Help ! Obscure London Pipe....When? Where? Who?

[mayfair70]

I just purchased this pipe because it is beautiful and in great shape. I know nothing and have spent hours researching who made it and where it is from. M. Elkin made it and I never heard of the guy/gal. It was made on W1, Mount Street in Mayfair, London. Any clues or resources would be most welcome.

 

[dmcmtk]

It looks very nice. My assumption is M. Elkin was a tobacconist......in a very posh part of London. The question is...who may have made the pipe for them. No shape number?

 

[mayfair70]

Posh you say? Left side of shank "Straight Grain" over "London Made" all caps. Right side, top in crescent "M. Elkin", middle "W.I", bottom "Mount St." I say crescent but the right shank letters form a football shape. No numbers anywhere. I actually reached out to a UK estate pipe dealer and haven't received a response. Since I consider myself an amateur historian, I will not give up until I get the answers I want. More emails to the UK are in my future.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yes, it was posh then and is posh now, though most (all?) tobacconists have closed shops in Mayfair. Unless St. James is in that district!

 

[dmcmtk]

You need misterlowercase and jguss as Consulting Detectives on this case......

 

[mayfair70]

Do you have a summon #misterlowercase and #jguss spell I can use? I don't know how to navigate this site very well yet.

 

[dmcmtk]

Stand by. I just sent them both inquiries...

 

[mayfair70]

Many Thanks!!

 

[rfernand]

Can you take closer pictures of the shank? Also, a pic of the bit might help.
Hypothesis: Parker-made for a store.

 

[mayfair70]

will send link to better pics in a few minutes, pipe is in transit and detailed pics are still up on ebay. BRB !

 

[huntertrw]

mayfair70:
If you have not already done so you might contact the Desmond Sautter tobacconist shop located on Mount Street in Mayfair, as they might be able to shed some light on the origin of your pipe. Their contact information is listed below:
Desmond Sautter

106 Mount Street

Mayfair

London, W1K2TW
020 7499 4866

Link to Desmond Sautter page
I hope that this information is useful to you.

 

[mayfair70]

rfernand: Here is a link to better pics, just scroll down.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-Estate-Pipe-Marked-Straight-Grain-London-Made-M-Elkin-W-I-Mount-St-/191705247024?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=4zKcBDe4L9s4bqxCDiZSey9O7Wk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
huntertrw: Yes! That will be extremely helpful. Thank you.
BTW- If this was posh when it was made, how much value might it hold now? Any thoughts? It is not an investment, I smoke all the pipes I buy and will not sell them, just curious.
Thanks to all of you !!

 

[prairiedruid]

Desmond unfortunately retired some time ago and died last year. Sautter Cigars is now owned Laurence Davis and has a wonderful cigar web page but I don't see anything about pipes. The store is over 50 years old so maybe a good starting point to find out about nearby tobacconists that may no longer be in business.

 

[doctorbob]

With care and effort you should be able to get that stem back to a nice glossy black, congrats on your purchase!

 

[prairiedruid]

Finding a lot of information on Charles Elkin but not much on M. Elkin.

 

[mayfair70]

huntertrw: I just sent Sautter an email and what did I see on their page? An ebay listing of this VERY PIPE. I hope someone there has some info. Thanks again for the link. I may have to contact a London land use directory or something to find Elkin.
doctorbob: I actually kinda like the stem color. But yeah, I'll probably restore it to black, if that was indeed the color they put on a natural finish briar.
prairiedruid: I searched reams of old newspapers online and Charles popped up all the time, in New York of all places. I also found they had torn down a bunch of shops and buildings on and around Mount St. to change a roadway and improve the area around the 1920's or 30's. I found an Elkin in London who has declared bankruptcy for a bridle shop and I got the impression they did woodworking of some kind too. This article was from 1860's I think.
rfernand: Who is Parker?
You guys Rock !!

 

[sablebrush52]

I couldn't find anything on it in Who Made That Pipe. Most likely the name of the tobacconist. The shaping and lettering on it remind me of a Sasieni Mayfair that I own. Could possibly have been made by Sasieni for the shop. Sasieni and Comoy made a lot of products for tobacconists, as did several other makers.
The general look and shaping of the stem suggests that the pipe is most likely post WW2. It wasn't an expensive pipe when new as it appears to have some significant fills. The term "London Made" is meaningless as anything could be stamped as being made in London, even if it was made on Mars.
It is well shaped and has some nice graining. I hope that it smokes well for you.

 

[mayfair70]

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/17547
Moss Elkins had an ailing tobacco shop on Mount Street,which Sautter bought around 1979. Why the extra "S" when the pipe doesn't have one...no idea.
Thanks sablebrush52 ! I believe it will smoke well.

 

[rfernand]

This looks a lot like a 4101 shape to me, which still makes me think it came from Parker.

 

[mayfair70]

Is 4101 a Pot shape?