Interesting Completed Ebay Auctions - British Pipes

[TheIronMonkey]

Treasurepipes had some interesting pipes go off this afternoon.

Swan neck GBD. It's been a long time since I've seen a GBD go over $600

Pardon Our Interruption...

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Wally Frank "Artistocrat" were rumored to have been made by Comoy's. This one sure looks like a 499

Pardon Our Interruption...

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I tried bidding on the GBD, but the amount jumped above my max at the end.

 

[buroak]

Twarn't me Al. Offhand I forget who had that forum name, if I ever knew.

On the general topic of this pipe I have a ton of information about Wally Frank and his business and can add a little to this conversation. Wally Frank pipes are a hornet's nest; their name is attached to 181 models listed in the inestimable Who Made That Pipe. Artistrocrats is not one of them; White Bar, however, is. Note in passing that the other manufacturer of a White Bar identified in WMTP besides WF is L&H Stern, and the countries of origin for both makers are listed as the USA and England. Clearly Stern is USA, and at least some if not all of WF's White Bar pipes came from England.

With that broad hint it's easy enough to find proof that again some, if not all, of the Wally Frank White Bar pipes came from England, and more specifically are often stamped London. Here's a link to one sold by Chance Whittamore a while back that has shape number 235 stamped on it: EXCELLENT! COMOY'S MADE WALLY FRANK FULL BENT AMERICAN ENGLISH Estate Pipe MINT | #4705220430 - https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/excellent-comoys-made-wally-frank-4705220430.

Note that shape 235 is listed as a kruger in at least one Comoy shape chart:

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And also note that any number of kruger/oom paul shape pipes stamped with 235 and made by Comoy under one of its many aliases can be readily found. Less persuasive of course, but still worth a glancing comment is that the white bar itself is reminiscent of the early bar utilized by Comoy on its Grand Slam.

So in sum, with all the usual caveats I think it's not unreasonable to suspect that a WF Aristrocrats is a dba for a White Bar and that the WF White Bar is frequently of Comoy manufacture.

As an aside I'll note that the pipe Chance sold said Wally Frank over London. It may be tempting to believe that referred not to the place of manufacture but to Wally Frank's purported London origins. The latter was a blatant lie; Frank was born in NYC and died in Connecticut, and his forbearers were all German on both sides of the family. Moreover the notion that WF had a London location was pure fiction, and meant to cash in on the cachet associated with English products. This entirely baseless London claim was made for the first four years WF was in business but eventually the Feds caught up with old Wally and the FTC slapped him down pretty hard. Other exaggerations so grotesque as to be outright falsehoods were called out too (e.g. that WF made its own pipes). The summary findings are relatively lengthy but the punchline is brief (see below). It is, as you'd expect, a cease-and-decease order. To Wally's discomfiture the proceedings were reported in contemporary trade journals and more embarrassing still in a few public newspapers:

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Thank you for laying out the knowns and known unknowns. There have got to be innumerable unknown unknowns still lurking in the story of Wally Frank and his pipes. The FTC story is a hoot, at least for this nerd.

If you cannot find a printed trace of White Bar Aristocrats, then I doubt it exists. Who knows, though, what ancient catalog might land on eBay. I can hope.

Seeing that 235 is painful. It is definitely an early Comoy’s-made White Bar. The shape number in Comoy’s usual font, as you demonstrate, is the clearest tell. The early manufacturer is suggested by the stem work. What makes it painful is that it is a pipe I sold through Chance. There are not many pipes I regret parting with, but that is one of the few.

 

[ssjones]

Thank you for laying out the knowns and known unknowns. There have got to be innumerable unknown unknowns still lurking in the story of Wally Frank and his pipes. The FTC story is a hoot, at least for this nerd.

If you cannot find a printed trace of White Bar Aristocrats, then I doubt it exists. Who knows, though, what ancient catalog might land on eBay. I can hope.

Seeing that 235 is painful. It is definitely an early Comoy’s-made White Bar. The shape number in Comoy’s usual font, as you demonstrate, is the clearest tell. The early manufacturer is suggested by the stem work. What makes it painful is that it is a pipe I sold through Chance. There are not many pipes I regret parting with, but that is one of the few.

I wonder what journey led it to Rodrigo at Treasurepipes.

 

[jguss]

Then there's only one Jon Guss…

My wife would agree and say “thank God”

 

[jguss]

knowns and known unknowns

A Rummy quote; that makes my day

 

[buroak]

I wonder what journey led it to Rodrigo at Treasurepipes.

Do you mean the Rhodesian or the Oom Paul? (Quite the juxtaposition of shape names.)

 

[buroak]

I tried bidding on the GBD, but the amount jumped above my max at the end.

One could say it went for an unholy sum.

 

[greeneyes]

Early Sasieni pipes have a different 'cut' or 'make' to them that I find exceptionally appealing. Perhaps a year ago I bought a mystery pipe based on the look of it and was eventually able to trace it back to Sasieni based on a Reg. number (which appeared on a second pipe I came across of the same make). In any case, this is an early Royal Stuart, dating from 1929 to, I would conjecture, 1939. To my eye, the conspicuous button, shape number (#20 being a later Perth, apparently) and overall appearance would suggest before 1935 (I refer to the '35 catalogue on Pipedia (DiCuccio), but a definitive ante quam is lacking.

Vintage - Royal Stuart - 20 - Smoking Pipe - London Made | eBay

The vintage Royal Stuart 20 smoking pipe is a handmade billiard pipe made in London. This collectible piece is crafted with attention to detail and quality, reflecting the rich tradition of pipe making in the United Kingdom. This pipe has been used.

www.ebay.com

The pipe has its condenser-system intact, though it has resisted my gentlest attempts at removing it. Fortunately it appears on the "yeoldewasabi" blog, so at least I know which way the threading turns. Cooling didn't help, but perhaps an overnight soak. Mine has an extension that this example is lacking (also threaded). The threading may have been on other Sasieni pipes, as someone posted a photo on Pipedia of a maladapted a WDC Yo-Ho (and a bottle of rum) condenser on an apparently early Sasieni Friar.

 

[ssjones]

Early Sasieni pipes have a different 'cut' or 'make' to them that I find exceptionally appealing. Perhaps a year ago I bought a mystery pipe based on the look of it and was eventually able to trace it back to Sasieni based on a Reg. number (which appeared on a second pipe I came across of the same make). In any case, this is an early Royal Stuart, dating from 1929 to, I would conjecture, 1939. To my eye, the conspicuous button, shape number (#20 being a later Perth, apparently) and overall appearance would suggest before 1935 (I refer to the '35 catalogue on Pipedia (DiCuccio), but a definitive ante quam is lacking.

Vintage - Royal Stuart - 20 - Smoking Pipe - London Made | eBay

The vintage Royal Stuart 20 smoking pipe is a handmade billiard pipe made in London. This collectible piece is crafted with attention to detail and quality, reflecting the rich tradition of pipe making in the United Kingdom. This pipe has been used.

www.ebay.com

The pipe has its condenser-system intact, though it has resisted my gentlest attempts at removing it. Fortunately it appears on the "yeoldewasabi" blog, so at least I know which way the threading turns. Cooling didn't help, but perhaps an overnight soak. Mine has an extension that this example is lacking (also threaded). The threading may have been on other Sasieni pipes, as someone posted a photo on Pipedia of a maladapted a WDC Yo-Ho (and a bottle of rum) condenser on an apparently early Sasieni Friar.

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Magnificent! Insert a flulffy cleaner, than store tenon down in enough alcohol to almost reach the end of the tenon. That should wick some alcohol up into the threads. Worst case scenario, nip off the narrow section of the stinger.

 

[greeneyes]

Magnificent! Insert a flulffy cleaner, than store tenon down in enough alcohol to almost reach the end of the tenon. That should wick some alcohol up into the threads. Worst case scenario, nip off the narrow section of the stinger.

I hope the fluffy cleaner works with an overnight soak... couldn't bring myself to saw the stinger down! I tried securing the stinger between two cork pads in a shop vise, as pliers would either scrape the stinger barrel, or, even worse, dent it into an oval.

 

[sablebrush52]

I hope the fluffy cleaner works with an overnight soak... couldn't bring myself to saw the stinger down! I tried securing the stinger between two cork pads in a shop vise, as pliers would either scrape the stinger barrel, or, even worse, dent it into an oval.

Are you sure this one is removable? Not all Sasieni stingers are. The alcohol soak should help, if anything is going to help. RonnieB taught me that trick when I had a stuck tenon in an early amber stemmed Barling. The unsticking had to be done very gently to avoid damaging the amber. In that instance it worked like a charm. What I did was use a syringe to drip alcohol between the tenon and the surrounding wood, drop by drop, for a couple of hours, to loosen up the gunk. Your situation may be a little different.

 

[greeneyes]

Are you sure this one is removable? Not all Sasieni stingers are. The alcohol soak should help, if anything is going to help. RonnieB taught me that trick when I had a stuck tenon in an early amber stemmed Barling. The unsticking had to be done very gently to avoid damaging the amber. In that instance it worked like a charm. What I did was use a syringe to drip alcohol between the tenon and the surrounding wood, drop by drop, for a couple of hours, to loosen up the gunk. Your situation may be a little different.

Jesse the Ye Olde Wasabi link shows the condenser screwed off. I'll try Ronnie B's method second, as it requires a little more attention

 

[greeneyes]

Magnificent! Insert a flulffy cleaner, than store tenon down in enough alcohol to almost reach the end of the tenon. That should wick some alcohol up into the threads. Worst case scenario, nip off the narrow section of the stinger.

Didn't take thirty minutes to soak free!

 

[ssjones]

Didn't take thirty minutes to soak free!
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Fabulous! I never saw a 2nd line Sasieni with that kind of stinger. I've only owned two Royal Stuarts, but neither had a stinger, or a threaded tenon, that I could recall. Neither were patent number pipes, so that makes sense.

 

[ssjones]

This is a pretty high price for a pedestrian Tradition. No COM listed or shown, so no clue if it was an early pipe.
Traditions usually go for around $100-$125 these days.

COMOY'S TRADITION SANDBLASTED FULL BENT PIPE | eBay

MARKED: COMOY'S TRADITION. 1 PIPE OR ENTIRE COLLECTIONS. MAKE SURE TO SUPER SIZE THE PHOTOS FOR A BETTER VIEW. LENGTH: 6". WEIGHT : 1.6o z. CONDITION: VERY GOOD.

www.ebay.com

 

[bootlegpipes]

Is this particularly special or rare?

DUNHILL Root Briar (5103) 1985 Pipe In EUC | eBay

DUNHILL Root Briar (5103) Pipe, year 1985 Minor tooth marks Beautiful condition Weight 1.63oz/46g Length 5.9” Bowl depth 2” Bowl width .75” Made in England

www.ebay.com

 

[Ryan]

This is a pretty high price for a pedestrian Tradition. No COM listed or shown, so no clue if it was an early pipe.
Traditions usually go for around $100-$125 these days.

COMOY'S TRADITION SANDBLASTED FULL BENT PIPE | eBay

MARKED: COMOY'S TRADITION. 1 PIPE OR ENTIRE COLLECTIONS. MAKE SURE TO SUPER SIZE THE PHOTOS FOR A BETTER VIEW. LENGTH: 6". WEIGHT : 1.6o z. CONDITION: VERY GOOD.

www.ebay.com

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This is the first sandblasted Tradition I have seen, are they rare in the sandblast finish?

 

[ssjones]

This is the first sandblasted Tradition I have seen, are they rare in the sandblast finish?

Right! I've owned over forty Traditions and none were sandblasted.

 

[damacene]

This is a pretty high price for a pedestrian Tradition. No COM listed or shown, so no clue if it was an early pipe.
Traditions usually go for around $100-$125 these days.

COMOY'S TRADITION SANDBLASTED FULL BENT PIPE | eBay

MARKED: COMOY'S TRADITION. 1 PIPE OR ENTIRE COLLECTIONS. MAKE SURE TO SUPER SIZE THE PHOTOS FOR A BETTER VIEW. LENGTH: 6". WEIGHT : 1.6o z. CONDITION: VERY GOOD.

www.ebay.com

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I've had my eye on a couple and I've seen them listed for $200-$250 which seemed pretty high for more as I've bought and sold dunhills at that price. Maybe the markets changing.

 

[Terry Lennox]

I'm sure a few of you saw this 3-pipe set last week. Anyone know who bought it?
Dunhill Cased Set