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klause

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As they arrived this afternoon:
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A soapy Sponge, 3 Minutes and 27 seconds later, we have something quite magnificent:
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Two unsmoked, horn stemmed, silver banded Bulldogs dated 1898.
I'll leave the whimsical amongst you to create the story. I'm speechless (Huzzar! I hear you cry).

 

dmcmtk

Lifer
Aug 23, 2013
3,672
1,685
HUZZAR! Those are pretty amazing! This might be a jumping off point perhaps to research, but notice it's a London mark...
"S.H without frame Solomon HECHT trading as S: HECHT & CO - London LON 1885 tobacco pipe makers"

 

xrundog

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 23, 2014
737
1
Ames, IA
I saw those on eBay and considered bidding. Fact is, I don't like horn stems and I have a lot of bulldog pipes in that general family. They are great looking bulldogs though. I think they are better off with you.

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,219
5,338
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
klause:
To paraphrase the late Oliver Hardy, "Here's another fine find you've found!" Two 117-year-old UNSMOKED beautiful bulldogs - Sir, you are a fortunate man, and I am eager to hear about your baptism of each by fire. If, perchance, you find yourself transported back in time during the process do not be surprised nor alarmed...old briar can do that.
Best Regards,
HunterTRW

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Is there a back story that is known? Were these ebay picks? (If so, why did the seller leave them uncleaned?) Anyway, they are fine pipes, great shape, perfect bowl, aged briars (!), real beauties. Who's the maker?

 

jguss

Lifer
Jul 7, 2013
2,411
6,211
Dave has it, although his source is off a bit on the first name: it is actually Salomon Hecht. Salomon was born in Frankfurt, Germany on August 13, 1826, the son of Feist Seligmann Hecht and Betty Rindskopf. He married Julie/Julia Langenbach (born March 20, 1830, and the child of Jeremiah Seligmann Langenbach and Kettchen Rindskopf) on May 18, 1855. They must have emigrated to England almost immediately after the marriage, since their oldest child was born there in 1856. All told Salomon and Julie had seven children, of which four were sons; at least two of these, Philipp Abraham and Frank Albert Julius, were involved in their father's business for some period of time; a 1902 notice announces the dissolution of their partnership with their father, presumably on his retirement.
In 1857 a "Solomon Philipp Hecht" (it's unclear to me if it's the same man) received a patent relating to the usage of plastic in tobacco pipes; this may well indicate an early involvement in the trade, and in all likelihood this involvement would have predated his departure from Germany. In 1861 Salomon was listed as an importer of foreign goods; in 1871 as a merchant and commissioned agent; and by 1881 as a pipe manufacturer. At one point in 1875 he is listed as the source of a tobacco pipe related patent granted to Frankau (BBB).
For some years Salomon was in partnership with Charles Hecht, who appears to have been his brother. The partnership was dissolved in 1888; Charles continued to be involved in the tobacco business as an importer of Cuban cigars, and Salomon established S. Hecht & Co to import and eventually manufacture briar pipes. The business was located in London at 14 Hamsell street from at least 1885; it remained there until 1905, when it moved to 13 Roscoe street and was renamed S. Hecht Sons & Prag. I believe the Prag in question was Joseph (born 1860 in Liverpool, died 1929 Willesdon); he's listed as a briar pipe manufacturer in the 1911 census, while his son Jacob (1888-1947) is listed as a briar pipe mounter.
The newly styled business remained at 13 Roscoe for the next thirty years, but starting with the 1936 London phone book is no longer listed. Did they go out of business, or simply change their name? I suspect the former, but can't be sure. Certainly 50+ years was a good long run for a competitor in the pipe business.

 
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ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,068
Maryland
postimg.cc
Wow, you all move fast!
I can see Jon's eyes as he reads this post - then, they glaze over and data just starts filtering thru his brain, like the Terminator. Then boom, you have a history! Maybe not quite Terminator eyes...
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Klause - Do I remember a post that you were giving up old briar???

 
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Jan 4, 2015
1,858
11
Massachusetts
The pipe Gods have smiled on you. A companion pair of pipes from 1898 would be amazing but an unsmoked pair, that's astounding. Enjoy, it's a truly magnificent find.

 

menuhin

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 21, 2014
642
3
Unsmoked and from the 19th century. 8O

It must be destiny. :clap:

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,565
27,065
Carmel Valley, CA
Holy Cow! Nice, nice, nice!
I wonder if they were made to be a matched pair, much like shotguns were made for the gentry....(?) Are they very similar in dimensions?

 
K

klause

Guest
Gents, thanks for the comments - much appreciated :)
Aidecaker, I can, without a doubt, quite categorically, and with utter certainty, confirm that these are staying with me. Sorry about that.
Pitchfork, that made me laugh out loud - a good way to end a day - cheers.
Voorhees, that was the second laugh out loud moment of the day - ta!
Hunter, at the risk of kicking off outpourings of indignation from 9/10ths of the pipe world, and a heated debate (again) on the subject, I'll come clean immediately: I WON'T be smoking these - they will be waxed, and left pristine - I have my reasons, involving beauty, history, preservation, etc, etc, etc. anyway, I have enough old soldiers from this period ready to do service without press-ganging the innocents into unnecessary action.
Jon, Dave, again you step up to the plate and bowl me over - astounding. I'm actually going to have to print off your input on each of my pipes and put it with them, or, at least, in a journal with accompanying photo. Would be quite the archive/resource. However, the silver mark is Birmingham, and the makers initials are in an Oval, not unframed. Also, the stampings are higglldy-piggildy, so I'm not certain if the initials are SH, or actually SH. There are no other marks on the pipes.
Al, what can I say? But, yes, you are right. And, by and large, I've stuck to it, and intend to.......,but, when you come across something like this, and get a very strong inkling from the pictures (one in particular) that they are unsmoked, I think it incumbent in a fella to do the right thing..........and, I am weak....very weak.......especially for Bulldogs, and horn stems. Incidentally, these have a very fine slot, rather than the expected orific draft hole I was expecting, and are of above standard quality.
Jpmcwjr, the idea of a pair as you describe crossed my mind - they are exactly the same, except that one is fractionally larger in every dimension. If there was a case, it would be the icing on the cake. Well, I could see a chap smoking one of these while out on the moors, trying to bag Sunday lunch - all sorts of images are presenting themselves ;-)

 

johnnyreb

Lifer
Aug 21, 2014
1,961
612
Outstanding find, klause! I love the horn stems as well.
Jguss, I enjoyed reading your thorough research even if it turns out to be a different "SH" in this case!

 
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