Comoy's 1977 Hallmark Magnum Set

[ssjones]

I'll take a chance posting an active auction here. I'm assuming we all won't be scrambling to bid on this one. Faders of Balitmore is selling the set. I've seen the set on display in the Towson (MD) store.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182679575538?ul_noapp=true
Their description:
This is a very, very, very rare set of pipes. Only one set of these pipes were made and brought to the United States in 1977. This is the Comoy Hallmark Special Edition. The pipes were brought over to be display's in the Fader's Store locations as you can see from one of the pictures.
There was only ONE SET of these pipes ever made!
The Briar that was used is over 100 years old.

The Pipes were Banded in 18K Gold BY HAND.

Each pipe weighs 4 ounces or less.

All the pipes are sitters

All the pipes have never been smoked and are in new condition.

These are Magnum Sized as well.

These pipes will not be broken up and sold individually.
Price of these pipes in 1977 was $10,000.
Dimensions of the box are:

26 inches long

12 inches wide

4 inches high
The pipes are all stamped with the following

Comoy's Hallmark

Made in London England
Hallmark stampings on the gold (See pictures) are all the same

Sterling Silver plate on the box with Hallmark stampings

The lock works great and has original key
Pricing for the starting bid is set firm. Remember, these pipes in 1977 were set at $10,000.

 

[sablebrush52]

Well, it's an interesting and unique set. With an opening bid of $15,000, I don't expect that there will be a rush. Certainly not for me. The seller did a really awful job of photographing this set, just awful. Maybe it isn't so much a legitimate attempt to sell as a publicity stunt?

 

[ssjones]

@sable - yes, the bad photography stuck out to me as well. Faders has a relatively inactive ebay account, but suddenly have listed several pipes. One close-up has the stem out of proper orientation. If you are hoping for a $15k opening bid, some proper photography would be in order, right? I can sort of make out the 3 piece C stem logo.

 

[hobie1dog]

It will be interesting to see if there are any bids, maybe the Asian guys will come through.

 

[mawnansmiff]

But what does one smoke on the seventh day?
"maybe the Asian guys will come through."
The seller stipulates US buyer only.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[ssjones]

The Asian guys seem to ship to US-based proxy's.

 

[georged]

OK, I'll be that guy, and comment on the elephant in the room.
This Comoy's set is what you get when factory workers who have only finished frazed stummels suddenly decide (or are told to) shape entire pipes by hand.
There's a board on the Net called the Pipemaker's Forum that's an information repository for aspiring carvers. New guys get to ask experienced/established makers questions about tools, techniques, etc. They can also post photos of their work so that those same old timers can tell them what they did right, what they did wrong, and why, and how to avoid doing it on their next attempt. The board has been around a long time. 13 years, I think.
This Comoy's set looks EXACTLY like every first attempt pipe ever posted there. :lol:
It's equal parts painful and funny.
I'm going to assume it's the result of either some sort of vanity project moment the shop collectively had, or---more likely---some Comoy's top management guy had.
In any event, my day is now complete. :D
Thank you, Al.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"This Comoy's set looks EXACTLY like every first attempt pipe ever posted there."
I have to agree, not one of them would I pay more than £50 for...they are pretty ugly.
"I'm going to assume it's the result of either some sort of vanity project moment the shop collectively had, or---more likely---some Comoy's top management guy had."
Or perhaps someone said "hey, I reckon the Yanks will just love these pipes, let's get a fancy box made and we're bound to find some rich sucker to buy 'em". :D
Regards,
Jay.

 

[saltedplug]

Not that in this lifetime I would ever have the means to bid on these pipes, but I didn't pick up on any of the signals you did to identify this auction as bogus. Nice to have you around.

 

[brian64]

This Comoy's set looks EXACTLY like every first attempt pipe ever posted there.

Very interesting...considering the extreme statements made in the display description:
“each beautifully made pipe is a masterpiece in its own right...born of 250 years of accumulated pipe-making experience” and the bands were “prepared by one of the very few remaining artisans capable of such work”.
If anyone with 15 grand burning a hole in their pocket is interested in these, I hope they read this thread first.

 

[ssjones]

You can't argue against any of George's points, I'll stick to Comoy's from the shape chart. By '77 had the top carvers at Comoy's already seen the handwriting on the wall and fled elsewhere?
They look similar to their Christmas pipes of a similar era. Curiously, almost none of those pipes have the 3 piece drilled C stem logo. This set at least has that detail.

 

[georged]

Or perhaps someone said "hey, I reckon the Yanks will just love these pipes, let's get a fancy box made and we're bound to find some rich sucker to buy 'em". :D

Funny because that's probably exactly how it went down, wording and all. :lol:
-----
Seriously, and in fairness to the Comoy's carvers, no one knew what was technically POSSIBLE in 1977. The future standard-setters, the Scandinavians, were only doing somewhat better at that time (their lines and execution were a click up, but they were as infatuated with the clunky, free-form sitter aesthetic as anyone), and the sort of pipes that someone like Chris Asteriou makes today hadn't even been imagined yet.
And you have to admire the English "When in doubt, throw gold at it" approach to creating precious objects: :D

 

[ssjones]

I guess up to this point, Comoy's really didn't have "carvers" but rather machine operators. Did they post a sign in the break room: "Who Wants to try Carving a Pipe?" - see Personnel?????

 

[georged]

I guess up to this point, Comoy's really didn't have "carvers" but rather machine operators. Did they post a sign in the break room: "Who Wants to try Carving a Pipe?" - see Personnel?????

That sums up the entire industry, I think. It was just waking up to the concept of one-at-a-time / one-of-a-kind pipe making. Sixten & Co. and (to a lesser extent) Charatan were chopping through the jungle, and the public was starting to take notice.

 

[wyfbane]

As a matter of perspective, I am looking for a $500 vehicle to run a rally called the "Gambler 500", and this auction wants me to pay $15k for pipes... Seems inverted to me. I should be looking for a $15k vehicle and a $500 pipe. ha ha.
:rofl:

 

[ssjones]

My buddies and I keep threatening to get an entry for the 24 Hours of LeMons.

 

[georged]

My buddies and I keep threatening to get an entry for the 24 Hours of LeMons.

For those who don't get the reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbcyi_rGdjU

 

[sablebrush52]

Yep, they're pretty ugly. Clunky with pedestals. Hey, the '70's were the decade of ugly design and ugly color combos like avocado green and harvest gold. It's really a shame because Comoy had decades of elegantly shaped pipes.
There's this thing called ad copy where somebody with no sense of shame writes paeans about turds. But, there's no hiding the smelly result. The only things missing are badly carved seraphim covered in gold leaf on windscreens that don't fit.

 

[dmcmtk]

Clunky with pedestals.

Very 1970's...take a look at Soren pipes by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen from the period. :D Charatan's freehand style was much more evolved. They should have just made a set of classical shapes graded as Specially Selected Super Specimen Extra Virgin Briar Straight Grain's, or the SS.SS.EVB.SG's :wink:

 

[georged]

They should have just made a set of classical shapes graded as Specially Selected Super Specimen Extra Virgin Briar Straight Grain's, or the SS.SS.EVB.SG's :wink:

And then, had they been smoked, listed as being in ever-so-slightly, barely, hardly-even-a-little-bit, teensy-weensy, only-a-smidge, almost-not-even-at-all, super-ultra-minty, maybe-previously-sorta-enjoyed-but-only-by-the-world's-most-gentle-enjoyer, staggeringly spectacular condition.
a.k.a. known in the trade as, "E-S-S, B, H-E-A-L-B, T-W, O-A-S, A-N-E-A-A, S-U-M, M-P-S-E-B-O-B-T-W-M-G-E, SS" condition.
Which is almost halfway to the top of the condition scale. :lol: