Please show both of these rim angles for each pipe, in focus. The condition of the rims affects the value.
Please also provide the dimensions as well.
Loft find Barlings cased pair
- Thread starter Huddersfield Smoker
- Start date
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Please also provide the dimensions as well.
I’ll do this when I get home, I’m at the mercy of an old iPhone camera, will do my best
phone cameras are oustanding. Shoot against a while piece of paper, under a light, no flash. See examples here, Jesse is looking for these type of shots. (all with my android phone)I’ll do this when I get home, I’m at the mercy of an old iPhone camera, will do my best
FS: Comoy's Royal Comoy Bent Billiard (05/31/25) :: Pipes & Accessories Sell/Trade
$100 Delivered to the CONUS via USPS Ground Advantage Shape 17 - Royal Comoys - Small Bent billiard Excellent condition in all areas Perfect drilled C stem logo Beveled bowl top Nomenclature excellent Passes a thin cleaner! Weight: 36 grams Date: Late 1940's to 1981
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As mentioned Harry Kirby is the name of the tobacconist who sold the pipe. I’m traveling this week but can give you a brief version of the answer. Although there other Harry Kirbys who might have been active tobacconists in the first decade of the 20th century for obvious reasons I’m reasonably certain the right one was a Harry Kirby born in Huddersfield Yorkshire about 1874. His father James (1814-1883) had become a tobacconist by the 1861 census and remained one the rest of his life. After James died his widow Elizabeth took over the shop in 1883. By 1891 16 year old Harry is listed as an assistant in the family business and by 1901 appears to have been solely in charge with the shop now under his name. For reasons not entirely clear Harry, his wife Minnie (they married in 1896) , and mother Elizabeth decided to emigrate to Australia. The shop premises were put up for sale in early 1911:
Later that year Harry is listed as a “registered money lender”. The following winter Harry and his family departed for Australia and arrived in March of 1912. They eventually settled in Perth where they spent the rest of their lives; Elizabeth dying in 1934, Minnie in 1945, and Harry in 1957.
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That’s epic, thank you so much! The pipes were found in my wife’s parents attic (unfortunately both mum and dad passed last year) - her family all reside in Huddersfield hence my profile name. I’m a Leeds man myself
I’m struggling for light here my apologies, if you want me to redo any please let me know.
Pipe 1:
They're going to require quite a bit of work to get them presentable. I'll bet they smoke great, it appears as they were enjoyed very much. Nice find.
Such a great find even in the condition. Rarity paired with the fact that they were a loved one’s makes this very cool. If I were you I would do my best to clean them up and hold on to those forever. It’s not everyday you see cased sets of Barlings like that and to me it wouldn’t be worth the 1000 bucks you could make if they cleaned up nice.
That looks like a lot of smoking build up on the rim of the pipes; the wood might actually be okay underneath. The set is rare enough that it might be worth having a skilled professional clean them.
It’s hard to tell for sure until the rim lava has been removed, but, with the exception of area of compression on the rim of the lesser used pipe, the rims look like they could be in decent condition.
I’ve removed worse with spit and a rag. The enzymes in one’s spit dissolves the buildup. Some people prefer cold coffee and a rag to do the same thing.
You can use a piece doweling with a rounded bottom, wrapped with glass paper to carefully grind away the cake on the chamber walls. Then it’s shank brushes and bristle pipe cleaners to clear the airway.
If you want a professional job, contact George Dibos, georged on this forum. The man is a wizard at restoration and the only person I let touch my pipes, though rustypiles on this forum is also a wizard. I just don’t know if he’s doing restoration these days.
If the rims need to be topped, staining them to seamlessly match is tricky, but George is a master at it.
The pipes are good sized. “As is” the set would fetch between $700 and $800. Cleaned up, with clean rims and a sound chamber, you’re looking at $1100, tops. The bite damage to the button limits the upside.
This also supposes that the briar hasn’t experienced any structural decay from long term exposure to heat.
I’ve removed worse with spit and a rag. The enzymes in one’s spit dissolves the buildup. Some people prefer cold coffee and a rag to do the same thing.
You can use a piece doweling with a rounded bottom, wrapped with glass paper to carefully grind away the cake on the chamber walls. Then it’s shank brushes and bristle pipe cleaners to clear the airway.
If you want a professional job, contact George Dibos, georged on this forum. The man is a wizard at restoration and the only person I let touch my pipes, though rustypiles on this forum is also a wizard. I just don’t know if he’s doing restoration these days.
If the rims need to be topped, staining them to seamlessly match is tricky, but George is a master at it.
The pipes are good sized. “As is” the set would fetch between $700 and $800. Cleaned up, with clean rims and a sound chamber, you’re looking at $1100, tops. The bite damage to the button limits the upside.
This also supposes that the briar hasn’t experienced any structural decay from long term exposure to heat.
Those should restore nicely. Those stems have very little wear or issues (but I hate working around those crosses). Is the stem logo visible on either?
There's a 1913 WH calabash that just hit ebay (with a high BIN).
The crossed Barling stem logo didn’t make its appearance until the early 1920’s. If there were logo stamps on these stems it would indicate that they are replacements.
On another note, there’s an excellent pipe restorer located in Cambridge. OzPiper would know his information.
I'm pretty sure Geoff Watson has retired.
I've tried contacting him a few times but he has not replied
Thank you very much for all your help, really appreciate it and everyone who has contributed
Being a Leeds man, if you ever come across any old (pre 1960s) Ben Wade pipe memorabilia (needn't be pipes necessarily) please do let me know!That’s epic, thank you so much! The pipes were found in my wife’s parents attic (unfortunately both mum and dad passed last year) - her family all reside in Huddersfield hence my profile name. I’m a Leeds man myself