Alpha Presentation?

[nevadablue]

I got this little pretty off ebay and just wondered about it. That led me to a search which turned up some info but not all.
I read that Alpha was originally made in Israel and then later the brand was made in North Carolina. This pipe is marked 'Alpha Presentation' but not anything else.
Is this a North Carolina born item?

 

[saintpeter]

Still looking.

 

[papipeguy]

I believe that Mastercraft owned Alpha. They were located in Sparta, N.C.

 

[fishnbanjo]

The one saintpeter posted shows Israel on it underneath, perhaps yours was made after the transition to Mastercraft if not marked Israel.

banjo

 

[papipeguy]

Here's a bit more info.
https://pipedia.org/wiki/Shalom_Pipe_Factory

 

[filmshooter]

I dont know about the NC part but I happened to get an Alpha in a lot of 24 pipes and a stand I got off the bay. Ive cleaned a few and the Alpha is fantastic. Im on the lookout for more now. Mine is stamped Israel on the bottom of the shank near where the stem sits. the Alpha logo is also very stylized and almost hard to read. the letters are very rounded, nothing like yours.

 

[nevadablue]

Thanks Guys! I didn't know where the 'Israel' should be. Now I do and now I see it. The first part of 'Presentation' on my pipe is worn off. I had to snoop the 'net to find out what the word was. Then when saintpeter posted his pic, I looked in the right place. Sure enough, the very faint 'Israel' is visible.
Thanks again.

 

[mso489]

Hmmm. Was Mastercraft in Sparta, N.C., in any way connected to Dr. Grabow, or did they just have a pipe manufacturing community going there at one time? Now I'm sure it's down to just "the doctor." When did Mastercraft go out of business?

 

[theloniousmonkfish]

US Tobacco bought Grabow in '69, when they bought MC in '74 they were moved from NY to occupy the same building in Sparta with Grabow. The Israeli made Alpha's were made at the Shalom factory, the Alpha pipes marked with Greek names(Sigma, etc.) were produced by Grabow in NC.
Nice pipe by the way, congrats.

 

[nevadablue]

Thanks. It was one of 3 I got for 16 bucks shipped, off ebay.

 

[jguss]

Earlier still there was an Alpha Smoking Pipe Co in Brooklyn from about 1949 through the mid-fifties. Two of the partners, Alphonse Ferrara and Felix Yeznach (great name, right?) were old hands in the pipe industry. Living in Queens for many years, I'm guessing they got their start at Kaywoodie or one of it's predecessor/related entities.
But in any case this Alpha is either a much earlier incarnation of your Alpha or unrelated entirely.

 

[cshubhra]

I love these kind of stories!

 

[nevadablue]

Me too! I have decided to research all my pipes. We are in the middle of a move now, but when we get to the new house I am going to start a log and put all the info in it. Fun doing the detective work.

 

[uperepik]

Those are all interesting looking pipes, congratulations