Pre 1980 Hilson Estate

Also received yesterday after my weekly trek was a nice package from Matthia.
A pre 1980 Hilson estate in a little prince, bent apple, author shape... I know it's pre-acquisition of Hilson by Gubbels since it actually says "Made in Belgium". After the merger the factory moved to the Netherlands and the stamp changed.
Ran a pipe cleaner straight through, without any effort, dusted it off a bit. It's expertly cleaned and buffed. You can see some of the nice grain on the bowl. Only two little fills on the other side.
Then loaded it up with some Erinmore and man, oh man.. nice smoke. :puff pipe: A little left over sweetness, smoked nice and cool. Really enjoyed it. I wanted this pipe more for a sentimental value, being from Belgium and all, but this puppy smokes really well. It may actually go in my regular rotation.
Thanks to Mattia for the heads up ! For reference, he's a great guy to do business with :worship:

I really need to finish writing up that history segment.
It's an old Belgian pipe maker that was bought by Gubbels (of Big Ben fame) in 1980. They then moved the factory to the Netherlands, effectively ending the pipe manufacturing in Belgium. Although they still make the Hilson pipes in the Netherlands today.
And yes, this pipe says "Made in Belgium", so it's pre move or very shortly there after. The same factory owner, Hillens, actually had two sons of which one was called Albert. He made the Albertson pipes, of which I own two.
I've written a piece on it and am waiting for three more pipes to come in the mail. Once I have them all polished and shiny, I'm going to send them over to Gubbels to ask if they can help with dating. Once that's done, I'll finish up the article and post somewhere and let you know.