New York Pipe Club

The New York Pipe Club (NYPC) was organized in the early 1980's and has been active ever since - with some ups and downs. The main factors in the Club's success over the years have been: 1) committed leadership; 2) availability of a suitable meeting place and 3) guest speakers and other special program activities.

NYPC was led for many years by Sailorman Jack ("ATTENTION! ATTENTION!"), who passed away in 2004, and in more recent years by David Siegel and Vernon Vig. A solid core of founding/early members continues to be active; they can be counted on to attend meetings and remain a driving force.

NYPC also has attracted a significant number of new members in recent years, including several young men who are eager to learn about pipes and pipesmoking. We recruit in local pipe shops, at pipe shows and on the street; anyone with a pipe is fair game.The current membership list contains close to 100 names; attendance at meetings is usually in the 25-30 range, although on occasion we attract 40 or more.

NYPC now meets once each month, usually on the second or third Tuesday. We tried meeting twice a month for two years or so and many enjoyed this. However, two meetings turned out to be too much and tended to dilute attendance at all meetings.

Photos:
Left: Some of the usual suspects

Below: Harvey Silver, one of the founding members;
Nanna Ivarsson addressing the club in January;

Careful inspection of a pipe.

Bottom: November 2006 meeting at Florio's.

NYPC has never had a dedicated meeting place and had difficulties from the outset (well before any anti-smoking laws) in finding smoker-friendly locales. It has met in various bars and restaurants for periods of time, but has had to move to new locations many times over the years, which often proved to be disruptive.

The club has flourished during periods when a suitable meeting place was available. For example, attendance was very high when the club had the use for about two years of a large upstairs private room in an Irish pub with excellent food and drink service. This arrangement unfortunately ended when New York adopted its strict law prohibiting smoking in any establishment with paid employees.

After enactment of the smoking ban, NYPC has met in certain cigar bars which were grandfathered exempt and was welcomed for a while at the Nat Sherman shop at Fifth Ave and 42nd street. However, these arrangements ended because they evidently were not economically attractive to the establishments (ie, we did not spend enough!).

We presently are fortunate to meet at Florio's, a fine Italian restaurant/cigar bar in lower Manhattan, which continues to permit smoking while it litigates to confirm that it is eligible for exemption from the smoking ban. The food and drinks are good and the staff are very welcoming; they give us as much room as we need - almost 30 attendees at our first 2007 meeting! We try to maintain our part of the bargain by urging all members to purchase dinner and by applying a 20% across-the-board service charge to all bills.

In earlier years NYPC meetings were quite commercial, with several members (including Sam Barnett and Prof. Tom Colwell) bringing pipes to trade or sell. We continue to do some business and show-and-tell at meetings, but they have become more social. We also have had several interesting speakers during the past few years, including Rich Esserman (on large pipes - surprise!), Jacques Craen of Pipes Genod on his pipes and St. Claude, Kurt Ballaby on Danish pipemaking, Gennaro Filoso (an oral history of the Wilke Pipe Shop where he worked 17 years) and, just recently, Nanna Ivarsson about her plans to make pipes in Brooklyn. It is clear that a celebrity guest speaker increases interest and attendance.

To attract more attention to its activities - and more members! - NYPC has modernized and expanded its website www.newyorkpipeclub.com In addition to providing information about upcoming meetings, we now post reports and photos after each meeting, as well as other information about pipesmoking.

NYPC is a very informal group that has no legal status, officially elected officers or rules. It counts on volunteers and operates on consensus. Members are asked to pay annual dues of $25 to help support the website and other incidental expenses. At some meetings we raise money by raffling off pipes, tobacco or related items contributed by members, and we also sell club pins. NYPC does not organize or operate the NY Pipe Shows, but does all it can to support them.

In short, NYPC seems to be holding its own and even growing a little despite the current hostile environment. This is no doubt due to a number of very loyal long-time members, the shared passion for pipes and pipesmoking and, most importantly, to the fellowship and strong friendships that have developed over the years. This is a close group that is committed to sticking together to enjoy our hobby!

NOTE: ALL NEWCOMERS AND VISITORS TO THE NEW YORK AREA ARE INVITED TO ATTEND NYPC MEETINGS. YOU WILL ALL BE VERY WELCOME!