My god fnord and sablebrush52 thank you very much for the thoughtful response and the lesson. The pipedia article is a great read as well! I can certainly appreciate the Barling family's focus on quality above all else and it is a shame to hear (like most things) this has been somewhat diminished after the Finlay acquisition in an attempt to increase margins. It kills me actually - as an architect I have seen more than enough noble projects 'value engineered' beyond the point of mediocrity. I can certainly see why family-era Barling's can command a high price.
I think we connote value to 'old things' not just in vanity, but because they have survived the rigors of time; they were produced to a level of quality that not only allowed them to endure, but also endeared them to a steward who found enough value in them that they took it upon themselves to take care of the object. I can definitely see how collectors would find value in contributing to that legacy and to keep it alive. I'm sure there is a whole digression about the loss of care and craft in our 'consumption society' - but I'll let that sleeping dog lie. I'm still aglow with the idea of these pipe makers taking extreme care to produce a product to be cherished and that some of these little smoking devices are still providing happiness (or in my case, learning, joy, inspiration, wonderment - what have you) to us today. It's pretty cool how the determined effort of individuals all that time ago have spun off and compounded over time - creating a bit of a legend, if that's not too verbose.
Thanks very much for the insight and the story!
I think we connote value to 'old things' not just in vanity, but because they have survived the rigors of time; they were produced to a level of quality that not only allowed them to endure, but also endeared them to a steward who found enough value in them that they took it upon themselves to take care of the object. I can definitely see how collectors would find value in contributing to that legacy and to keep it alive. I'm sure there is a whole digression about the loss of care and craft in our 'consumption society' - but I'll let that sleeping dog lie. I'm still aglow with the idea of these pipe makers taking extreme care to produce a product to be cherished and that some of these little smoking devices are still providing happiness (or in my case, learning, joy, inspiration, wonderment - what have you) to us today. It's pretty cool how the determined effort of individuals all that time ago have spun off and compounded over time - creating a bit of a legend, if that's not too verbose.
Thanks very much for the insight and the story!
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