The Winner

This is the pipe which took First Place in the first pipecarving contest by Pipes & Tobaccos magazine. I learned that I was a Finalist out of 122 entries in late summer of 97, and shipped my pipe off to the New York show not really expecting anything. At the show, the entries were judged by both pipemakers and collectors, and for whatever unknown reason, this one got the prize. It has been bought and sold several times and most recently has landed in the collection of Jeff Folloder.