This firm was created in 1865 from two German brothers who initially emigrated to London, one of whom later opened a shop in Dublin. Around 1876, Peterson was hired to make tobacco pipes on order. After the death of both brothers, Peterson takes things for the son, who is still too young to run a business. If the son is old enough, he decides to become a doctor and Peterson takes over the shares in the company. The company is renamed Kapp & Peterson.In 1890 Peterson came with the system pipe, a great invention that is still the basis for the ever-continued success of this brand. It should have been snug against the silver band but it was not. The silver “P” logo-ed stem was not too bad – no oxidation or build up. It had tooth chatter on both sides around the button. Before this pipe, I’ve only ever smoked pipes that I’ve made myself or pipes that cost less than $40. I count my Peterson Pipe as my first major league pipe. Gold band Petersons are quite rare, but they do come up from time to time. Chances are the estate dealer won’t be able to tell you the year, but if you know what to look for, you can make inquiries. Unfortunately, most estate dealers don’t have the equipment to photograph the sequence. After 1938, the K&P maker’s mark became a stand-in for the Company of Goldsmiths (aka Dublin Assay Office) date letter and was usually accompanied nearby by the STERLING over SILVER stamp, as seen above. I took the pipe in and told him I would work on it and get back to him. While I was traveling in Europe I received a call from a fellow here in British Columbia who was referred to me by the local cigar shop. I call him when I returned home and it turned out that he had a pipe that he wanted me to work on. He said that the stem was clogged and he wanted me to clean up the airway and make it usable again. When it arrived I unpacked the box and found it was a Peterson’s 313 System pipe. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] of Dublin [over] System [over] Standard followed by the shape number 313. The ordering process was simple and even came with a gift wrap option. The other one looks like a Kaywoodie meerschaum - that is uncommon. Kaywoodie used to be considered a cheap "drug-store pipe." But all of a sudden everyone's collecting them. During the last hundred years, Peterson has grown tremendously without losing sight of its original dedication to quality, handcrafted products at a reasonable price. The story of Peterson begins in England in the mid-19th century when the two German immigrants Georg and Friedrich Kapp opened a meerschaum pipe shop in London in 1865. There he met the young Lithuanian immigrant Karl Christoph Peterson, who as a craftsman had developed a knack for making pipes. Frederick hired this man, who from then on specialized in making bespoke pipes. Not only was Peterson a man of action, he was also smart. He continued to develop the pipes he made and applied for numerous patents, which were even awarded industry prizes.