Perrin

Perrin is a small-scale production business that operated in Saint-Claude, France's pipe capital. Its founder, Roger Perrin, is recorded as having first worked in London's pipe industry before settling in Saint-Claude in the 1920s. The brand is remembered not for the number of pipes it produced but for the patented mechanism it placed inside the body.

Patented Filter Mechanism

What set Perrin pipes apart from other Saint-Claude products of the day was the internal mechanism built between mouthpiece and chamber. Made from selected briar blocks, these pipes had a large removable filter, with a small hole at the bottom of the chamber drawing in air from outside. The wording "Special filtre — Brevet Perrin" appearing on the stamp was the name of the patented solution; the hole worked something like a carburetor, feeding the airflow.

According to records, the aim was to regulate the draw and keep combustion in balance. In practice the result remained debatable: the parts were troublesome to clean, and pipe smokers did not show the mechanism the interest expected. Similar attempts appear across many European makers throughout the 20th century; for the general framework of the subject, see the pipe filters and systems entry.