Old CPF Stubby Bulldog Mystery

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xrundog

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 23, 2014
737
1
Ames, IA
I happened across this one on eBay and it piqued my curiosity. The pipe is well used. The rim was burned and low in one spot. I evened the rim just enough to lose the char. Making it horizontal to the bead would have taken too much off. The stamps are worn and barely there. I can make out "Best Make" and a home scratched "1909". The red Bakelite stem probably replaced an original amberoid. It had significant tooth wear. I filled, filed and polished it. The sterling band is banged up a bit. Based on the pipe's condition I'd have probably passed.

But here's the mystery: There's a label over the CPF Logo. Looks like a seller's label. I can make out what looks like: Meerschaum...Wilke...Manufacturer...& Seattle. There's other stuff I can't make out..

I know that there were pipe manufacturers and sellers in NYC and St. Louis. Makes sense they'd be on the west coast too. Probably Chicago and New Orleans as well.

The pipe came out pretty well. The case label is cool. I'm interested in any thoughts you might have.
CPF%20Stubby%20Bulldog%201_zpsorsfybpl.jpg

CPF%20Stubby%20Bulldog%202_zpsl4k8hpqc.jpg

CPF%20Stubby%20Bulldog%203_zpsxvhivcdd.jpg

CPF%20Stubby%20Bulldog%204_zps7553x8em.jpg


 
Jan 4, 2015
1,858
11
Massachusetts
The letters look raised. Maybe a tracing would make it clearer. E Wilke was a brand based in NYC. I have one of their pipes which is actually a GBD 9438 Bent Rhodesian so it's clear they marketed pipes made by other companies. Their pipes could have been sold by any number of shops which might explain the Seattle label.

 

xrundog

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 23, 2014
737
1
Ames, IA
Possibly not the original case?
Um...maybe. Under the label I can make out "Best Make" in gold. Which matches the shank stamp. I suspect the "CPF" oval is under the stick on. I think the case matches the pipe. It's a perfect fit. But it's possible.
I wish I had a camera and software to expose light at different wavelengths like they use on ancient manuscripts. I don't think I want to spend heavy $$ like that just to see what a pipe case logo says.

 

bonehed

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 27, 2014
636
0
Odd that is says meerschaum though... #igotnuthin
Maybe try Carole Burns at P&W? I believe she worked at the NYC Wilke store - maybe she knows about a Seattle satellite?

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,725
27,321
Carmel Valley, CA
I believe you can raise the level of visibility of the raised lettering by spritzing with water. However, that may be a no no. If you do so, have the camera at the ready so you do it only once.

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,126
6,728
Florida
Probably some tasty smokes left in that stummel, but I am not so sure about the stem's comfort level.

It's certainly a beauty with character and poise.

 

jguss

Lifer
Jul 7, 2013
2,476
6,448
The clues are pretty slender here so it's tough to do more than speculate. But for what it's worth here's my view.
First, I agree with bonehed that the seller's sticker says "W_en", which actually makes a lot of sense. In that case the missing letter is certainly "i", which means the locations originally put on the label were "Wien & Seattle". Wien ("Vienna") was a major exporter of meerschaum pipes at that time and you'll find the city's name on many surviving cases. I understand that this particular pipe is briar, but the sticker represents the company or individual that sold it, and it seems probable that they advertised themselves as purveyors of pipes made in Vienna and Seattle.
Secondly, I don't believe this Wilke was the same as the one in NYC; if there's a link it goes back several generations and would be found not in America but in northern Germany (the area stretching between Berlin and what used to be the German city of Stettin, but is now the Polish city of Szczecin). Edwin Wilke (the founder of E Wilke in Manhattan) came relatively late to the pipe business. His father Franz Richard was a watchmaker, and worked in the jewelry trade most of his life until taking a ceremonial position in a laundry business started by his other sons. Edwin worked in insurance for a number of years before moving into first tobacco, and then the pipe business about 1915; this was a number of years after this pipe appears to have been made (if we believe the 1909 scratched on it). Moreover there is no sign that Edwin, or his daughters, who took over the business after his death in 1920, ever established a location outside of NYC, let alone on the west coast.
So if all that's true, who is this Wilke apparently in the pipe business in Seattle? A little research surfaces a plausible candidate. Louis Wilke (1853-1923) was a German immigrant and pipe maker who first shows up in the Seattle city directories in 1905, and remains listed until his death in 1923. He likewise appears in Seattle in the 1910 and 1920 censuses; there is a listing in rural Washington in 1900, but for various reasons I'm not entirely sure it's the same man. Louis and his wife Louisa had eight children. Three survived to maturity, and none apparently continued the business started by their father.
Sketchy to say the least, but absent a better reading of the sticker I'm inclined to think this might be your man.

 

xrundog

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 23, 2014
737
1
Ames, IA
Thanks jguss. Your supposition reeks of plausibility. I think you've shed a little light on the mystery. :puffy:

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,424
11,325
Maryland
postimg.cc
Another fantastic bit of sleuthing by Mr. Guss, bravo!
If the band were a repair, I thought that might explain the seemingly mixed manufacturer names between the case and the briar.

 
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