This series stands as a place marker and celebration of my 40th birthday which happened on December 18, 2012. There are only 4 pipes in the series, one for each decade.
The style of the series harkens back to the early 1700s when pirates who smoked pipes found themselves adorning their favorite pipe with a bit of their loot. Many folks already know I come from a long line of Florida coast pirates, and the styles of pipes and how they changed during this period is fairly well recorded. Numerous documents, (mostly from pirate trials from this period) describe or show the Florida Coast Pirate style pipe and even hint at it's important role as pirate's friend, and Captain's scepter. Most all documents referencing the Florida Coast Pirate style pipe are under lock and key far below the OomPalace, where traps involving venomous creatures, curses and tainted rum keep them very, very safe.
A bit more about this style of pirate pipes…A pirate with a small pipe would soon find the weight of the treasure around the small pipe to be problematic, which called for a design change. Soon, pirates were having pipes custom made in a sitter fashion with an elongated mast like shank and curved stem. The large mass of the sitter body was not unlike their ship's body, the mast like shank could now support many more items of booty and the curved stem was reminiscent of the billowing black flag.
The M40 series allows us to enjoy our tobacco in a very similar fashion to our pirate brothers and sisters of days gone. I hope you enjoy this bit of rebellion forged in liberty as much as I have creating the line. The names given to these brutes are the same as some of the most infamous pirate ships that ever sailed:
1. Queen Anne's Revenge
2. Adventure Galley
3. Whydah
4. Fancy