Pellegrini (Sovereign Pipe Shop)

Pellegrini is the name under which the pipes American maker Ron Pellegrini produced for his Sovereign Pipe Shop, on New York's Staten Island, are recalled. Because the pipes were sold under the "Sovereign" stamp that carried the shop's name, the brand and the shop are largely intertwined in records. The bench is a typical example of small-scale American workshops that did not open their product to a distribution network but worked only for their own storefront.

Stamps and Production

The work issued under the Sovereign name falls into two groups. The first group holds familiar shapes turned on the lathe; what distinguishes them is that no ready-made blank was used — each was worked from a briar block the maker selected himself. The second group consists of hand-shaped freehand pipes not bound to a mold. Records indicate that the more ambitious pieces in this second group also carried the letters "SK" stamped on the body; the letters are said to be an abbreviation of "Sovereign King." So a pipe bearing only the Sovereign stamp places it in standard production, while the SK addition places it among the maker's top-tier work.