Lady luck does not often smile upon me... but she just did. Bought a lot of pipes for $20 each. 5 Lane Era Charatan's Make in this large lot (among other treasures). I just restored this one. An odd looking Tulip (I think).
Lane Era Charatan's Make 'Special" 4 Extra Large
- Thread starter Humblepipe
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Winner winner chicken dinner! Congrats on your score.
Scores like that just put a permanent grin on your face don’t they?! Well done!
It is a wide open draw... I usually like a more restricted draw, but I really like this one. Very much a keeper.
Wow! Very unusual shape. I don't think I've ever seen one like that before. Nice job at restoration.
Great deal, man. I love Charatans, and that pipe should do well for you. Congrats!
And its a "Special " grade too. That's a higher grade! Great fine. Someone didn't know what they had.
Thanks, Ziggy. I am restoring the others today. I am excited.
No cursive "L" in a circle. Post Lane Era, correct? Charatan's Make over London England over Special top-side on shank. "215" right side of shank. It is the only one in the lot of 6 without that stamping... Guestimate on when it may have been made?
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I refer you to Pipedia.com Charatan. There are articles, especially in the footnotes with links to dating Charatans; a difficult task as you will read. Here is a Charatan I got in an Estate sale. Its a Perfection w/o the Lane 'L' stamp. It has never been smoked. It has a taper bit (pre-1955?) But lacks the CP stamp (bit replaced on an unsmoked pipe? Perhaps. But as you will read Charatan was notorious for a lack of uniformity in its stamping. Basically, unlike Dunhill who dated their pipes to enforce their one year guarantee, Charatans were guaranteed for life, so they weren't concerned with dating! This Perfection is a grade below Special and we're generally crosscut grain. It is also stamped with the #4. If pipes could only talk.
Here is a Charatan I know the age of since I purchased it new - 1974. It is unspoken. As I have said elsewhere, I have too many pipes as it is. This pipe demonstrates the loose standards in grading Charatans. This pipe is stamped "Distinction Delux" and "Extra Large". The straight grain on this pipe is damn perfect. The Birdseye is supreme. Charatan never put their moniker on briar with pits. I think I paid $55 wholesale when I worked at Diebel's Pipeshop
That could be Ruben era. I’m just learning dating myself. Since their is no X after model number, and tapered stem. Maybe start another post about the pipe asking to help date.
After reading the articles it appears your pipe is pre-Lane era. Probably post-War to 1960. Like mine pictured below, the missing CP may mean the pipe was re-stemed or they just they missed stamping it.