Please explain "Transitional Barling".
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Thank you for this post. I have often wondered about the "transition" terminology
related to Barling's/Barling pipes, and this spells it out chapter and verse. Of course,
the English tend to make a pretty good pipe in general. I don't know of any total
stinkers from Britain. I'm glad to hear the current crop is at least acceptable to far
better than that. It's interesting that many pipe makes have "transitional" periods,
although that word may not be used. Stanwell, before and after their move from Denmark
to Italy. Jobey that seems to have moved around relentlessly, with periods in France,
U.S., I think England at one point, and then back to France. It requires a square dance
caller to recite the history of some brands. I like the eternally located Dr. Grabow in
Sparta, N.C.; Missouri Meerschaum in Washington, Mo., just west of St. Louis; and those
eternally settled pipe people in St. Claude's, where a lot of the British pipe makers derived
their craft and shapes.
related to Barling's/Barling pipes, and this spells it out chapter and verse. Of course,
the English tend to make a pretty good pipe in general. I don't know of any total
stinkers from Britain. I'm glad to hear the current crop is at least acceptable to far
better than that. It's interesting that many pipe makes have "transitional" periods,
although that word may not be used. Stanwell, before and after their move from Denmark
to Italy. Jobey that seems to have moved around relentlessly, with periods in France,
U.S., I think England at one point, and then back to France. It requires a square dance
caller to recite the history of some brands. I like the eternally located Dr. Grabow in
Sparta, N.C.; Missouri Meerschaum in Washington, Mo., just west of St. Louis; and those
eternally settled pipe people in St. Claude's, where a lot of the British pipe makers derived
their craft and shapes.
When Barling was bought, there was a
stock of all things Barling sold with the
name. Pipes made after the sale but before
the existing bowls and blocks ran out
could be considered transition pipes. Some
such pipes have markings the post trans
pipes do not have.
Mike S.
stock of all things Barling sold with the
name. Pipes made after the sale but before
the existing bowls and blocks ran out
could be considered transition pipes. Some
such pipes have markings the post trans
pipes do not have.
Mike S.
Just want to mention that I have recently purchased a couple of 'pre-transitional' Barlings pipes and two of them are real stinkers. I should have known with a 4 digit stamp, but I took the word of 2 noted sellers who I trusted.
Naturally, I smoked them so no returns.
As the article states, there was a period of transitional time where the old stock of briar was still available for use, but the exact date of when that ran out is unclear.
Certainly, leave it to me to obtain 2 that were made not only by the 'new' Barling company, but new briar as well.
Oh, well.
Naturally, I smoked them so no returns.
As the article states, there was a period of transitional time where the old stock of briar was still available for use, but the exact date of when that ran out is unclear.
Certainly, leave it to me to obtain 2 that were made not only by the 'new' Barling company, but new briar as well.
Oh, well.
I have a nice little smooth bulldog post trans and it smokes quite well.I suspect a bad Barling has more to do with it's previous care than anything really.Perhaps yours were abused when young?
Mike S.
Mike S.
Mike
They both actually came to me in pretty good condition, but it could also just be the luck of the draw.
I will mention that I have 3 'real' pre-transition Barlings that allow me to give this company the respect it deserves.
To me, there is a difference.
They both actually came to me in pretty good condition, but it could also just be the luck of the draw.
I will mention that I have 3 'real' pre-transition Barlings that allow me to give this company the respect it deserves.
To me, there is a difference.
So here's the deal from my standpoint. There's little point to the traditional three era - Pre-Transition, Transition, Post-Transition - set of definitions. Here's why.
The simple breakdown goes like this:
Pre-Trans Barling - Barling pipes made while the family owned the company. Depending on your source this period extends from 1812 to 1960, or 1962.
Trans-Barlings - Barling pipes made after the family sold their business to the "transition" company. This period, depending on who gives the dates, extends from 1960 or 1962, to 1964, 1968, etc, etc.
Post-Transition - Barling pipes made after the "transition" company was bought by Imperial Tobacco. This era extends from 1964 or 1968 thru the present.
It's nice. It's simple. And, it's bullshit.
So, here's what happened.
The Barling family owned and ran their business until October of 1960, when they finalized the sale to Finlay, which was their largest customer and which ran a large chain of tobacconists throughout Britain. At the time that Finlay bought B. Barling & Sons, they were themselves 49% owned by Imperial Tobacco.
Even though the Barlings sold their business, they were retained by Finlay to run it. Montague Barling remained as president of the company, and Williamson Barling remained the general manager. The staff remained essentially the same. Even the pipes were made in the same manner, by hand, and the nomenclature remained exactly the same as when the family owned the business. This state of affairs continued for roughly 20 months after the Barling family had sold their business to Finlay, the so called "Transition" Company.
So although the "transition" era began in late 1960, there's no way to discern any difference between the last "Pre-Transition pipes and the early "Transition" pipes because the stampings workmanship and materials are the same. That's 20 months of production that cannot be distinguished.
In 1962 things get interesting.
The Barling managed/Finlay owned company started to change the stampings. Pipes were stamped with the 1930's era "Barling's Make" stamp and also with a model numbering system that used a 4 digit number whose first digit represented the chamber size. First digits ranged from 2 thru 6. These new stampings first appeared in print in the 150th anniversary catalog that was issued in mid 1962.
In June 1962 Williamson Barling was given the sack and not much later Montague stepped down. Finlay placed their own people in charge and began to make changes in the operation to expand the range of products, and to make pipes for others, notably Falcon. Many of Barling's senior carvers were let go. This was an incremental process.
By November of 1962 the product line had been completely revamped and the nomenclature had been changed. Gone was the "Barling's Make" logo, stamped in block letters with the word "Barling's" arched over "Make". In its place was a script "Barling" with the words London England stamped beneath the new script logo. The new model system was retained. These pipes are identified as either "Transition" or "Post-Transition" because most people can't tell the difference. In November of 1962, Barling issued a new catalog with the new stampings, finishes and new gradings.
The "Post_Transition" era is supposed to begin in either 1964, or 1968, depending on which source you consult as that's supposed to be when Imperial Tobacco bought the "Transition" company (Finlays). In point of fact, all of that is wrong. Imperial already owned a 40% stake in Finlay and had an option to buy the rest of the company. This they did in February of 1963.
So, you have a "Transition" era of 2 years and 4 months and you have 20 months of production that can't be identified as to era. The so called "Transition" era might as well not exist. It's effectively meaningless.
Once Imperial took over, another management shuffle took place and the pace of change accelerated. In 1968 Imperial closed the Barling factories and outsourced production to Charatan and the Ogden group, as well as other companies. Later, Imperial contracted with Nording to make Barling pipes for them. In 1980, Imperial sold the Barling name and rights to an investment group who set up operations on the Isle of Man with intention of restoring the Brand to a high level of quality.
As to the fabled Barling wood, there's a bit of a story there as well. In 1906, Barling decided to make all of their own bowls rather than make some and import others from Saint Claude, which was common practice. They decided to control the quality of the wood from the ground to the sales counter. To do that Barling set up their own harvesting operations in Algeria and did their own cutting, aging, etc.
This state of affairs continued until 1954, when a little thing called the Algerian War of Independence put an end to Barling's operations. After 1954 Barling sourced from anywhere that they could find briar that met their quality requirements.
There are Barling collectors who say that the "Pre_Transition", "Transition", "Post-Transition" breakdown is wrong because it ignores the change in the material used to fashion the pipes. Their breakdown is as follows and it is also useless. 1812-1954 - Pre-Transition; 1955-1962 - Transition 1; 1962-1968 - Transition 2; 1968 onward - Post Transition.
The simplest and most accurate way to break down Barling eras is Family Era, which encompasses all pipes made while the family either own or ran the business, and Corporate era, which would start with the change of nomenclature in late 1962, and encompass all of the changes that have taken place since. It's not perfect, but it's one hell of a lot more accurate.
And now you know the difference, and why it doesn't actually matter.
The simple breakdown goes like this:
Pre-Trans Barling - Barling pipes made while the family owned the company. Depending on your source this period extends from 1812 to 1960, or 1962.
Trans-Barlings - Barling pipes made after the family sold their business to the "transition" company. This period, depending on who gives the dates, extends from 1960 or 1962, to 1964, 1968, etc, etc.
Post-Transition - Barling pipes made after the "transition" company was bought by Imperial Tobacco. This era extends from 1964 or 1968 thru the present.
It's nice. It's simple. And, it's bullshit.
So, here's what happened.
The Barling family owned and ran their business until October of 1960, when they finalized the sale to Finlay, which was their largest customer and which ran a large chain of tobacconists throughout Britain. At the time that Finlay bought B. Barling & Sons, they were themselves 49% owned by Imperial Tobacco.
Even though the Barlings sold their business, they were retained by Finlay to run it. Montague Barling remained as president of the company, and Williamson Barling remained the general manager. The staff remained essentially the same. Even the pipes were made in the same manner, by hand, and the nomenclature remained exactly the same as when the family owned the business. This state of affairs continued for roughly 20 months after the Barling family had sold their business to Finlay, the so called "Transition" Company.
So although the "transition" era began in late 1960, there's no way to discern any difference between the last "Pre-Transition pipes and the early "Transition" pipes because the stampings workmanship and materials are the same. That's 20 months of production that cannot be distinguished.
In 1962 things get interesting.
The Barling managed/Finlay owned company started to change the stampings. Pipes were stamped with the 1930's era "Barling's Make" stamp and also with a model numbering system that used a 4 digit number whose first digit represented the chamber size. First digits ranged from 2 thru 6. These new stampings first appeared in print in the 150th anniversary catalog that was issued in mid 1962.
In June 1962 Williamson Barling was given the sack and not much later Montague stepped down. Finlay placed their own people in charge and began to make changes in the operation to expand the range of products, and to make pipes for others, notably Falcon. Many of Barling's senior carvers were let go. This was an incremental process.
By November of 1962 the product line had been completely revamped and the nomenclature had been changed. Gone was the "Barling's Make" logo, stamped in block letters with the word "Barling's" arched over "Make". In its place was a script "Barling" with the words London England stamped beneath the new script logo. The new model system was retained. These pipes are identified as either "Transition" or "Post-Transition" because most people can't tell the difference. In November of 1962, Barling issued a new catalog with the new stampings, finishes and new gradings.
The "Post_Transition" era is supposed to begin in either 1964, or 1968, depending on which source you consult as that's supposed to be when Imperial Tobacco bought the "Transition" company (Finlays). In point of fact, all of that is wrong. Imperial already owned a 40% stake in Finlay and had an option to buy the rest of the company. This they did in February of 1963.
So, you have a "Transition" era of 2 years and 4 months and you have 20 months of production that can't be identified as to era. The so called "Transition" era might as well not exist. It's effectively meaningless.
Once Imperial took over, another management shuffle took place and the pace of change accelerated. In 1968 Imperial closed the Barling factories and outsourced production to Charatan and the Ogden group, as well as other companies. Later, Imperial contracted with Nording to make Barling pipes for them. In 1980, Imperial sold the Barling name and rights to an investment group who set up operations on the Isle of Man with intention of restoring the Brand to a high level of quality.
As to the fabled Barling wood, there's a bit of a story there as well. In 1906, Barling decided to make all of their own bowls rather than make some and import others from Saint Claude, which was common practice. They decided to control the quality of the wood from the ground to the sales counter. To do that Barling set up their own harvesting operations in Algeria and did their own cutting, aging, etc.
This state of affairs continued until 1954, when a little thing called the Algerian War of Independence put an end to Barling's operations. After 1954 Barling sourced from anywhere that they could find briar that met their quality requirements.
There are Barling collectors who say that the "Pre_Transition", "Transition", "Post-Transition" breakdown is wrong because it ignores the change in the material used to fashion the pipes. Their breakdown is as follows and it is also useless. 1812-1954 - Pre-Transition; 1955-1962 - Transition 1; 1962-1968 - Transition 2; 1968 onward - Post Transition.
The simplest and most accurate way to break down Barling eras is Family Era, which encompasses all pipes made while the family either own or ran the business, and Corporate era, which would start with the change of nomenclature in late 1962, and encompass all of the changes that have taken place since. It's not perfect, but it's one hell of a lot more accurate.
And now you know the difference, and why it doesn't actually matter.
I for one will save and refer to all of the above as my education and search for my first Barling continues. Thanks Jesse!
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