Interesting Completed Ebay Auctions - British Pipes

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,068
Maryland
postimg.cc
Rolando, I think the value lies not in the pipe per se but in its association with Hardy's, a world famous seller of fishing tackle (for a brief history of the firm see: Hardy - A Short History - https://www.hardyfishing.com/pages/hardy-history). My guess is that the buyer was an angler who wants it for the Hardy name, whether or not they happen to be a pipe smoker.

As for the pipe, it was made by John Higgins & Co. I discussed Higgins and his company a few times over the last five years, most recently in a post last month (see: Please Help ID this Old Clay. :: Pipe Talk - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/please-help-id-this-old-clay.85176/#post-36400115).

Jon
I was going to suggest the same - Hardy fly reels are legendary and sought after by collectors.
 

jguss

Lifer
Jul 7, 2013
2,412
6,212

Very cheap indeed. Someone got a great bargain. But then Loewe’s, like so many of the old English brands, tend to fall in and out of favor with collectors.

I’m not sure when the Special Grain was introduced but know it was available by 1953, and continued to be sold at least through the end of the 1960s.

Here’s a price list from 1969:

BD748E19-E5D5-4DF4-9522-099A899CBE52.jpeg
 
Last edited:

OzPiper

Lifer
Nov 30, 2020
5,756
30,561
71
Sydney, Australia
I’m not sure when the Special Grain was introduced but know it was available by 1953, and continued to be sold at least through the end of the 1960s.

Here’s a price list from 1969:

View attachment 94298
Jon, thanks for posting that pricelist.
I have a few Loewe Bulldogs including a Centurion, a Special Grain and a Straight Grain which I will post in the Loewe thread this weekend.
I have wondered how Loewe rated them on their scale.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dmcmtk

craig61a

Lifer
Apr 29, 2017
5,765
47,532
Minnesota USA
Insane in the Upshall...

I followed this Upshall X Dublin for the past week. The bidding was tame up until the last half hour.

I would have been comfortable going $175-$200 on it.

It appears to be a 1981-1983 manufacture based on the logo stamp. The stamp appears deep enough to guess that the imprinter they got from Sasieni was used.

There is wear around the middle of the logo that would be from either buffing or regular handling. As for unsmoked, it looks like the chamber was sanded and the bowl topped. Note the difference in color from the body of the bowl.

Band looks aftermarket too. Perhaps there's a crack in the stummel...?

I would pay $820 for a legit 81-83 Upshall X unsmoked in the box...

James Upshall JU Tilshead England Hand Crafted Wood Wooden Smoking Pipe JRJ | eBay
 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,068
Maryland
postimg.cc
Interesting early Comoy's shape (meer lined it appears). 1907? Stem, who knows but the button looks orific.

1631235218560.png

 

OzPiper

Lifer
Nov 30, 2020
5,756
30,561
71
Sydney, Australia
Interesting early Comoy's shape (meer lined it appears). 1907? Stem, who knows but the button looks orific.

View attachment 96844

Al,
Thanks for posting. I just love those chubby, chunky, compact shapes.
Don't know how I missed that totally.
If one of the members here scored this and would like to flip it, please PM me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jpmcwjr

guylesss

Can't Leave
May 13, 2020
322
1,155
Brooklyn, NY
This Dunhill went for $3,716.

I've been shaking my head with some disbelief at this one's astonishing final price. The 1937 coronation was by equal measures a big deal and something of a fiasco for English luxury good makers. This because of the unexpected abdication of Edward VIII on 10-11 December 1936 with ceremonies scheduled for 12 May. Every imaginable kind of souvenir for every budget were in the works--mugs with royal portraits and coats of arms, etched crystal decanters, porcelain tea sets, beautiful wrought sterling silver objects for desk and table, medals.

Unfortunately for many of Englands most famous brands and retailers quite a lot of Edward VIII merchandise had already been manufactured, one infers, it was already in stores and being sold when the shocking announcement came.

I am a big fan of an art deco London silversmith called "R.E. Stone" who sold to retailers like Asprey, and own quite a number of his surprising large range of handsome coronation pieces variously celebrating either Edward or George (indeed, my impression is he may not have had time to make anything for at least a year that wasn't).

As for the pipe--it's certainly nice enough but definitely presents a few riddles. It appears to be unsmoked and has a lovely "bowling ball" vulcanite stem, but the crown looks to me fairly generic (ie it finesses altogether the awkward question of whether it is honoring the company's long time champion and patron, Edward, or his younger brother).

Nothing about it suggests it was anything other than the sort of luxury souvenir that other retailers were hawking. And that Dunhill had actual made it for one of them personally (which might have justified its regal price). What is curious--if I am reading the blurry scan of its nomenclature is that the pipe appears to date (with a "13") to 1933--which is to say, even if one assumes the nicely executed crown was Dunhill's own work, there's a three-four year gap between the making of the stummel and the addition of this carving. Usually (but not always) completed Dunhill pipes that remained in stock unsold for more than a year received an additional updated stamp (to extend their warranty). But this pipe appears to lack any.

Intriguing.