Age Extra Pipes

[BasketCase]

Just had inaugural smoke with this old chap. Hallmark dates it to 1919. It’s quite interesting (to me!) construction as the stem has quite a strange cut. I’m now a total convert to orific bits, especially on these old hand cut stems.

The pipe was in quite a sorry state when it arrived but is looking a bit more sprightly after Murphys oil soap, gentle reaming, and a first going over of the vulcanite with micro mesh pads. I also carefully cut off the splintered stem insert and lightly sanded.

Anyone else got an Age Extra pipe and care to share details of it? I found quite a lot of info on reborn pipes.

 

[greeneyes]

Lovely pipe! What's strange about the stem? It isn't immediately obvious to me from the photos. Are you referring to the tenon?

 

[greeneyes]

An attempt at identification was made on Reborn Pipes: "The two options were La Bruyere 1918 a French made briar and also Salmon & Gluckstein an English made briar."

AGE EXTRA pipes – rebornpipes

Posts about AGE EXTRA pipes written by rebornpipes

rebornpipes.com

My guess is that with the addition of a Reuben Jordan {RJ} mark, it's likely English.

 

[BasketCase]

Lovely pipe! What's strange about the stem? It isn't immediately obvious to me from the photos. Are you referring to the tenon?

Apologies, yes the tenon! It seemed to be strangely shaped in comparison to others that have passed through my hands as it tapers into a very dainty tube. However, this could just be the bias of my experience talking!

Thanks for embedding the link to rebornpipes, that's exactly the resource I had come across!

 

[greeneyes]

Glad to be of help. That type of tenon, you'll find, isn't as rare as you might think in some of the older pipes. I have a few around here, this one being an example that I had handy this morning:

 

[mso489]

Nice job, respectful of its history and design.

 

[LOREN]

Glad to be of help. That type of tenon, you'll find, isn't as rare as you might think in some of the older pipes. I have a few around here, this one being an example that I had handy this morning:

View attachment 38504

Do those extensions act somewhat like a "stinger" ?

 

[BROBS]

Do those extensions act somewhat like a "stinger" ?

I think it’s to bring the airway of the tenon closer to the draft hole.

 

[greeneyes]

Do those extensions act somewhat like a "stinger" ?

Well, it's the actual tenon itself, and not necessarily an extension of a tenon. It's certainly possible that the extended, narrow nozzle shape has some effect on condensation, like a stinger. It may also trap moisture in the shank. I can't say I notice any difference.

It does make it very easy to remove the stem, though.

 

[sablebrush52]

That's interesting about the tenon. A 1914 Motor domed Barling just sold with a tenon like that, the first time I've seen one on a Barling. I've no idea what the purpose was, and till recently hadn't seen one shaped like this that wasn't a bone screw-in tenon.

 

[BasketCase]

One of the things that seems sort of funny is how thin the plastic is at the end. Far from the ‘rugged pipes of long ago’ image.

It would be great to know what the ‘Age Extra’ referred to. I’m sure it was some marketing gimmick, but other pipes around the time advertised making pipes from aged briar so I wonder if this was similar?

 

[docaitch]

You did a nice job on cleaning up that pipe without over doing it.
I would like to see a true lateral view of the pipe.
From your photo, it appears that the taper of the entire stem is asymmetric, a circumstance that occurs with my pipes when the mortise and the shank axes are not truly co axial.
I can’t add to the discussion of the tenon.
DocaAitch

 

[snagstangl]

Is the mortise face funneled ? If not, I would think a tenon like that would be a way to make it easier to insert without removing any extra briar from mortise / shank making it weaker. Especially on a small piece of briar to begin with.

 

[greeneyes]

I'm compelled to make a guess based on some bits of information I've found, regarding the possible meaning of "A.G.E." and the pipe. There is significant information online about Salmon and Gluckstein, and in particular their business concerns as the family has been involved in the genesis of several important businesses in the UK (which you can read up on using the links below if you're interested).

The question is: what do the initials "A-G-E" have anything to do with Salmon and Gluckstein. According to the history, by the time this pipe was manufactured the Salmon and Gluckstein tobacco concern had become, in fact, Abrahams & Gluckstein.

"In 1870 a difference of opinion concerning the sharing of the profits resulted in the firm's dissolution. Henry Gluckstein and Laurence Abrahams went on to found Abrahams & Gluckstein, cigar manufacturers of 26 Whitechapel High Street, while Samuel Gluckstein formed a partnership with his two sons Isidore and Montague Gluckstein."​

The later advertising seemed to retain reference to Salmon & Gluckstein, although I haven't researched in sufficient depth to clarify the motivations or business arrangements that made this possible. I can imagine, for starters, that the renowned name of Salmon & Gluckstein still carried some clout in terms of advertising.

Perhaps "A.G.E." stands for "Abrahams, Gluckstein ...." and "E." I couldn't find a partner whose last name ended with "E," nor a registry for "Abrahams & Gluckstein Enterprises" or anything similar. What I did find was that Gluckstein, or specifically H. (Henry) Gluckstein, liked to be referred to by the title esquire (Esq.), which leads me to the flimsy conjecture that "A.G.E." is an acronym for "Abrahams and Gluckstein, Esq."

What remains is to find a document or other bit of evidence on which any reference is made to "Abrahams and Gluckstein, Esq." in relation to their pipes and tobacconist business. Without that it's still just a best guess gleaned from bits and pieces.

The images below were published in British periodicals a few years earlier than the pipe above was manufactured.

SALMON AND GLUCKSTEIN FAMILIES | London Metropolitan Archives

search.lma.gov.uk

Salmon & Gluckstein - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Salmon and Gluckstein

www.salmonandgluckstein.com

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Nice graphics greeneyes!

I see AGE pipes pop up on eBay fairly frequently, especially UK-bay.

Those double stepped tenons are quite common on very early 20th century British pipes in my experience. I’ve seen it to varying degrees on Loewe and BBB pipes hallmarked between 1900 and 1930.

 

[BasketCase]

I'm compelled to make a guess based on some bits of information I've found, regarding the possible meaning of "A.G.E." and the pipe. There is significant information online about Salmon and Gluckstein, and in particular their business concerns as the family has been involved in the genesis of several important businesses in the UK (which you can read up on using the links below if you're interested).

The question is: what do the initials "A-G-E" have anything to do with Salmon and Gluckstein. According to the history, by the time this pipe was manufactured the Salmon and Gluckstein tobacco concern had become, in fact, Abrahams & Gluckstein.

"In 1870 a difference of opinion concerning the sharing of the profits resulted in the firm's dissolution. Henry Gluckstein and Laurence Abrahams went on to found Abrahams & Gluckstein, cigar manufacturers of 26 Whitechapel High Street, while Samuel Gluckstein formed a partnership with his two sons Isidore and Montague Gluckstein."​

The later advertising seemed to retain reference to Salmon & Gluckstein, although I haven't researched in sufficient depth to clarify the motivations or business arrangements that made this possible. I can imagine, for starters, that the renowned name of Salmon & Gluckstein still carried some clout in terms of advertising.

Perhaps "A.G.E." stands for "Abrahams, Gluckstein ...." and "E." I couldn't find a partner whose last name ended with "E," nor a registry for "Abrahams & Gluckstein Enterprises" or anything similar. What I did find was that Gluckstein, or specifically H. (Henry) Gluckstein, liked to be referred to by the title esquire (Esq.), which leads me to the flimsy conjecture that "A.G.E." is an acronym for "Abrahams and Gluckstein, Esq."

What remains is to find a document or other bit of evidence on which any reference is made to "Abrahams and Gluckstein, Esq." in relation to their pipes and tobacconist business. Without that it's still just a best guess gleaned from bits and pieces.

The images below were published in British periodicals a few years earlier than the pipe above was manufactured.

View attachment 38610
View attachment 38611
View attachment 38612

SALMON AND GLUCKSTEIN FAMILIES | London Metropolitan Archives

search.lma.gov.uk

Salmon & Gluckstein - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Salmon and Gluckstein

www.salmonandgluckstein.com

Wow, thanks for all that info. I love the adverts!

I hadn’t considered that AGE would be an acronym, that is interesting - leads to the question ‘what does the “Extra” refer to?’

 

[greeneyes]

Wow, thanks for all that info. I love the adverts!

I hadn’t considered that AGE would be an acronym, that is interesting - leads to the question ‘what does the “Extra” refer to?’

Extra is likely the pipe itself. It's not an uncommon descriptor for many products. Similar to "De Luxe."

 

[pappymac]

An attempt at identification was made on Reborn Pipes: "The two options were La Bruyere 1918 a French made briar and also Salmon & Gluckstein an English made briar."

AGE EXTRA pipes – rebornpipes

Posts about AGE EXTRA pipes written by rebornpipes

rebornpipes.com

My guess is that with the addition of a Reuben Jordan {RJ} mark, it's likely English.

Steve Laug (rebornpipes) has some good articles.

I own a Salmon & Gluckstein briar with a silver band that's hallmarked for 1898. In researching it, I learned that a hallmark on late 19th and early 20th century pipes are not completely accurate as for when a pipe was made. It will tell you when the earliest year was, but often pipe companies like Salmon & Gluckstein would have a thousand of the bands made at one time and use them until they ran out.