Fader's

Fader's is an American tobacconist business that opened in Baltimore in 1891 and was run by the same family for many years. Though not a pipe factory running series production in its own workshop, it is counted among the typical examples of the US house-brand (house line) tradition through the eponymous pipe series it had other manufacturers make.

A Century as a Family Business

The founder of the shop, Abraham Fader, was born in Germany; it has often been recounted by later generations that he founded the business out of a need to make a living rather than any passion for tobacco. A small hand-rolled cigar workshop stood right next to the store. The great fire that consumed the center of Baltimore in 1904 destroyed both this workshop and the warehouse; though the city was rebuilt quickly, the manufacturing arm closed in the early 1920s in the face of the spread of machine-made cigars, and the business turned entirely to retail.

After Abraham Fader's death in 1934, the business passed to his son Ira B. Fader, who had trained in chemistry and joined the store on his return from World War I; the firm's name took the form A. Fader & Son in this period. When Ira died unexpectedly in Europe in 1959, management passed to the third generation, Bill Fader. Bill Fader remained at the head of the shop for decades and turned the business into a Baltimore chain by opening branch after branch; a second location in Towson, according to the record, opened in 1965.