Middleton Hand Made Imported Aged Briar

[Briar Lee]

Shopping for Lees and other bargains, I bought this Middleton Hand Made Imported Aged Briar stamped Pot (or is it an Egg?) for only $25 delivered.


Some random guesses about this pipe:

1. It has a cheaper Lee full disc type screw thread seen mostly in Briarlees. The stinger is missing.

2. It was made in the USA or it would have a nation of origin stamp.

3. Since Middleton is a respected tobacco company that pipe was hand made of aged imported briar.

4. The people that whine over the high cost of pipes don’t shop for bargains online.

 

[That Guy]

Some of my best smoking pipes are estate pipes or no name pipes bought as a lot with each pipe coming in at less than $10 each. Can't beat that!

 

[Briar Lee]

Some of my best smoking pipes are estate pipes or no name pipes bought as a lot with each pipe coming in at less than $10 each. Can't beat that!

The most likely origin of this pipe was as a premium for sending $5 and so many Middleton tobacco wrappers to Middleton. It’s a contract pipe to an American pipe factory.

The screw stem looks “Leeish” to me, as does the button on the stem.

My guess is when it comes in that stem will screw on any Lee I own and all the Lee stingers I own will push right in.

It could have been another maker who copied Lee’s second best full disc screw stem, but it may have been an order filled by Lee to Middleton to use up blocks of briar that had been aging for years.

That’s an easy shape to hand turn.

 

[jpberg]

Hand made?

 

[Briar Lee]

Hand made?

That meant something then, and still does.

Every briar pipe has a minimum of final hand finishing.

A hand made briar pipe is made at a bench by one artisan who takes a block of briar, cuts and turns it on lathes and disc sanders to shape, and finishes it, without automatic shaping machines.

And since that pipe has a saddle bit, he hand shaped the stem from a rod of vulcanite too.

But look at that perfect button.

That looks very, very Lee to me.

There must have been a tiny machine,,,.

 

[Briar Lee]

I found a screw stem Briarlee, and here are the similarities to the Middleton.


I’ve not seen any patent numbers on any Lee pipe, but even if there were, the patents lasted 17 years.

Either the Middleton was made by Lee or it’s a close copy of a Lee.

 

[B.Lew]

A beautiful Lee. Maybe a Lee if he wore Dungarees in 90*+ degrees. Sweaty hawks hanging down to his knees.

But, boy he smoked a Lee. Packed to the full, not with mouth chew Skoal, but with Samuel Gawith full.

Shuckle, dairy, ding dong, dee…

 

[Briar Lee]

My Middleton pipe came yesterday, and the stem does interchange with any Lee, and it accepts any Lee stinger.

There are no visible fills, and the briar seems to be a high grade of well figured cross grain.

But, it came with a thin, dark coat of stain that was very easily removed with 4/0 steel wool. The very last Lees had that, plus the cheaper Kaywoodie type full disc front mortise.

It’s a beautiful, hand made pipe that either was made by Lee or was a flat out counterfeit Lee.

Not that it really matters.

People who judge a pipe by the brand overpay for their pipes.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I vow to never compete with you for these pipes. I hope that you can collect them all. We should all vow to never buy a Lee, so that this fellow can have them all.
I will gladly continue to overpay for my pipes... that is my gift to you, Briar Lee. My sacrifice to the pipe world.
Good luck.

 

[sasquatch]

Did it under go the patented Master Craft Pore Processing technique? Cuz that's how you really judge a pipe.

 

[didimauw]

I vow to never compete with you for these pipes. I hope that you can collect them all. We should all vow to never buy a Lee, so that this fellow can have them all.
I will gladly continue to overpay for my pipes... that is my gift to you, Briar Lee. My sacrifice to the pipe world.
Good luck.

Then I way over payed for the pipe I ordered yesterday... 🫢

And yes he deserves ALL the Lees!

 

[condorlover1]

Providing he doesn't develop an unhealthy interest in meerschaum 'cutty' pipes I am not too bothered!!

 

[Briar Lee]

On closer inspection there is one tiny sand pit where the fill came out, and the shape number 01 on the shank.

Plus, it doesn’t read hand made, it reads

HAND TOOLED

It’s a very low use pipe, and the bottom of the bowl has the unmistakeable Lee sweetness.

This was a Pot that Lee made for Middleton at the bitter end, right before the doors closed.

Here’s another pipe for my Yamaha Rhino. If I lose it I’m not out much.

Just the right size, for a shirt pocket.

It will free up my Moonshine Devil Anse for other duties.



I’m having a mile and a quarter of fence built, and enjoying every bit of watching it.

 

[mingc]

Sir, I admire your devotion to the modest. We should all be so content. Less is more but that is a difficult truism to master. Nonetheless, you have done it. Kudos to you.

 

[telescopes]

It may be safer to assume that the maker of the Middleton Pipe and Lee both came from a factory that made many other pipes brands as well by that time.

 

[telescopes]

Sir, I admire your devotion to the modest. We should all be so content. Less is more but that is a difficult truism to master. Nonetheless, you have done it. Kudos to you.

You'll have to count me in that group as well. I have quite a collection of American made pipes that were sold during the last century. I find Marxman to be an especially unique make in that he didn't seem committed to staying with any one style for very long.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sir, I admire your devotion to the modest.

You'll have to count me in that group as well.

Wait, I am way more modest than either of you. More modest than the two of you put together. Hell, I defy anyone to prove that they are more modest than me.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

On closer inspection there is one tiny sand pit where the fill came out, and the shape number 01 on the shank.

Plus, it doesn’t read hand made, it reads

HAND TOOLED

It’s a very low use pipe, and the bottom of the bowl has the unmistakeable Lee sweetness.

This was a Pot that Lee made for Middleton at the bitter end, right before the doors closed.

Here’s another pipe for my Yamaha Rhino. If I lose it I’m not out much.

Just the right size, for a shirt pocket.

It will free up my Moonshine Devil Anse for other duties.

View attachment 174577

I’m having a mile and a quarter of fence built, and enjoying every bit of watching it.

View attachment 174579

Haha, I need to erect my 34 X 22 foot fence around my raised beds before the snow flies - I’m spending a lot of time on scale drawings in front of the fireplace and little time moving dirt, rock, etc., lol. My wife cautions me not to rely on Santa to do it Christmas Eve.

 

[FurCoat]

I can't say it the same maker but I do have one pipe stamped John Middleton. Picked it up for 10 bucks at a pipe club meeting.

 

[Puff nstuff]

I own one Middleton pipe, a Silvay bulldog purchased from a fellow member of this forum. I quite like it. Came with the stinger.