After looking over this 1980 CAO catalogue, my first impressions are that Bekler tried to exceed his abilities with a large number Figurals that Cano showcased for him. He really did better with the Pipes he carved for Golden Horn, or at least the 1975 catalogue Pipes look better. Bekler was a high production Carver, credited with some 2,000 - 4,000 Pipes a year, which means that he did the carving, but let others in his team do the sanding, waxing and fitting the bit to the Pipes. Likely, the emphasis on production was due, at least in part to Cano's relationship with the Tinderbox franchises, where CAO Meerschaums were pretty much an exclusive line. This is the machine that kept Bekler in the North American public view, despite the availability of high grade Meerschaums being produced by other Carvers, which were sold in other markets. Bekler was a hot item in the 1980s, when Cano Ozgener promoted him, Bekler was the first to start that trend of signing his pieces, unheard of at that time. In the 1970s and 1980s. Cano was the first aggressive marketer of Turkish pipes, and he also introduced CAO Meerschaum Cleaner and that tube of carnauba wax that was on the shape of a Chapstick. Cano (with Bekler at his side) was on a roll, and his idea of promoting him was, if memory serves me right, ahead of the game, long before Sam Sermet and SMS.
