ENGLISH EDITION EDITION SIGNED BY JOSE LOPES The pipe first appeared in Europe, in the second half of the 16th century, in a cloud of exoticism. Over time, smoking tobacco in a pipe became so popular that Charles Dickens’ recipe against suicide was “bread, cheese, wine and a pipe”. First used by the people, only later by nobles and the bourgeoisie, and the soldier’s field companion, the pipe began to be associated with intellectuals and artists in the 19th and 20th century. In language at once informative and passionate this book, a tribute to the pipe and the fascination surrounding it, provides the reader with an exhaustive compendium of makers, artisans, brands and their connections. Throughout the 1850 entries, it explains and enhances details, describing characteristics, materials and types of production displaying shapes, attributes and symbols. The book is, therefore, aimed at the widest possible audience: the interested and the simply curious; those who are passionate about pipes and those who are only now discovering the pleasure; scholars and collectors. A beautiful book on a beautiful object. To read and savour. The author José Manuel Lopes was born in Lisbon in 1954. A graduate of the Lisbon School of Journalism (Escola Superior de Meios de Communicação Social), he has been a professional journalist since 1982. A pipe smoker and collector since he was 16 years old, he became a member of the Pipe Club of Portugal in 1995 and is currently its president. He is also Fellow Member of the International Academy of the Pipe, and regularly contributes to the various areas of the media and to Internet discussion forums specialised in pipes and tobacco, particularly the weekly magazine of the Barcelona Pipa Club/Virtual Pipa Club and the Pipalista, Fumeurs de Pipes, Pipes.org and Alt.smokers.pipes groups. He attends international pipe exhibitions and is a frequent participant in meetings and national and international pipe smoking competitions.