1884 Barling Pipe On eBay

[sablebrush52]

Library pipe
This just got listed and I'm following the auction. I'm not interested bidding because of the obvious issues, but I suspect that it will still go for a few bucks because very few buyers of these old pipes actually seem to know what they are looking at.
We have some good pipe sleuths here. What are the issues that you spot.

 

[foolwiththefez]

I'm a complete infant as far as collectible pipe knowledge goes, but wouldn't an amber stem from 1884 be very brittle and "look but don't touch"?

 

[mcitinner1]

Looking forward to learning something here.

 

[sablebrush52]

I'm a complete infant as far as collectible pipe knowledge goes, but wouldn't an amber stem from 1884 be very brittle and "look but don't touch"?

Amber stems are brittle by nature. that's why so many old pipes have badly damaged amber stems, or have lost their original stem. But there's a serious and costly structural issue that is visible in the photographs.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The bottom left side of the bowl appears to have fissures as well as a burn mark - at least that's my amateur guess!

 

[ssjones]

From this picture, there appears to be a split on the bone section of the stem. (but I really don't know enough about pipes from this era to know if that is structural or just part of natural bone)

This fitment looks pretty wonky. I can't discern the actual hallmark symbol for the date, but if it really is that old (visually, it looks old) I would expect some degradation of the stem material.

 

[sablebrush52]

Al hit it! The extension is made from albatross bone, specifically the wing, and it has split in a number of areas. This makes the extension structurally weak, leaking and pretty much unusable. You can still buy albatross bone, apparently, at a price of $150 per inch (quote two years ago). So, one could conceivably have a replacement made for about $1500.
That said, someone could pay $700 or more for the pipe. Might even go more than a grand if two or more idiots duel. As a shelf sitter I wouldn't go more than $300, but in truth it's worth $0 to me in its current state.

 

[gloucesterman]

I would second SS on the guess and for me it's a guess because I have little or no knowledge of bone and how it ages. There appears to be some cracking. How deep that might be is hard to say but the discoloration suggests it's probably through to the airway.

 

[sablebrush52]

I would second SS on the guess and for me it's a guess because I have little or no knowledge of bone and how it ages. There appears to be some cracking. How deep that might be is hard to say but the discoloration suggests it's probably through to the airway.

It has. How do I know this? Guess who owns a useless albatross bone extension pipe...

 

[annraoi]

I was watching the pipe...I believe it sold for over $300!

 

[fmgee]

You can still buy albatross bone, apparently, at a price of $150 per inch

Wow. I wonder where this comes from now. I spent a week working in an Albatross colony a number of years ago. There were bones everywhere from when the whalers used to eat the birds 100 odd years before. If only I knew the value of those bones! For a bird that is so graceful in the air they are really crap at being on the ground!

 

[condorlover1]

It looks like it has a bloody great big chunk of filler next to the foot as well. I have seen these things before and they have always struck me as totally impractical pipes. The 'cutty' style is pretty common in briar and I have owned several of them over the years but they don't compare favorably to their meerschaum cousins since I personally find they smoke too hot for my tastes. The current bid is Sterling 109.00 and I am sure it will top out in the high 300s although with these types of pipes you can never tell as I have seen people pick up veritable bargains for under Twenty Pounds on the odd occasion. It will be interesting to see the direction this one takes as there are eight more days to go.

 

[okiescout]

Thanks for the education, Brush. I seriously doubt you could get this in a book.

 

[disinformatique]

Thanks for the pipe lesson. I concur with Okiescout, you need to write a book.
Chris :puffpipe:

 

[bonehed]

~$550 USD with 3 hours to go...

 

[bonehed]

$844. Wow.

 

[sablebrush52]

Let's hope that the winner is happy with his purchase. He paid quite a tidy sum for it. At least, when I bought mine, I only paid $150 for it.

 

[gloucesterman]

I think that buyer just paid his tuition, (the price you pay for the education). Expensive class that one. Had he been a forum member it would have been a lot less so.

 

[hawke]

Might be helpful.

Amber Authentication

 

[okiescout]

"I think that buyer just paid his tuition, (the price you pay for the education)"
Right on, Gloucesterman.

My old boss would say " that guy just attended a seminar, he paid good money to learn something he likely will not forget."