My New (Old) Opera Pipe

[huntertrw]

Awhile back a Seller on eBay advertised for sale a Dunhill "Opera" pipe (see image below), executed in Shell briar. I placed it on my Watch List, but none of the bidders met the Seller's reserve, and so the listing expired. It was subsequently re-listed and promptly sold for $199.99 (plus shipping) to a buyer who was not me.

Saddened, I began to look for something similar, and was lucky to find and win an Ehrlich version of this same pipe, which is shown below. Do any of you have any experience with this shape? If so, then how does it smoke?

 

[papipeguy]

That is a very interesting shape. I wonder how it got named "Opera"? enjoy it.

 

[johnnyreb]

That's neat Hunter! Do you have the dimensions? If it was meant for a quick smoke during intermission at the opera it still doesn't explain the unusual shape.

 

[johnnyreb]

Google is your friend:
Let us begin with the oval bowled, so called, opera pipe. The oval bowl is indeed fashioned in a low profile, but not for the opera. Many documents found in the Oompaul.com libraries shed light on its earliest formation, in the United Kingdom. The oval bowl was conceived (to hide the pipe, lit or without flame in the pocket) for a group of discerning pipe smokers with the job title of au pair. The term is French and generally means "equal to." An au pair is typically a young woman who watches the children of another family and stays with that host family. Some allowance wages are given to the au pair in exchange for taking care of the children.
http://oompaul.com/musings/2009/11/1/the-opera-pipe-and-the-rodeo-pipe-an-exposition.html

 

[tuold]

I have an opera pipe but have never smoked it, so no ability to comment there. Maybe I'll try it this weekend.
From what I've read, the pocket pipes of this nature were originally called "au pair" pipes. I don't know what to think of that since nannies and other servants were probably not part of most pipe maker's clientele. I could be wrong in supposing that. It's more likely that opera goers needed something that would fit in a vest pocket.

Edit: What johnnyreb said! (I'm a slow typist)

 

[huntertrw]

johnnyreb:
Thank-you. The bowl is 1.562" H x 1.125" W at its maximum. The overall length of the pipe is 5.062", with the stem accounting for 2.250" of that total.
papipeguy:
My guess is that this is what is commonly referred to as a "vest-pocket" pipe, i.e., one that could be carried less obtrusively in one's pocket. Dunhill might referred to theirs as an "opera pipe" in order to better appeal to their particular class of customers, although this is simply a guess on my part.

 

[huntertrw]

tuold:
Who is the maker of your opera pipe?

 

[tuold]

huntertrw, I've always assumed it was a Yello-Bole but the only thing stamped on the briar is "Featherweight". I haven't been able to find it in any online catalogs.

 

[huntertrw]

tuold:
According to Jose Manuel Lopes in his book titled "Pipes - Artisans and Trademarks," Featherweight is an, "English brand of the Oppenheimer Group." Of the Oppenheimer Group he, in part, this to say: "The Oppenheimer Group was a British holding company which, through the Cadogan Company, had various pipe brands. It began in 1860 as an import/export business created by Charles Oppenheimer, his brothers, David and Adolphe, and his brother-in-law, Louis Adler, who established connections with GBD in 1870."

 

[tuold]

huntertrw, thanks very much for that information! Could you guess a date range for my pipe based on how long those business connections lasted? I can't imagine it could be any earlier than the 1940's or so, especially considering the pipe is still in the condition I received it.
I now see on the pipe logos web site that Cadogan did use the circle logo on the side of the stem.

 

[huntertrw]

tuold:
Unfortunately not, as Mr. Lopes' citation on Oppenheimer does not give me any clues. He does, however, include their Web address (www.oppenheimers.co.uk), and lists an e-mail address for a contact (aoc@oppenheimers.co.uk), but does not say what the initials "aoc" stand for. Perhaps if you contact Oppenheimer, they may be able to help you put a date on your Featherweight.

 

[klause]

Do any of you have any experience with this shape? If so, then how does it smoke?

I have a couple of old ones, and they smoke really very nicely - relatively quick smokes because they are so small. Just remember to move the flame up-and-down, rather than round-and-round, when lighting ;-)

 

[huntertrw]

klause:
Thank-you, Sir, will do!

 

[snagstangl]

yello bole had a version called "the pocket". I have two of them, and a few other with oval bowls. They smoke like normal to me. The Yello bole "the pocket" was patented. There is an upper bowl and it has 2 holes in the bottom and then a lower chamber. I have one that has the original bowl with the two holes and the lower chamber but the stem is stuck and I cant get it out to save my life. I also have another where the bowl was burned out and it is one big chamber which looks like it was whittled out. I have seen erhlichs with oval bowls come up occasionally as wel1.

 

[mikestanley]

I had a Wilke Opera shaped pipe. The only real issue is reaming. I used a bit of sandpaper to keep it neat. Enjoy.

Mike S.

 

[mso489]

I bought a Peterson B11 bent brandy in an bright gloss ebony finish, a Killarney, that was pitched as a "dress pipe," which if

there were anywhere to smoke pipes these days, might be descriptive. As it turns out, I rarely smoke pipes while in a suit,

much less a tux (which I rarely wear anyway). For a quick intermission smoke in a dressy situation, I guess I would choose

the Peterson Belgique, a little Group 1 with a slight cant to the bowl, that would give about the right length smoke for a usual

intermission, maybe ten to twelve minutes. I like these oval bowls; interesting history.