Hardcastle Dating???
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Hi,
Hardcastles are notoriously tricky to date, and since I've never made time to dig very deeply into the brand I can offer only the broadest possible guidance.
To start with, what I believe you have there is actually a "Camden", Hardcastle's early version of a drysmoke or hygienic pipe; the "Dryconomy" came along some 25 years later. The Camden was introduced I think about 1928, and certainly no later than 1929; unfortunately for the purpose of dating your pipe the Camden continued to be offered at least until the company changed its name to Parker-Hardcastle some 38 years later. I can shave a few years of that incredibly wide range by telling you that the company didn't change its name from Lewis & Hardcastle to Hardcastle Pipes until June 1, 1936. that still leaves you with about a 30 year window, from mid 1936 to 1967, in which your pipe could have been produced. Someone who knows Hardcastle nomenclature better than I, perhaps having access to a number of hallmarked Hardcastle pipes (if any such exist), might be able to help you narrow that range. One key question might be when the company switched nomenclature from "London Made" to "British Made" (if indeed the distinction isn't one of model rather than time of manufacture). For what it's worth I can definitely say the "British Made" stamp was in use by the early 1950s.
Jon
Hardcastles are notoriously tricky to date, and since I've never made time to dig very deeply into the brand I can offer only the broadest possible guidance.
To start with, what I believe you have there is actually a "Camden", Hardcastle's early version of a drysmoke or hygienic pipe; the "Dryconomy" came along some 25 years later. The Camden was introduced I think about 1928, and certainly no later than 1929; unfortunately for the purpose of dating your pipe the Camden continued to be offered at least until the company changed its name to Parker-Hardcastle some 38 years later. I can shave a few years of that incredibly wide range by telling you that the company didn't change its name from Lewis & Hardcastle to Hardcastle Pipes until June 1, 1936. that still leaves you with about a 30 year window, from mid 1936 to 1967, in which your pipe could have been produced. Someone who knows Hardcastle nomenclature better than I, perhaps having access to a number of hallmarked Hardcastle pipes (if any such exist), might be able to help you narrow that range. One key question might be when the company switched nomenclature from "London Made" to "British Made" (if indeed the distinction isn't one of model rather than time of manufacture). For what it's worth I can definitely say the "British Made" stamp was in use by the early 1950s.
Jon
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