Two Interesting Barling Auctions

[georged]

By the by, Sable old chap, do happen to know if Barlung ever conceived of---never mind produced---a pipe as simultaneously outlandish and tastefully classic as this one?
I thought not.
Hallucination, indeed... we Dunhillists call it inspiration.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ENGLISH-ESTATE-PIPE-DUNHILL-W-56-S-SHELL-w-7-KNUCKLE-BAMBOO-SHANK-1961-/362281893813?hash=item5459aeffb5

 

[sablebrush52]

George,
That is a beautifully made pipe! Has me wondering which of Dunhill's secret subcontractors actually made it for them. :mrgreen:
I've never claimed that Barling pipes were the most beautiful or visually pleasing. I'd give the nod to Comoy or BBB. All Barling did was make a pipe with better materials and more control over them than anyone else, which is why Dunhill was happy to hire Barling craftsmen when they could. And Barling's uncompromising standards finally killed them off.

 

[georged]

Secret subcontractors... Listen to you. Mad raving, I say! Mad! :crazy:
OK, so Alfred was pretty slick at times, but ya gotta admit it worked. Why look at Dunhill today! (cough cough)
My favorite attitude of the bunch was BBB's hardcore Old World approach where practical design and craftsmanship ruled, and everything else was subordinate to it.

 

[oldtoby]

Love that Dunhill, George.
Is that the fabled black dot I see on that pipe? :D

 

[sablebrush52]

My favorite attitude of the bunch was BBB's hardcore Old World approach where practical design and craftsmanship ruled, and everything else was subordinate to it.

That was Barling's attitude as well. Look at the Barling pot. Pure function, no attempt to be anything different, and those pots are smoking machines. Some of the Barling shapes, like the 71A, are beautiful and elegant. But mostly they're just superbly crafted workhorses. And the Barling bits are soooo comfortable.

Is that the fabled black dot I see on that pipe? :D

If it is, it's the whitest black dot I've ever seen. I do own a 1949 Bruyere cross grain black dot that smokes like a dream and has stunning fields of birdseye. The black dot was one of the only areas where I found Loring disappointing. He offered doubtful opinions on them while admitting that he had never having actually seen one.

 

[oldtoby]

Ha!Ha!.... I was looking at the black dot above the bowl. My bad.

 

[sablebrush52]

He offered doubtful opinions on them while admitting that he had never having actually seen one.

Yikes! The problem with editing with half a brain...
Should have been: He offered doubtful opinions on them while admitting that he had never actually seen one.

 

[condorlover1]

That's an odd looking pipe!