Over the past few months I've been building a pipe collection. I'd already got to the stage where I had enough for a comfortable rotation, but there were a few things missing to make the experience complete. A week ago I identified the gaps as being clay pipes, corn cobs, straight billiards, a couple of Tyrolean type pipes and an Ambroselli meerschaum, I also thought I'd like to try a pipe made out cherry wood.
Today the postman brought me this little lot.
Apart from the two clay cutties, all of these were in one job lot for £30. How lucky was that. Only the three billiards have been smoked, and those really have been only lightly smoked.
The top two are Dr Plumbs and the bottom one is a just post transition Barking. It's a design from the family era, so would have been made by Imperial. It's the most smoked of the three but barely has a fifth of a millimetre of cake. The cake is sitting low down as if it was being broken in and only smoked with bowls of up to two thirds full.
The nicest of the three is the little Dr Plumb with the saddle stem. It's been smoked about twice. It's a nice bit of briar, one of there better quality pipes and the red dot has been drilled and inlaid.
The other Dr Plumb is of a design that Pipedia shows in 1950s catalogue. Though the catalogue is for their higher end pipes and this one is low end. It doesn't have a red dot.
It also has the stinger from hell. The end with three holes sits in the chamber. The smoke is channeled through a hole on the underside, which is blocked with tar. It's the only really filthy part of any the pipes. The smoke then passed over the fins into the groove on the top, and into the stem. It'll be interesting to find out how it smoked both with and sans filter.
All the three billiards will only need sterilised. There's no hint of a ghost, and no sign of oxidation on the stems.
The top three cobs are all Missouri Meerschaums. None of them match any of the current designs. One had a blocked airhole, which I've fixed. There's still a splinter but that'll soon burn off.
All three have "POLO MADE IN U. S. A.". If anyone knows the significance of the Polo logo I'd love to know?
The little screw bottom Tyrolean is rusticated briar. It's a smoker rather than a souvenir. I've also got a hunter style Tyrolean coming my way, with the two part briar stummel, (bowl and shank), and the longer cherry wood stem.
The cherry wood pipe and final cob were made by a firm called Breuscher's. They made the wooden pipes between the 1930s and 1960s. I swapped the stems round as the yellow one looked hideous on the cherry wood pipe.
I'm guessing that the entire collection was bought around 1964 give or take a couple of years. The original owner seems to have smoked the billiard for a few weeks before deciding pipes weren't for them. Since then they've sat in drawer or box somewhere protected, and are in lovely condition.
The two clay cutties are stamped O'Brien 6. O'Brien is a fiction, they were made by Pollocks of Manchester. I got these two because they have tick walls on the bowl, and the stems haven't been dipped in paint. Upon getting them I see that the stems have been dipped in shellac, which is fine and may help date them. I've made a set of pipe keys for them.
Now I just need to find that Ambroselli and my work is done.
Yours
A Happy Camper
Today the postman brought me this little lot.
Apart from the two clay cutties, all of these were in one job lot for £30. How lucky was that. Only the three billiards have been smoked, and those really have been only lightly smoked.
The top two are Dr Plumbs and the bottom one is a just post transition Barking. It's a design from the family era, so would have been made by Imperial. It's the most smoked of the three but barely has a fifth of a millimetre of cake. The cake is sitting low down as if it was being broken in and only smoked with bowls of up to two thirds full.
The nicest of the three is the little Dr Plumb with the saddle stem. It's been smoked about twice. It's a nice bit of briar, one of there better quality pipes and the red dot has been drilled and inlaid.
The other Dr Plumb is of a design that Pipedia shows in 1950s catalogue. Though the catalogue is for their higher end pipes and this one is low end. It doesn't have a red dot.
It also has the stinger from hell. The end with three holes sits in the chamber. The smoke is channeled through a hole on the underside, which is blocked with tar. It's the only really filthy part of any the pipes. The smoke then passed over the fins into the groove on the top, and into the stem. It'll be interesting to find out how it smoked both with and sans filter.
All the three billiards will only need sterilised. There's no hint of a ghost, and no sign of oxidation on the stems.
The top three cobs are all Missouri Meerschaums. None of them match any of the current designs. One had a blocked airhole, which I've fixed. There's still a splinter but that'll soon burn off.
All three have "POLO MADE IN U. S. A.". If anyone knows the significance of the Polo logo I'd love to know?
The little screw bottom Tyrolean is rusticated briar. It's a smoker rather than a souvenir. I've also got a hunter style Tyrolean coming my way, with the two part briar stummel, (bowl and shank), and the longer cherry wood stem.
The cherry wood pipe and final cob were made by a firm called Breuscher's. They made the wooden pipes between the 1930s and 1960s. I swapped the stems round as the yellow one looked hideous on the cherry wood pipe.
I'm guessing that the entire collection was bought around 1964 give or take a couple of years. The original owner seems to have smoked the billiard for a few weeks before deciding pipes weren't for them. Since then they've sat in drawer or box somewhere protected, and are in lovely condition.
The two clay cutties are stamped O'Brien 6. O'Brien is a fiction, they were made by Pollocks of Manchester. I got these two because they have tick walls on the bowl, and the stems haven't been dipped in paint. Upon getting them I see that the stems have been dipped in shellac, which is fine and may help date them. I've made a set of pipe keys for them.
Now I just need to find that Ambroselli and my work is done.
Yours
A Happy Camper
