Whitehall

Whitehall pipes are frequently misunderstood to be a model rather than an actual pipe company, which has led collectors to mistakenly ascribe their manufacture to Civic and Ben Wade (Who Made That Pipe; Wilczak & Colwell, 1997).  In fact, Whitehall refers to the pipe company (not a model), which itself produced models such as the Hialeah, Jumbos, London Hall, and Thermofilter.  The history of the Whitehall Pipe Co., Inc. (Richmond Hill, NY), is a complicated one, involving several parent companies and subsidiaries including Whitehall Products, Inc. (Helmetta, NJ), The Bloch Bros. Tobacco Co. (Wheeling, WV), Helme Products, Inc., apparently all subsidiaries of Culbro Corp. (owner also of General Cigar).  The “Imported Briar” stamp on many of the pipes, and the unmistakable Whitehall logo bearing resemblance to the American-made tobaccos of that brand strongly suggest that these are products made for the Whitehall Pipe Co., Inc., an American company.  There is furthermore no evidence that Civic or Ben Wade outsourced any manufactory of pipes to Italy; nor did Ben Wade manufacture pipes with aluminum screw tenons, paper filter inserts and molded acrylic stems.  For irrefutable proof that the American company Whitehall Pipe Co., Ltd., was, in fact, responsible for these brands, one need only consult the University of Californiam, San Francisco “Truth Tobacco Archives” which clearly links these brands to the company (see image below).  Furthermore during the era these pipes were being marketed, the Ben Wade trademark belonged to Charatan who also, very obviously, did not manufacture pipes of the variety that Whitehall (USA) was marketing. To reiterate, the pipes depicted below are not made by Ben Wade.
To quote Jon Guss (with permission): "Whitehall Products was definitely an American tobacco company, originally in Helmetta, NJ. They made cigarettes, snuff and smoking tobacco. They also sold pipes, which are said to have been sourced from England and Italy. Eventually, I think, they merged and moved. But Whitehall is a world famous name, of course, as the location of most of the important buildings from which the British ruled the Empire. Many pipe manufacturers used the name, including Civic in the thirties and forties, Ben Wade by the late fifties, and Philip Weisberg by the early sixties. All unrelated usages, I suspect, of a common and well known place name. Rather like calling a pipe Wall Street or Fisherman's Wharf; certainly not trademarkable."
A list of Whitehall models (Who Made That Pipe; Wilczak & Colwell, 1997): ACTION TRAP, CHANNIN, CORSICA, DARBY, EMISSARY, GARRISON, HIALEAH, JUMBOS, LONDON HALL, POLARIS, QUICKEE, RED DOT, SARATOGA, SCARDANE, SILVERSMITH, SUFFOLK, THE TRAP, THIN BITE, TINY.
File:Whitehall1.jpg
File:Whitehall6.jpg
File:Whitehall0.jpg|Popular Whitehall pipe models sold by the Whitehall Pipe Company (New Jersey, USA).
File:WhitehallY.jpg|A Whitehall Pipe - A Kentucky Club Product
File:Whitehall5.jpg|Whitehall Pipes were often included as gifts for the purchase of Whitehall brand (and related) tobaccos.
File:Whitehall4.jpg|The Hiealeah, a Whitehall model.
File:Whitehall2.jpg|Leather-wrapped Whitehall pipes.
File:Whitehall3.jpg|The Dry Filter by Whitehall (also a Kentucky Club Product)
Category:Pipe makers by nationalityCategory:Great BritainCategory:Italy