E. Wilke Pipes - What Do I Have Here? (Pic heavy)

[fluffie666]

My pipes remain a mystery for now. I contacted Carole Burns at Pipeworks & Wilke. She said she's never seen E. Wilke freehands. I also asked Mark Tinsky. He wasn't able to offer any new information either but he is gentleman. He said he liked the shape so much and he wanted to make it. So he made his own rendition of the paneled fan shaped Wilke. My search for info continues but check this thing out...
http://webshop.amsmoke.com/free-hand-107.html

 

[jaygreen55]

That certainly is unusual for a Wilke pipe. My business was located 1 block way from the Wilke shop and I was in the shop quite frequently in the 70s and when they merged with pipeworks in the 1980s and I never saw one like that. It looks more like one of Ed Burak's creations who's Connoisseur pipe shop was a 11/2 blocks away. Both stores used the same carvers to make their pipes which were all naturally finished. Perhaps Joe Cartegianno mixed up the stamp
The 70s was truly the golden age of pipemaking and retailing in Manhattan. You had Wilke and Connoisseur a block apart on 46th and 47th street, and Alfred Dunhill store with a huge pipe department on 5th Ave and 51st, Wally Frank, and Barclay Rex all within a few blocks of each other of each other. Today they're all gone with the exception of Nat Sherman and Davidoff whose primary business is cigars

 

[foggymountain]

I used to hang out in the Wilke Pipe Shop in the 1950s. It was on Madison Ave. What distinguished their pipes was a complete lack of finish. No stain, wax or varnish. The Wilke sisters, who were the daughters of the founder, ran the place. The business was sold much later to the proprietor of Pipeworks and Wilke. She did not know the pipes were supposed to be unfinished and waxed them. At that point they said Wilke but were not real Wilkes. The reason for not finishing the pipes was that stain and wax influence the taste, often negatively. The stain does take away the woody taste though. So the best way to break in a Wilke is to fill the bowl with brandy. When it evaporates fill it again. Then a few days later dry it and smoke it. The pipe will taste good and the woody taste will be gone. I had many Wilkes. There is only one left. It is my best smoker, including 105 Dunhills. By the way, the artist Hannah Wilke was a close relative.

Regarding the shape pictured, I never saw anything like that in the store. Nothing. It must have come later, possibly under another owner. I do not know the history of the company between the time the sisters ran the store and when it was sold to Pipeworks. Does anyone know?

 

[fluffie666]

Thanks foggy. The "axe shape looks like it had a coat of wax applied at one time. It's very faded now because the previous owner smoked it. The fan shape looks like bare briar. That one has barely been smoked.

I thought the Wilke sisters sold the shop to Pipeworks. I'll do some more digging around on this. I'm on a mission to find out where these came from. Foggy, you just opened up a new door for me to explore. My mission continuous...

 

[foggymountain]

Fluffie: The Wilke sisters were probably born in the 1880s. When I knew them in the 50s they were about 70 years old. So there must have been an intermediary owner, possibly one of their descendants.

 

[fluffie666]

I didn't see jaygreen's post until now. Sorry about that. I need to pay more attention.

Hey, I envy you for being in Manhattan at that time. I think pipe smoking became commercialized around the 50's and 60's. In the 70's, I would imagine the choices for places to buy a pipe were mushroomed up and well established, especially in Manhattan. As you explained, in the 70's, to have seven pipe shops in such close proximity to each other, wow! It must have been a joy. Such fine pipes from fine makers, nestled so close together. A time when you could shop around for a pipe and handle each one before deciding on a purchase. Taking time to inform yourself and really consider an acquisition. I could only imagine what that was like. Awesome.

Buying from the internet these days is a crap shoot 99% of the time. You can have a beautiful pipe in front of you on a screen and feel pretty good about it. Get it it in the mail to find out the button is uncomfortable and it doesn't pass a pipe cleaner. I've been devistated in such a situation before.

You know, Mark Tinsky actually said the same thing that jaygreen, pitchfork and dmcmtk suggested, that they look like Ed Burak. I'll get as close to the bottom of this as I can.

Thank you all!