I've pretty much stopped buying pipes and tobaccos. I don't need more of either. But though my purchases have waned to the barest occasional trickle, I haven't completely stopped. A couple of weeks ago two Barlings caught my eye and I won both them. I don't have good pictures of either and don't know when I will find the time to set up lights and take proper photos, but this one may prove to be of interest despite the mediocre pictures.
I spotted this Barling, poorly photographed and poorly described, and I had a hunch that under all of the grime and oxidation there might be a very lightly used pipe.
Pursuing old estates always contains an element of risk, so I decided to bid no more than I was willing to lose. To my surprise, I won the auction by a mere 80¢ margin. When the pipe arrived, I saw that my hunch had been correct. This was a barely used pipe that had been smoked no more than a handful of times.
A little bit of elbow grease, and this is what I bought. Again, my apologies for the bad pix.
The pictures don't do it justice. The original plum finish is in perfect condition, no discoloration or fading and it fairly glows. That's the original finish. I didn't polish it. Didn't need to after removing the grime. No dings or "handling marks". The airway needed only a few pipe cleaners to go to virgin wood. Little residue in the stem. Almost no cake on the chamber walls. It had been smoked a handful of times and then put away in darkness for almost a century. Hallmarks date it to 1922.
I spotted this Barling, poorly photographed and poorly described, and I had a hunch that under all of the grime and oxidation there might be a very lightly used pipe.
Pursuing old estates always contains an element of risk, so I decided to bid no more than I was willing to lose. To my surprise, I won the auction by a mere 80¢ margin. When the pipe arrived, I saw that my hunch had been correct. This was a barely used pipe that had been smoked no more than a handful of times.
A little bit of elbow grease, and this is what I bought. Again, my apologies for the bad pix.
The pictures don't do it justice. The original plum finish is in perfect condition, no discoloration or fading and it fairly glows. That's the original finish. I didn't polish it. Didn't need to after removing the grime. No dings or "handling marks". The airway needed only a few pipe cleaners to go to virgin wood. Little residue in the stem. Almost no cake on the chamber walls. It had been smoked a handful of times and then put away in darkness for almost a century. Hallmarks date it to 1922.
