Rotterdam’s ‘Papa Big Pipe’

 

(Smoking Jacket) ... It was said that the burghers of Rotterdam, famous for their long-bowled pipes, should have raised a monument of meerschaum to him. An entire nation glorified him, and for three quarters of a century, the writing world reprised his unique life style, particularly in print across the United States. In my view, Van Klaës was an alpha-to-omega role model and an inspiration for follow-on generations of pipe smokers and collectors. Andy Warhol may have made fame more famous, but Van Klaës spent more time in the limelight during life and after death than Warhol’s 15 minutes. Papa Big Pipe is dead. Long Live Papa Big Pipe! Continued