Buescher's

Buescher's was one of the best-known workshops making corncob pipes in the United States in the middle of the twentieth century. It was based in the town of Washington, in Missouri, the state regarded as the world capital of the corncob pipe. The "World Famous Pipe" stamp it used on its products still makes the brand identifiable on the secondhand market today.

Founding and the Town's Competition

The company was founded by George Buescher, Jr. Records indicate production began informally in 1939, with formal registration completed in 1941. This date coincides with the peak of Washington's corncob pipe industry: workshops opened one after another in and around the town during the first half of the twentieth century. Buescher's competed not only against Missouri Meerschaum, regarded as the industry's founder, but also against workshops such as Hirschl & Bendheim that had begun production far earlier. The newly founded company operated at the disadvantage of entering a market that had been established decades before it.

It is said that George Buescher worked for a time at Missouri Meerschaum and held a position in that company's management, though this has not been confirmed by documentation. Because of this connection, it was long assumed that Buescher's was sold to Missouri Meerschaum in the late 1940s. This scenario, which held true for many of the town's small producers, did not apply to Buescher's, which remained independent.