Roger Wallenstein

Roger Wallenstein is the signature of a handmade pipe maker working in western Germany. The name is a pseudonym: registries give the maker's name as Ruprecht — Rupert in some sources — Wagner. It is said he adopted this name long before pipe making, to keep his circle from knowing whose paintings were whose. In the community he is known simply as "Walle."

A Late Start in the Craft

Wallenstein is a lawyer by profession, with neither technical nor artistic training. According to records he was born on 29 November 1950 in Offenbach am Main and did not take up the bench until the summer of 2004, at fifty-three. He learned not from books but at the side of experienced German makers; the name cited most often as his teacher is Peter Klein, with some sources also naming Gerhard Wilhelm. This apprenticeship did not last long: within a year, every pipe he brought to the Chicago pipe show had found a buyer. He and his jeweler friend Peter "Pit" Rohrbach then set up an umbrella to promote the work; the resulting name, Blue Lobster Pipes, is still associated with the maker today. Fittingly for the name, the early years' stamp also drew on the sea: alongside Wallenstein's logo and serial number, marine-creature symbols indicated quality, with a lobster marking the top tier.