"In the early days of Longchamp's history, there was a tobacconist on one of the main boulevards in Paris. The name was written in gold letters on the facade 'Au Sultan' and the tobacco had the taste and smell of the burning sun.
During the Liberation, Allied troops used to flock there, and they were very keen on pipes. Jean Cassegrain decided to seize the opportunity by offering his clientele an amazing choice of pipes encased in leather - calf and goatskin, and even pony hair, crocodile, and vegetable-tanned leather.
They were the most beautiful to be found in Paris. The military, including Elvis Presley, loved them." (longchamp.com)
(An original Longchamp pipe)
In 1948, Jean Cassegrain went on to set up the leatherwear company which we know and love today, Longchamp.
The 'Au Sultan' candle (above) harks back to the origins of Longchamp, with the smell of the tobacconist's shop on the Boulevard Poissonniere and the pipes encased in leather. Imagine honey-flavoured tobacco, sweet mimosa, leather, balms and amber.
Like the original Longchamp pipes, its encasing is a vegetable-tanned leather. Tanned using mimosa bark, chestnut and quebracho wood, the pale colour of this unique leather will develop naturally, getting better and better with age.
(Longchamp pipes poster)
