Edwards pipe?

Look at this http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-e1.html scroll down
Your description sounds similar to the one pictured on the page, A Tampa pipe maker.

Ah Ha, the plot thickens. There are Two Edwards. So far, my money is on Tampa, only because there was a pic of a funky shaped pipe, parts smooth and parts appeared sand blasted.

I'm going to go with you on that one. The marking is exactly the same and Algerian briar is what was used. Seems open and shut.

Maybe if you're looking for more about them you could talk to some members here from Tampa and ask them about 'em or e-mail some tobacconists in the area.
An addendum: HERE is the website for Edward's of Tampa. I've a sneaking (read "I'm pretty darn sure") this is a house brand of pipe. You could e-mail them and maybe get a bit of history.

make sure you check the other thread for the pictures

Click to expand...

Already done my good man and I stand by my deductions. If I couldn't be more wrong I'll eat my hat and it's a very nice hat.

You have an Edward's pipe shop pipe, not that Austrian maker's pipe. Edward's is a chain, similar to Tinder Box, but there aren't many stores left. I used to live in Ft. Collins, CO and there was an Edward's just around the corner from my apt. Great place to hang out, and I picked up several of their Edward's labeled pipes made from Algerian briar. I can't speak for you, but all mine smoked very sweet. I probably should have held on to more than the one I have now. They are GREAT for straight VA blends.

I own several Edwards pipes, and I purchased most at an Edwards store that used to be in Metaire, LA, in the 1980's. Benton pipes, which are currently available at the Edwards shops online, are formerly Edwards. Benton used to be a designation for the top line Edwards pipes, I believe. Skylark was their entry level pipe, Skipper was next up, Dakota was a stained pipe (most were natural), andthe Bentons were the top. They are great pipes, IMHO. The Pipedia mey have better information than my memory, of course, but I keep my Edwards pipes in rotation, and some are 35 years old.

If I remember correctly Edwards pipes are made in their own pipe factory/shop in Florida. Although they may import some.

I worked at an Edward's Pipe Shop in Jacksonville in the 70's and I can provide more information about Edward's pipes. Edward's still exists with a few remaining shops around the country. Like the rest of the industry, they are primarily cigar stores and gift shops now. Edward's pipes were and are their house brand and they were made in their factory in Tampa. I visited the Tampa store several years ago and they told me that Edward's pipes are now made in Spain. They also told me that they were running out of Algerian Briar and, as a result, many of their pipes were no longer carrying that stamping.
If you are familiar with Randy Wiley pipes, he started out making pipes in the Edward's factory in Tampa back in the 1970's.
The models Skylark, Skipper, Royce, Benton, etc. are fairly recent name categories, probably starting in the 90's. They didn't use these names when I worked there, except the "Skipper" was a pipe with a particular style of etching on it. At the time they made some very nice high-grade freehands that sold in the $100-150 price range (several hundred dollars today).
While the individual Edward's shops are franchisee-owned the parent company is FGT Enterprises of Tampa, Florida. The company makes pipes under the "Benton" brand for other shops around the country, and makes private label pipes for some shops as well. They are a leading wholesaler of smoking accessories. You can go to their website and download their catalog (www.fgtenterprises.com--you might want to check out the "About Us" page on the site. FGT at one time did not stress their connection to the Edward's shops, as they wanted to downplay the fact that they were associated with stores that were competitors to some of their other customers.
I have about 20-30 Edward's pipes from the time I worked there and they have always been good smokers. The only problem with them is that pipes in the 70's tended to be smaller (about group 3) than they are today.
As far as I know, there are still Edward's shops in Los Altos (CA), Englewood (CO), Tampa, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Dallas. In case you are interested Edward's was named after Edward Rowley, a Tampa TV personality of the 50's and 60's who founded the company in partnership with Frank Smith ("Smitty"). Rowley was essentially the "face" of the shops while Smitty was the tobacco and pipes guy. Smitty bought out Rowley's interest in the company sometime in the late 70's or early 80's.

Thank you cypresspipe, very informative, I think pipedia could do with you writing that up on their site. I have owned a Edward's big bowl Canadian for years, don't remember who bought me it or how it ended up here in England, it is a weird looking pipe at 7 1/2 inches (19cm), the long shank is made up of 2 pieces of briar, there is a leaf carved on one side of the wonderful straight grain 2 inch (6.3cm) high bowl and it has a green lucite mouthpiece, I have only smoked this when I want a big bowl of tobacco and it is a good smoker. I know it is an American pipe and not the europian Edwards as I have seen some of his work and this one is definitley not his style.

Well, I can't argue that, but I did by my pipes in the 80's under those labels. I am especially fond of the wavy Skipper series, of which I own several, and I am always looking for more of them.

A couple more:





The Bent Billiard was my first, purchased in 1984, recently restemmed at Rany Wiley's shop.

This is a Skylark, bought around 1985. The stem is from a Hilson Fantasia, since I broke the original, which is similar

Wow rigmedic - those Skippers have a pattern very much like an Eltang that I treasure. Those Eltangs are rusticated but have that ring grain effect.
hp

les

Rigmedic1: Those are definitely Skippers from the first generation. I won't argue about the timeline as to when they started using some of names for their various lines. After 1981, I no longer lived in an area that had an Edward's shop so I only went there when my travels took me to a city that had one. So I did not have a close connection with them after the early 80's. I do believe the original skipper line started sometime in the 70's and was discontinued for awhile in the mid 80's. After being out of production for a few years it was brought back and some of the pipes now had vertical etching (instead of the horizontal etching you see in the above photographs.
Kevin's articles on FGT and Edward's are very good. I recommend them to everyone. One minor correction, though: Edward's name was Edward Rowley, NOT Edward Reilly. His stage (TV) name in Tampa was Ed Scott. Here is a link to an article about him: http://www.big13.net/3D%20Danny/ed_and_peg_scott.htm. The article also contains a photo of the Tampa Edward's Shop.