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aquadoc

aquadoc

Lifer
Feb 15, 2017
2,044
1,522
New Hampshire, USA
I am pleased with the purchase but the inner bevel of the Sitter was mucked up a tiny bit by whomever used a reamer. Not bad but I do not feel comfortable to attempt to recut it.
So the sitter has Conquest over GBD over New Era and on opposite side, London England over 9609.
The bent has GBD over Garland and on the opposite side London England over 508.
After all of the reading and some questions to various folks, the latest these are likely made was the 60s and the earliest was late 40s. In any case, They are dwarfed by the Mountbatten at the bottom I included for scale. I can't decide which I prefer... Pretty much a tie. No fills that I can find. A few small wear scratches that a good buffer will fix. The Perspex stem us amazingly clean. Now to give them a salt soak.
2017-05-13-20-12-45-502x600.jpg

2017-05-13-20-13-21-450x600.jpg

2017-05-13-20-13-54-600x558.jpg


 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,455
Very nice set. The sitter is really nifty, but the bent ones look like great smokers too.

 
ssjones

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,410
11,302
Maryland
postimg.cc
Very interesting!
On the 9609 (Poker or Cherrywood)

Conquest - this is the smallest of the three oversize stamps

Is the band GBD stamped?

 
sallow

sallow

Lifer
Jun 30, 2013
1,531
3,771
Very handsome pipes, well done.
I am certain my GBD is out there, somewhere, just waiting.

 
aquadoc

aquadoc

Lifer
Feb 15, 2017
2,044
1,522
New Hampshire, USA
Al, It has "Sterling Silver" written in a semi-arc facing the shank and on top of the ring. The last part of the silver word has just about been polished off. I see a faint series of blocks that could have been hallmarks but they are unreadable. These are located on the opposite side from the sterling silver inscription.

 
J

jensen

Can't Leave
Apr 10, 2016
440
144
I think it is a production code. They began with that when production moved to the earlier Orlik factory in South End on Sea about 1980.

Without looking after I remember having pipes stamped H, M, J, E, R.
But it could be bowl grading. My E is a BBB Perfect Make, R an Comoy London Pride and H an Everyman.

 
aquadoc

aquadoc

Lifer
Feb 15, 2017
2,044
1,522
New Hampshire, USA
There are alphanumeric codes on pipes from much earlier production if 2 different discussions on Reddit are correct. I do not have a pipe with one but wondered because there have been some pipes on ebay with a leading letter on shape numbers.

 
ssjones

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,410
11,302
Maryland
postimg.cc
The 1930's pipes all seem have R designations.

Later model pipes seem to have various letters, as do Comoy's of that era. I made the same assumption as Jensen.
Like this Topaz that Steve Laug recently finished (P on the shank)

https://rebornpipes.com/2017/05/13/freshening-up-a-gbd-topaz-559-bulldog/

 
aquadoc

aquadoc

Lifer
Feb 15, 2017
2,044
1,522
New Hampshire, USA
How can a company that produced so many pipes not leave some paper trail to what the codes mean, how to determine year of production, etc.? Bizarre. BTW, that is a nice Bulldog.

 
ssjones

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,410
11,302
Maryland
postimg.cc
I guess in that era, those kind of details (nomenclature) wasn't that noteworthy.

Bill Unger was supposed to write the GBD book, but that never happened.

The only book on GBD, "The St. Claude Story" focuses primarily on the financial end of the business.

 
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