Help ID-ing an Old Barling

[captainsousie]

I recently picked up an old Barling's Make pipe and, while I can usually identify a pipe with some degree of certainty, it has me a bit stumped...and a bit worried. The worry is this, I'm not sure this is actually a Barling. The stem looks right and the logo looks pretty much right but It's only got "Barling's" (arched) over "Make" over "5589". That's it. No "Made in England". Nothing.

I know that depending on which expert you choose to believe, the numbers make it either early transition or late pre-transition but I've never heard of one without any COM stamp. Stems are easy to fake and it's possible to make your own stamp so this one has me just a bit worried. It's in beautiful shape and the tight birdseye on the front is amazing so at least I got a beautiful pipe, but it's still got me worried. Any help would be appreciated.
Pics.

Thanks for any help you may have,

Dave

 

[captainsousie]

Thanks for the reassurance. I just barely missed getting the unsmoked Barling's Make he had and it went for a steal to whoever scored it.

 

[gwtwdbss]

It looks like a pre-Transition to me. Not all Barlings have Made in England or England. I will look at mine later to double check but I do not believe it does. Great pickup btw. I can't wait to see that one when she is cleaned up!
Here is the link to mine:

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/barling-pre-transition-tvf-exexel-from-two-friends

 

[gwtwdbss]

Hey Dave, mine is stamped "MADE IN ENGLAND." but it is very faint. I almost missed it when I first examined the pipe. Pre-Transitions are over 60 years old so it may in fact be that the stamping on your is worn off or simply not stamped at all. Again, I can't wait to see that baby when she is all shined up. Be careful around the Barling cross. You may have to leave that part of the stem oxidized to keep the remaining bit of stamping intact.

 

[sablebrush52]

What you have is technically a transition Barling because of the model number. These are pretty interesting pipes as they were only made for a few months during 1962. The 150th Anniversary Catalog, released around June of 1962, introduced the new numbering system. By September the new nomenclature, consisting of the script Barling with London Made underneath, was designed and these Script Barling pipes were featured in the 2nd 1962 catalog, the retailer's catalog, that was released in November of 1962.

From a materials standpoint, your pipe is no different than a "Pre-Transition" pipe. They just have the newer model number stamp. Because they were made while the Barling family still controlled production, even though they had sold the company 18 months before, some Barling experts consider them to be Pre-Transition pipes. They provide an excellent value and an excellent smoke.

Not all Barlings have the MADE IN ENGLAND stamp. Many Pre-Trans Barling pipes lack that stamp, even later Pre_Trans pipes. Barling was not consistent with stamps and many that were made for local consumption lack the MADE IN ENGLAND stamp.

 

[cigrmaster]

sable, welcome to the forum and great first post, very informative.
Cap, sounds like you got a heck of a nice pipe, can't wait to see what you do to it. Hope it smokes great for you.

 

[gwtwdbss]

Thanks for the clarification sable. Welcome the the forums!

 

[captainsousie]

Yes, thanks for the clarification. As a nice bonus, I can date this pipe precisely. I can only do that with 2 others I have because they have the date stamped on them.

 

[ssjones]

Nice find! Neill Archer Roan just posted an interesting article on the Barlings transition period you might find interesting (written by Jon Gus). You can download the PDF here:
http://passionforpipes.squarespace.com/storage/How%20Many%20Angels%20Another%20Look%20at%20the%20Barling%20Transition.pdf.zip

 

[captainsousie]

That was a really interesting read. Thanks Al.

 

[sablebrush52]

Hi Guys,
Nice to be here, and thank you all in turn for your welcoming.
Jon's article is truly revelatory and a pleasure to read. He's raised the benchmark for scholarship into the stratosphere! It's neat that people care about the history of pipemakers. From a collecting standpoint, it makes me more knowledgeable and appreciative about our hobby. And I like that those folks who spent their careers making pipes are remembered.