Directory of Austrian Pipe Brands

The Directory of Austrian Pipe Brands brings together, in alphabetical order, pipe names founded in Austria, run by Austrian makers, or noted in the country's brand records. Austrian pipemaking has two distinct strands: meerschaum carving, which made Vienna one of Europe's leading centers in the nineteenth century, and handmade briar production, carried on today in one-person workshops across various regions of the country. The entries below summarize only documented facts; points on which the sources have nothing to say are noted explicitly, and makers who appear in the list despite having worked in other countries are flagged accordingly.

Brands

• Andreas Bauer — A name found among Austrian meerschaum makers. No further detail about the brand has made it into the record; the same records name the Vienna-based Strambach as the country's last meerschaum manufacturer.

• Baff Tabakpfeifenunikate — The workshop where pipemaker David Wagner produces one-off pipes to order. Wagner learned the craft under Franz von Matt in Switzerland, Rainer Barbi in Germany, and Josef Prammer in Austria. His workshop sits in the Salzkammergut region, near the shore of the Traunsee; he is recorded as hand-shaping roughly 100 to 120 pipes a year from briar.

• Erste Ottakringer Pfeifenmanufaktur — The workshop Patrick Rutka founded in Ottakring, Vienna's 16th district, from which it also takes its name. Born in 1977, Rutka is also a musician who plays the chromatic button accordion, a traditional instrument of Austrian folk music; together with guitarist Klaus P. Steurer he forms the duo "16er Buam," performing the classic Viennese song.

• Fisher — The brand of Austrian maker Paul Fisher, known for his meerschaum work. Fisher emigrated to New York to pursue his trade, worked in Lower Manhattan, and became an American citizen; he marked his pipes with the letter "F." One of the names who worked alongside him for six years in the 1960s was Ed Burak.

• Guyot — Takes its name from the French pipemaker Gilbert Guyot; its appearance in Austrian records is purely a matter of listing. Born in 1938, Guyot began making pipes in 1961 and later retired. His father, H. Guyot, also ran a brand under his own name and worked for GBD in Paris between 1921 and 1923. The son was awarded the title "Meilleur Ouvrier de France" in 1994, and also wrote a book on the history of French pipemaking.

• GWS — The English stamp used in the first half of the twentieth century by G. W. Sims, known as both a maker and a repairer; see the Sims entry for details. His shop in north London closed around 1980. Sims is reported to have possibly worked for Charatan and Barling as well.

• H. Richmond — A French pipemaker working from his own home workshop near Saint-Claude. His working period and scale of production are not on record.

• H.A. Savinelli — An Italian carver and wood pipemaker active in the nineteenth century, who worked in woods other than briar. A pipe from his hand, dated to around 1850, was exhibited at the Tobacco Art and History Museum in Nashville, USA, which has since closed.

• Huml — Emerged when Austrian Karl Huml began making pipes in 1993. Working mostly in classic shapes, his annual output ranged between five and thirty pipes. A note entered into the record in 2015 indicates Huml may have stopped working by that date.

• J.N. Menhard — An Austrian master active in the nineteenth century. Known for his skill in carving meerschaum and amber, he produced other carved works alongside meerschaum pipes, some set with precious stones. He won a "Medal of Merit" at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair. His pieces on display at the Austrian Tobacco Museum bear the signature "J.N. Menhard Wien."

• Krenn — Born when Hans Krenn, a passionate pipe smoker, began making pipes in 1991, first for himself and his friends. Despite growing demand, Krenn produces only a few dozen pipes a year, saying each piece takes ten to forty hours. He works with Corsican briar and generally fits his pipes with stems suited to a 9 mm filter, also preparing a standard, filterless stem on request.

• Lenz — The name for the pipes Josef Lenz makes within the Tischlerei Lenz carpentry workshop in Bad Gleichenberg, in Austria's Styria state. No record exists of the production method or the workshop's history.

• Stiegler — Bears the name of pipemaker Christoph Stiegler, working in Winklarn, Lower Austria. The only documented information is the maker's identity and place of work.