1920s Loewe "Elton" with Sterling Band--The Puzzles Posed by a Not So Benign Century of Use

[guylesss]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

Periodically (over the past dozen years) the riddles of my only vintage Loewe (acquired for a modest sum on Ebay) have nagged at me.

The pipe is clearly a Loewe of the Haymarket era that began decently in life. That much is clear.

But decades of buffing briar and polishing silver, and (I presume) replacement of the tenon--quite possibly by a machinist rather than an artful restorer, and certainly not Loewe itself) leave me baffled. And pose riddles that I'm hoping that some of you may be able, mildly intrigued by, and amenable to answer.

First puzzle is the name "Elton" still faintly legible. Maybe the Loewe Pipe Packet (which I would certainly buy if I owned other Loewes or saw some new vintage Loewes in my future) records such a model, but I've found no reference searching elsewhere. My first thought was perhaps some part of the lettering had been buffed away, but the clear serif font is unmistakable--and it's not, for instance, a "Captain Bolton" nor a "Walton."

Next puzzle is the hallmark. The hand drawn facsimiles in Tardy's International Hallmarks (which I do own as an invaluable, regularly consulted reference) are usually terrifically helpful with blurry date codes (even when proceeding by process of elimination). On this occasion, however, I'm confident only that I'm looking at a lowercase letter (with a strong straight stroke parallel along left side and another at the top). Unfortunately, London used lowercase codes 1896-1915 and 1916-1935, so really no help at all for narrowing the date of a Loewe band. The silversmith's mark here "AD" (rather than BD) might conceivably be a tiebreaker--at least if anyone here knows the nitty gritty details of the Dumenil family's pipe mounting business (and what mark was used when).

Finally, there is the solid brass tenon (Really???). The best that can be said for it is it fits. But at least to my own very novice Loewe eye everything about the stem screams DIY replacement, and the original must have had a more graceful line.

Pictures below. Questions will be fielded as well as I am able. And above all, the thoughts and speculation of my expert Loewe betters enthusiastically welcomed.

 

[greeneyes]

I must admit that I do see the ever-so-faint imprint of an "M" before the "ELTON."

 

[ssjones]

I do see a faint letter beside the E.
Dave is our resident hallmark expert, I'm sure he'll chime in.

 

[greeneyes]

Meltons were Sasieni pipes. Are there any other discernible stampings on the pipe? I'll just Google the "Melton" to see if the script of the letters match. Beautiful pipe by the way!

 

[ssjones]

Meltons were Sasieni pipes. Are there any other discernible stampings on the pipe? I'll just Google the "Melton" to see if the script of the letters match. Beautiful pipe by the way!

Melton was a town name era Sasieni model, a straight bulldog. (Shape 78 on earlier pipes)

 

[guylesss]

Gentleman, thank you indeed. The only stamped nomenclature that has survived clearly is an L & Co within an oval with o raised and underlined. So, not a Sasieni (but maybe, to speculate wildly, the sort of trademark issue that if Sasieni already had such a model in its line being offered for sale, it would have been a strong motive for Loewe to change this model's name to something else).

 

[captainsousie]

I have to point out that the hallmarks are not Loewe hallmarks. Or at least I've never found a connection between AD and Loewe. It's quite likely with the replacement tenon came the band. It does look to be a band made in the '20s-30s. Plus, that looks more like a Birmingham hallmark to me than a London one...at least from the pics. That would make it 1925-1939 and most likely 1932 or 1936 from the wear on the left side of the hallmark.

EDIT: The age of the band in this case means very little as bands have been salvaged and transferred between pipes for decades.

 

[captainsousie]

Melton is a pretty common British name to put on just about anything so I wouldn't associate it with only one pipe company.

 

[guylesss]

I have to point out that the hallmarks are not Loewe hallmarks. Or at least I've never found a connection between AD and Loewe. It's quite likely with the replacement tenon came the band. It does look to be a band made in the '20s-30s. Plus, that looks more like a Birmingham hallmark to me than a London one...at least from the pics. That would make it 1925-1939 and most likely 1932 or 1936 from the wear on the left side of the hallmark.

EDIT: The age of the band in this case means very little as bands have been salvaged and transferred between pipes for decades.

There is also an L&Co on the band, as there should be.

And yes, I too see just the hint of a capital "M" (slightly bigger than the rest of the letters, not a practice it seems with more recent Loewes where the lettering of names is uniform). So, Melton sounds likely.

 

[jguss]

It's a Melton. The name was used by Loewe too. Here's an image from their 9th catalog (it was in earlier catalogs too; I just don't have them handy):

 

[guylesss]

It's a Melton. The name was used by Loewe too. Here's an image from their 9th catalog (it was in earlier catalogs too; I just don't have them handy):

View attachment 30258

Amazing. And best of all, now I finally know what the stem ought to look like. As for "extra strong fitting". . .

 

[dmcmtk]

I think the AD hallmark is from,

A.D into a rectangle ​

Auguste DREYFUS trading as DREYFUS & CO - London ​

CHE LON​

1885 .

pipe mounters

TOBACCONISTS, PIPE MAKERS AND MOUNTERS HALLMARKS: A - http://www.silvercollection.it/DICTIONARYTOBACCONISTA.html

The date letter on the far left is very difficult to discern, but it looks like it's from the London 1916-1935 series of codes. A k (1925)...?

English silver marks: the guide to hallmarks of London sterling silver - http://www.silvercollection.it/englishsilverhallmarks.html

I do like your avatar picture of Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David.

 

[guylesss]

Next puzzle is the hallmark. . . The silversmith's mark here "AD" (rather than BD) might conceivably be a tiebreaker--at least if anyone here knows the nitty gritty details of the Dumenil family's pipe mounting business (and what mark was used when).

Correction: to set the record straight, the silversmith's mark often seen is RD not BD (Robert Dumenil, who took over the family business in 1895). Apologies.

 

[dmcmtk]

Is the L&Co. mark also present on the silver?

An example to look at,

LOEWE L&CO PIPE ORIG.CASE- SILVER MOUNTED LONDON YEARS 1919 UNIQUE-RARE | #514254904 - https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/loewe-co-pipe-orig-case-silver-514254904

 

[jguss]

There were a number of Loewe pieces with AD silverwork in John Fabris’ collection, viewable either in the Loewe Packet from Briar Books Press and/or in auctions on eBay over the last couple of years.

 

[guylesss]

What an exhilarating three hours--thank you all so very much for so generously sharing your knowledge. Wow. (And, yes, first thing tomorrow morning I'm ordering a copy of the Loewe Packet.)

 

[Ahi Ka]

Im putting my money on 1924....could be wrong but from memory, didn’t Loewe not include markings of model/line names until after 1920?

 

[jguss]

Im putting my money on 1924....could be wrong but from memory, didn’t Loewe not include markings of model/line names until after 1920?

Actually Loewe shape names, including the Melton, were in the 1910 catalog.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Actually Loewe shape names, including the Melton, were in the 1910 catalog.

But on the pipe?

 

[jguss]

But on the pipe?

Great question, and I don't know the answer! As you say, just because shapes had names and numbers in earlier catalogs doesn't necessarily mean those were stamped on the pipe.