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Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,248
108,340
Neither financial, nostalgic, or romantic. After cleaning them up, no break in period.

 

mtwaller

Lifer
Nov 21, 2018
1,311
5,330
34
Atlanta, GA
Estates are definitely nostalgic for me. I only have one, a Barling from the early-mid 60’s. I won’t lie, it was cheap which is great. But I’m a history buff and it’s humbling to interact with or own objects that have already lived previous lives. It gives you a sense of perspective on the fleeting nature of the here and now, thinking about somebody else being a young man or woman half a century ago on another continent, smoking the very pipe you hold in your hands now. That’s why I like them, anyway. To each their own.

 

mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,288
23,315
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
But I’m a history buff and it’s humbling to interact with or own objects that have already lived previous lives. It gives you a sense of perspective on the fleeting nature of the here and now, thinking about somebody else being a young man or woman half a century ago on another continent, smoking the very pipe you hold in your hands now.
Well said. Then I think about the pipes that I have bought new and where they will end up in 60 or 70 plus years.

 

addamsruspipe

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 4, 2016
790
5,364
55
Albuquerque, NM
My first pipe and first estate pipe belonged to my wife's father. It went from Santa Fe to San Francisco to Hawaii to Korea and back again during the Korean war. Every estate pipe I get I spend a little time wondering who owned it and the travels it has made. :)

 
I collect estate pipes, because I am in to finding and collecting rare diseases, and pipes are great for that, because the tobacco tars help mutate diseases and germs into super powered invisible death machines. Of course, after I have taken my samples from the pipes, I toss the pipes in the garbage. I wouldn't want anyone actually putting one of them things in their mouths. :puffy:

JK

 

rdavid

Part of the Furniture Now
Jun 30, 2018
648
9
Milton, FL
Well said. Then I think about the pipes that I have bought new and where they will end up in 60 or 70 plus years.
I do think of this often myself. Might just do what Cosmic is going to do with his collection... Leave a couple behind for family and/friends then burn the rest with me!

 
wikimedia_anne_burgess.jpg


 

bnichols23

Lifer
Mar 13, 2018
4,131
9,554
SC Piedmont
On the guy in the pic, definitely George C. Marshall. Quite a guy; very few more highly respected in the dot-mil community.
appeal to you more financial or nostalgic/romantic
Both. (And you thought you wouldn't get a straight answer out of me!) Tschiraldi's got it right on quality too, esp. when it comes to GBDs/Comoys. BITD pre-Cadogan other than those two there were no finer British pipes other than BBB & Barling. (And yes, I *deliberately* EXclude D*nh*ll, even though I had one.) But back to the query... :)
A lot I buy for bang for the buck, but some I definitely do for nostalgia. In particular there was a Hilson Unicorn I couldn't believe my luck on. It just popped up when I was hunting for something else, & is EXACTLY like one I had when I worked for Tinder Box in the '70s. I had to bid to $75 but it was worth every cent to me to get the thing "back." :) I'd given the old one to a new smoker in the 80s & regretted it ever since. It was & IS one of my most favorite smokes.
unicorn-1-600x337.jpg

And a double-plus on what pappy said re Preben Holms & PH-era Ben Wades. Yeah, everybody knows about my thing for PHs, but I've got 3 of his & counting, *plus* 5-6 Ben Wades I could never have afforded back then. Living in the past? You bet, & lovin' every rising-smoke minute of it! :nana:

 

crashthegrey

Lifer
Dec 18, 2015
3,810
3,566
41
Cobleskill, NY
www.greywoodie.com
Combination nostalgia and function. I have many Kaywoodie estates. My first from the thirties made me realize how nicely aged briar well broken in smokes. So while I have some for nostalgia just to have all different sorts of Kaywoodie pipes, I also look for those which are made prior to 1950 especially, as they just smoke so nicely.

 

puffermark

Might Stick Around
Feb 24, 2015
99
45
36
www.viagrasansordonnancefr.com
When I started smoking pipes again after a long hiatus (about 4-5 years ago) I bought a new Stanwell. On an absolute whim, I searched a local auction site for smoking pipes and scored an estate little pre-republic Pete. In researching it, I discovered forums such as this, and the fact that it dated to 1947 - 1949. I was intrigued with the history and the rest is, well. . . history. A new hobby was born. I love researching manufacturers, dating etc.
I now have a collection of about 60-odd, of which 80%+ are estates. Oldest is an 1898 silver mounted Charles Maas Ooom Paul. A huge thing, it's one of my best smokers.
So yep, history, nostalgia, often no break-in and best of all value for $.

 

mtwaller

Lifer
Nov 21, 2018
1,311
5,330
34
Atlanta, GA
puffermark that sounds like a nice collection. I hope to one day have such an army of pipes at my disposal. I’m obsessed with Peterson, for better or worse, so I imagine my collection will be about 50% Pete’s and 50% Estates. I’d love to have some old straight billiards, I’m a sucker for classic shapes. Gotta love the price and no break in! Maybe I should buy another estate pipe right now...

 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,268
4,261
I started out just buying junk pipes so I could teach myself how to clean and restore them. That evolved to where I only buy pipes that are, in my opinion, rare, old or pipes that were considered high value when new. I also like older pipes which have some historical significance in my mind. For example, I have a Linkman Hollycourt Special from the late 1930s to early 1940s. I bought it because Linkman became Dr. Grabow in the 40s. I have an early 1950s Kirsten that is a transition model between the original design and what came out in the early 60s.
My oldest pipe is a Salmon & Gluckstein with a silver band hallmarked for 1896. Salmon & Gluckstein was the largest tobacconist in England with over 100 shops until they were sold around 1915.
I also have a Soren freehand, an original Mauro de Armellini Cavalier and a large meerschaum carved into a lighthouse.

 

donjgiles

Lifer
Apr 14, 2018
1,571
2,522
I enjoy saving old pipes from the scrap heap. Most estates I buy are pretty beat up and neglected, I try to bring them back to life. Most of the time I leave the battle scars and work more on the preservation side as opposed to total restoration. I have an example of an old English Bulldog I have been working on, I will post images tonight when I am home. The poor thing was trashed! The chamber rim has been hacked pretty hard with some sort of knife and I am debating whether to leave the scars or sand it to make it more "perfect"
I would be interested in hearing other folks talk about this subject of preservation verses total restoration. I should note that I am a history guy and work for a Historical Commission / Museum so my views may be much different than others.
Don

 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,268
4,261
I would be interested in hearing other folks talk about this subject of preservation verses total restoration. I should note that I am a history guy and work for a Historical Commission / Museum so my views may be much different than others.
@Don - I do have a couple of the Hunter style pipes that I found and did very little restoration on simply because I don't like the stems but liked the looks. I have this one and another one that is a sitter.
l7LXzZi.jpg

Here are the two meerschaum I mentioned earlier.

JeD0vwG.jpg


 

bnichols23

Lifer
Mar 13, 2018
4,131
9,554
SC Piedmont
Salmon & Gluckstein with a silver band hallmarked for 1896.
Yeah, I remember that S&G of yous, pappy. Really intrigued me since I hadn't known of them before. Quite a score on that one!
Sorens, be still my beating heart. I lost out on a SON on fleabay recently; I was going to go $100+ for it but got sniped by a guy who went 150 in one beat. I've got enough of them for now, I suppose -- 3, but I'm sure I'll get the bug again if a nice one comes up. Going on a boat for a few days late next week & one of mine's already in the case packed to go. Nostalgia? You bet. The PHs are all staying home, which should tell you something. ;)
Bill

 
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