I've been hunting around for a Meer recently, going from antique store to antique store with nary a hit. Last week I thought I found one, but the owner would not dicker despite having a patently ridiculous price.
This week I finally struck gold. There's a perpetual barn sale up the street from me that I pop into occasionally. In one of the cases was and unsmoked Meerschaum for TWENTY dollars. Needless to say I snapped that puppy up.
I'd never heard of Mastercraft so I did a little digging. Apparently they were an importer of pipes and luxury goods. A few of their briars were from well known carvers of the time, but I can't find anything concerning their meers. Mine was made in Austria and was originally part of a matched pair. Christ knows what happened to it's sibling. It passed the "Lick Test" so it's block, and not pressed, Meerschaum. Stem is lucite or acrylic so it's not a very comfortable clencher,
This week I finally struck gold. There's a perpetual barn sale up the street from me that I pop into occasionally. In one of the cases was and unsmoked Meerschaum for TWENTY dollars. Needless to say I snapped that puppy up.
I'd never heard of Mastercraft so I did a little digging. Apparently they were an importer of pipes and luxury goods. A few of their briars were from well known carvers of the time, but I can't find anything concerning their meers. Mine was made in Austria and was originally part of a matched pair. Christ knows what happened to it's sibling. It passed the "Lick Test" so it's block, and not pressed, Meerschaum. Stem is lucite or acrylic so it's not a very comfortable clencher,