The legacy of Peterson of Dublin began not in Ireland, but in London, 1865, when German immigrants Frederick and Heinrich Kapp opened a small pipe and tobacco shop. Their craftsmanship and reputation grew quickly—so much so that just a few years later, Frederick earned a prize medal at the 1873 London International Exhibition. Riding that success, he packed up his trade and moved to Dublin in 1874, opening a new shop that offered finely made meerschaum and the then-modern briar pipes to a growing class of gentlemen smokers.
Fate would soon bring Frederick together with a talented Latvian craftsman named Charles Peterson. Hired in 1875 to help with production and repairs, Peterson quickly proved to be more than a skilled hand. After years of tinkering, testing, and repairing countless pipes, he saw how they could be improved. His relentless curiosity led to a breakthrough: in 1890, he patented “A Certain New and Useful Improvement in Tobacco-Pipes”—the now-famous Peterson System, engineered to wick moisture away from the smoke and deliver a drier, richer flavor.
By 1896, the innovation had taken the world by storm. The company—now Kapp & Peterson—won two gold medals at the International Tobacco Trades Exhibition in London, for “Best Finished Pipe” and “Best Patent Pipe.” With Frederick’s son Alfred Henry Kapp joining forces with Peterson, the once-modest shop blossomed into a thriving international brand, exporting its patented System pipes and signature Classic designs to passionate smokers across the globe.
More than 160 years later, Peterson remains a legend of the pipe world. Their designs have endured wars, industrial revolutions, and shifting fashions—but the name Peterson has never left the lips of pipe enthusiasts.
In 2018, a bold new chapter began when Laudisi Enterprises of South Carolina acquired the brand, bringing with it an infusion of modern technology, refined inventory control, and unmatched quality oversight. Yet through all this progress, Peterson has never strayed from its roots. The same traditional craftsmanship, the same Dublin spirit, and the same pride in every stem, bowl, and band still guide their hands today.
Peterson of Dublin stands as the oldest continuously operating pipe factory in the world—a perfect balance of heritage and innovation, tradition and transformation. The result? Pipes that don’t just smoke beautifully… they tell a story more than a century in the making.
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