03/12/2025
The Brigham Pipe of the Year 2025 celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Beaver’s official recognition as a National Symbol of Canada.
The Beaver has been a fundamental piece of Canadian history and identity for hundreds of years. Beaver pelts were the backbone of the fur trade in the 17th and 18th centuries – trade that not only built the Canadian economy but forged travel routes and established settlement patterns that still exist to this day. More than 1,000 parks and communities in Canada are named for the Beaver.
The Beaver itself is industrious, resourceful, protective of its family, and quietly determined - traits many Canadians value in themselves. From Canada’s earliest days, the Beaver has been woven into the fabric of our folklore, artwork, pop culture, architecture, currency and marketing.
To design a pipe honouring the Beaver, we took inspiration from its shape - a short rounded bowl, dark brown finish, fur-like sandblast, and a flat, wide stem like the Beaver’s tail. Each of the 120 pipes was hand-made and sandblasted in France. Pipes #1 to #89 feature a smooth, natural-coloured top while pipes #90 to #120 have a smooth red/orange top.
We designed the pewter pipe tamper, then commissioned it to A. Oppenheimer who fleshed it out, hand-carved the original model and cast each piece in their U.K. studio.
The box itself is rounded, an artful imagining of a snow-covered Beaver dam. On top is a collage featuring some of our favourite nostalgic, iconic and whimsical representations of the Beaver in Canadian culture and history.
To round out this 2025 presentation, we’ve included a 1975 circulation Nickel and sprinkled in the iconic four-coloured stripes synonymous with the fur trade.
