IRC detail, sometimes the contrast stain made the beads stand out, and sometimes not.

But there were two more ingredients to the original Dunmore aesthetic which can be seen the photo below. Paddy Larrigan, K&P’s master-craftsman, was always striving to push the envelope in pipe engineering, and one of the things he dearly loved was a pipe that would sit, so he shaved off the bottom of the shank to allow the Dunmore System to sit on its shank and button, which gives it its uniqueness in the catalog. The downside of this is that I am not convinced that all the Dunmore reservoirs, being slightly smaller than the traditional System, are quite as effective.

The third distinguishing mark of the original Dunmore lines is the stem. Both the System and Classic versions utilized the wide-shoulder “Comfort Lip,” with a painted  gold P on the stem. This doubtless helps the System sit as well as giving it a more muscular visual balance, strength being a long-standing concept in the design language of the company. While it gives the illusion of being an army “push” mount, of course it isn’t, but is a traditional tenon-mortise or “navy mount” as the old hands at K&P used to call it.

The 1971 IRC catalog description reads, “dunmoor briar IRC ’71 modern system without sterling band, natural $12.00.” This intentional misspelling of “Dunmore” would persist through subsequent IRC catalogs, the copy-writer evidently under the spell of e.e. cummings and favoring an English flavor to his pipes. The name, like almost all K&P line names, is taken from the Irish landscape, in this case the town in County Galway famous for Dunmore Castle.

The 1975 Orange Catalog shows the initial Dunmore System release was in only seven shapes:

This was later expanded to include both the original bent dublin shape 5 (75) and XL5 (XL75) and the replacement calabash shape 5 and XL5. The remaining “new” System shapes were also added to the Dunmore lineup, the 01 becoming the Dunmore 73, the 02 the 70 and the 03 the 76. The fact that the 304 and 306 “setters” introduced in 1984 never entered the Dunmore System lineup adds the probability that the line had been discontinued by then.

The smooth Dunmore System features a light brown natural finish, sometimes occurring with broad flames, as can be seen in these photos of an unsmoked 77 System:

The rusticated version of the Dunmore System seems to have been finished in at least two techniques or versions. Neither is as deep as the Pebble Rustic finish  but they still feel very therapeutic under thumb and finger.

Even when we were beginning our research on the Peterson book (due out in reprint later this year), most Pete fans had no idea there was also a Dunmore Classics line featuring the same beading at the mortise and wide Comfort Lip mouthpiece. Documentary proof was found in the rare 1978-79 Peterson-Glass catalog:

The Dunmore System and Classic Lines from the 1978-79 Peterson-Glass Catalog

I don’t know whether the Dunmore Classics was a short-lived line or whether it was primarily available in Europe, but it almost never appears on the estate market here in the US. As you can see from the catalog and the 406 pictured above, the same aesthetic was followed for the Classic line—light brown, nearly natural, higher-quality smooth bowl (or dark rustic) and faux army mount with gold-painted P, wide saddle and P-Lip stem. Only the Dunmore System, as far as I have been able to document, had the flattened stummel allowing it to set.

I have always hoped to run across an unsmoked rustic Dunmore System with the dark contrast stains seen in the Peterson-Glass catalog. I wonder if this finish actually went into production, because the ones I’ve seen all look more-or-less like the XL75 shown above.

The original Dunmore lines seemed to have been dropped at about the time the company went through its worst redundancy in 1984, as there are no more traces of it in the company’s ephemera from 1983 on. I remember the proprietor of my B&M, Cavalier Pipe & Tobacco in Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville, telling me when I bought my shape 73 Dunmore that the line was out of production, so I’d better get it if I wanted it (don’t you miss high-pressure salesmen?)—and that would have been 1986 or ’87.

The second iteration of the Dunmore Classics line is that recently discovered by Mike at PipesPens&More on eBay. I would tentatively date it to c. 1995, well after K&P had gotten on its feet again and was doing some new and fascinating things. It seems to belong with three other briar adornment lines from the same period: Paddy Larrigan’s Briar in a Circle Systems and the Galway and Kapp-Royal higher-grade lines with their wonderful inset briar rings.

Mike’s Dunmore Classics line is certainly on a par, from the two examples he’s found, with the Galway and Kapp Royal briars and maybe better, although probably not as fine as the Briar in a Circle Systems. Take a closer look at this 80S, which Mike sold within 24 hours of posting it on eBay:

The last Dunmore Classics line made a brief appearance in the Dublin era’s second decade, somewhere in the 2000s, probably around 2005 or so. Jim Lilley’s old blog site made a reference to them, and I remember seeing them for sale at internet shops.

I know it appeared well before I got interested in writing the Peterson book, because I don’t have any internet images of it in my files. These photos of the B5 and B11 give a good idea of what the line was like, although it appears to have begun in a higher range and then slipped to a lower.

Updated Identification Guide

Dunmore  (1971–c. 1984; c. 1995; 2006–2010)   Appeared in 1971 as Iwan Reis & Co. exclusive line “Dunmoor,” Premier-grade unmounted System in smooth natural or rustic dark chocolate contrast in all shapes, with beading at the shank, faux wide-saddle P-Lip with gold paint P.  Documented in Associated Imports catalog from 1973. Classic Range line from 1978 with same faux army mount and finishes. Second scarce Classic Range line, c. 1990, higher-grade smooth bowl with brass sandwich and briar band, P-Lip. A third Classic Range line, 2006–2010, mid-grade, featured standard and some B shapes, with beading around bowl instead of shank-face, for European market.

Many thanks to Mike Bera
Photos of the Dunmore 80s and 68 courtesy Mike’s Pipes Pens & More
Photos of the B5 and 406 Dunmore courtesy Smokingpipes.com” (https://petersonpipenotes.org/226-documenting-the-dunmore-system-and-classic-lines/)”

(https://wordpress.com/post/scimansays1787.com/6410 referencing myself feels weird)

From the above documentation I think that I can safely assume that this Dunsmore 79 is of the original 1971-1978 time period.

Interesting side note here:  In the above Mark Irwin says, “I have always hoped to run across an unsmoked rustic Dunmore System with the dark contrast stains seen in the Peterson-Glass catalog. I wonder if this finish actually went into production, because the ones I’ve seen all look more-or-less like the XL75 shown above.“  I emailed Mark and asked him if the Dunmore 79 in hand was what he was looking for.  I included some of the before and after photos from this restoration.  He replied, “Yup, that’s it!!” (Mark Irwin, personal email).

The Restoration

As boringly typical of my restorations, I began with a clean denim piece to protect the work surface.  Yeah, I know, the term “clean” doesn’t really describe the stained denim.

The new to me PipNet came out and I had high hopes that it would be useful.  The standard ream team consisting of the Smoking pipes Low Country reamer, General triangular scraper and 220 sandpaper wrapped wood dowel were along for clean-up duties.  Low and behold the Dunmore 79 had precisely the wrong size bowl for either the #1 or #2 PipNet blades.  

With the #1 blades too small and the #2 blades too large, plan B was put in motion.  The adjustable Kleen-Reem tool was called in to remove the minimal cake in the tobacco chamber.  The other two reamers were used then the chamber was sanded with the 220 on a stick.  Once down to the bare briar I could see that there was no damage to the briar and that this pipe looked like it had only been smoked a hand-full of times.

Next was the cleaning of the shank.  Typically with Peterson System pipes this can be a chore.  Owners frequently fail to clean out the reservoir after a smoke which creates rather difficult tar deposits.  This pipe’s tar was quickly removed and revealed the stain used at the Peterson factory.  A surprisingly reddish-pink stain at that. 

The stummel was taken to the sink for a scrub.  Murphy Oil Soap and a nylon scrub brush were used to remove the age and grime from the stummel.  Once scrubbed the soap was rinsed with warm water and the stummel dried with a cotton hand towel.

Back at the workbench the stummel received a wiping with a make-up pad dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol.  The alcohol removed a bit more of the reddish-pink stain

The stem was the next victim of my cleaning activities.  I used both bristle and fluffy pipe cleaners dipped in 95% ethyl alcohol to remove the slight smoking residue in the airway.

The stummel was given a coat of Before and After Restoration Balm and allowed to sit for about 30 minutes.

During this time I taped over the stem logo with a piece of Scotch tape.  The stem was in very good condition and did not have a heavy layer of oxidation.  There were some tooth marks near the button and those were filed and sanded with 320 then 400 grit sanding sponges.

The stummel was wiped with an inside out athletic sock to remove the excess Restoration Balm. 

At this stage I couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the rustication and contrast staining of the Peterson workmen.  I wondered if Paddy Larrigan himself had a hand in the crafting of this piece.

The stem was sanded with a series of sanding sponges in grits of 320-3500.  Between each sponge I rubbed the stem with mineral oil and wiped it with a paper towel to remove sanding debris.

I then taped the shank with painters tape to protect it from the buffing I was about to do.  The stem was mounted to the stummel as a handle and buffed with Red Rouge compound (I remain confused as to why the product had both “Red” and “Rouge” on the label).

The stem was then worked with micro-mesh pads in grits of 3600-12000.  Between each of the pads I rubbed the stem with Obsidian Oil and wiped it with a paper towel.

The stem was polished with both Before and After Fine Polish and Extra Fine Polish.  These polishes were applied with a fingertip and hand buffed with a soft cotton rag.

The next step in the stem restoration was to pick out the old gold paint and to re-do the logo with Rub’nBuff Gold Leaf.  The old gold was picked out using a fly tying bodkin then scrubbed with 95% ethyl alcohol on a cotton swab.

The new gold leaf was applied with the tip of the bodkin and allowed to dry.

The excess gold  was scraped from the logo with my fingernail and hand buffed with a paper towel. I applied two coats.  The photo below is after the first but before the second.

The stummel was given a coating of Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax applied with a baby toothbrush.  This was allowed to dry for a few minutes then hand buffed with a clean cotton terry cloth towel.

The stem returned to the buffer for several coats of carnauba wax.

The final stem was to hand buff the pipe with a microfiber polishing cloth.

This Peterson Dunmore System 79 Rustic has returned to the world in all of it’s original glory. The 309 shape, 79 in the Dunmore line, is a favorite of mine and I can’t help wondering why it was ever discontinued.  The contrast stain on this pipe is lovely with the reddish highlights and the dark brown-black in the rustications.  The stem polished up very nicely and contrasted the smooth shank-end briar in a unique and subtle way.  The flat heel of the pipe does provide it with a “sitting” platform though not a terribly stable one.  Fortunately Nebraska is not prone to earthquakes and I no longer have any little ones in the house to provide anthropogenic tremors.  The dimensions of the Dunmore 79 are:     

• Length:  6.31 in./ 160.27 mm.
• Weight:  1.80 oz./ 51.03 g.
• Bowl Height:  2.09 in./  53.09 mm.
• Chamber Depth:  1.62  in./ 41.15 mm.
• Chamber Diameter:  0.76 in./19.30 mm.
• Outside Diameter:  1.26 in./ 32.00 mm.

I do hope that you have found something here useful to your own pipe care, maintenance or restorations.  If you like this sort of thing, please click the like and subscribe buttons.  Thank you for reading the ramblings of an old pipe lover.

Below are some photos of the finished Peterson Dunmore System 79 Rustic.