Help me identify a meer

[raf66]

Hi all. Yesterday I purchased from an elderly man a meerschaum pipe that he said he brought back with him from Turkey upon his return from the service in 1954. It is clearly unsmoked and it is simply stunning. The case is clearly one that was specifically made for the pipe and it appears rather dated as well, though it has no identifying markings in it. The pipe itself is stamped "Made in Turkey" on one side of the stem, and "Osman" on the other side. The stem has what I think is commonly referred to as a metal "stinger" on the part that screws into the shank. This piece is not completely hollow but has a slight opening on the side of it that allows for the draw.
Do any of you have any information about this brand of meer? I'm new to the meer world and am just starting to collect/smoke them so this is all new to me.
Thanks for the info.

 

[admin]

I think there are a lot of "no-name" meerschaums that are not identifiable.
However, can you post a picture of it?

 

[python]

I did a quick search and could not really find anything about them. A photo might help.
Like Kevin said, there are tons of Meerschaum pipes out there and a lot of them are really hard to find any info on.

 

[python]

Also "Osman" may not be the brand of the pipe but some other mark, such as the model or something.

 

[raf66]

Yes, I will post pics later tonight. I'm wondering if "Osman" may actually be referring to the area of Turkey where it was made.

 

[raf66]

Here are some pics.

Sorry. My camera won't take a pic of the "Osman" or "Made in Turkey" insignia on the stem.

 

[python]

That's a nice looking Meer Raf! Is that a real amber stem?
I will say that it is kind of strange that there is a stinger installed on the stem. Meerschaum is a very absorbent material and doesn't need a stinger (I don't think any pipe needs a stinger, but that is for another thread).
I would guess that it was made sometime in the 1940's - 1950's because for some reason stingers were all the rage during that time.

 

[pipemaker]

many times meer's were contracted by pipe mfg companies there was no name stamped into the pipe because the never sent the stamp to Turkey they just phoned an order in to the pipe maker in turkey. The "stinger" is styled like that of an SM Frank Co.(Kaywoodie) just at a glance the case would have been made in the U.S. Maybe there is a logo from mfg under the velour hope this helps Bob Clark

 

[fred]

One of my Father's Meerschaums is like this one and came

from the same era, without a case. It is signed E. Koncak

on the bit. I've been told that there were a goodly number

of Pipes sold to Military personnel in Turkey during that time frame.