Mystery Pipe - London Made Colonel Eazy Special ???

[misterlowercase]

Recently picked this oddball up and can't find any info about it.
I have seen it suggested that perhaps the makers were H. Perkins & Sons,

but no real evidence supports that...
...both these adverts are circa 1922:

So,

any ideas?
Anybody seen a pipe by a known maker with a similar Hand Finish imprint stamp on the stem?
That might be a clue.
Just curious about this as it's a well-made pipe.
::

 

[dulgunz]

No idea, but I do like the look of it. Very nice! I do like your vintage tins also!!

 

[jguss]

Absolutely right Troy, this was an H Perkins pipe; it appears under their name in price lists and/or brand directories for over thirty years. The Colonel Eazy was priced near the bottom of their line.

 

[snagstangl]

Yep, i have one and came to the same conclusion after searching the interwebs.

 

[misterlowercase]

:!: Jon!
Many thanks.


My research laziness has been rewarded YAY! :wink:
So glad you added that vital tidbit,

as now I know.
Thank you.
I'm a magnet for these low-graded pipes because I favor the blasted/rusticated finishes and in most early circles of British pipe makers it seems such finishes were thought of as bottom of the barrel...
...which is good for me 'cause I love 'em and there ain't much competition for 'em either,

which is all aces!
Let me ask you a question about price lists and/or brand directories,

my aforementioned noted laziness being a prime example of not consulting such lists as I only have 2 or 3 and often come up fruitless --- these specific things rarely pop up so I doubt I'll ever build a worthy compilation of them for cross-referencing, so I've looked for alternate methods, most especially trying to find an online source to search for Reg.'s --- the only real lead I've found seems to be either shallow or purged of old stuff as I can't find much, maybe I'm not using it to its full potential?

https://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmtext/

:?:
Would you happen to have any opinion of The Trade Marks Journal?

That would be more my speed anyway, an actual printed & bound publication to browse through, but they are scarce as well --- I'm mostly interested in them for researching briar pipes at the dawn of sandblasting, so around the 20's up till the 30's is what I'd love to browse, like Class 34 I think applies to all smoking sundries?
If you are familiar with this publication, do you think it's worth my pursuit and cash outlay to procure copies of it?
Looking through a related Trade Journal on googlebooks landed this, right out of the blue --- a name I recognized from scouring over the Imperial documents at the Legacy Library, one of the main suppliers of essences to the British tobacco trade, complete with such the delightful phrase: "Ye Oldeste Essence Distill'rs"

I love stuff like that.

:D
Another quick note in relation to H. Perkins,

I came across a very interesting tidbit:

"The company, of which Henry C. Perkins and James Adler are directors, has been manufacturing pipes and smokers' sundries for the last 50 years..."

...would that be the James Adler?
:?:

 

[mso489]

Excellent restoration or maintenance. The pipe has survived in great shape. I wondered if it could be a down-market Comoy from their London days, but I'm glad to know the true history.

 

[jguss]

Hi Troy,
First regarding data sources. I haven't found a run of the UK Trade Marks Journal to consult, so I can't really say. I do know that contrary to rational expectation digitization of this data is very incomplete, and that's why many people look for trade mark data where they can find it (e.g. Canada and other Commonwealth countries, and the US). I also know from experience that many trade marks sources in paper form are disorganized by modern standards and challenging to search. Whether that holds true for the Journal you mention I don't know.
I was chatting with Tony Soderman at Chicago, and he rightly points out that just because something comes from the company, it doesn't mean it's infallible. Very true. Much of research consists of weighing competing sources against each other, and even in the absence of a second source, being a bit skeptical and considering possible bias or error. But having said that, we use the best material we can find. And I tend to use price lists and brand directories since at a minimum they show a given pipe (or tobacco) must have been offered by the time it is listed; more uncertain is whether the subsequent absence suggests that production had ended. But between price lists, brand directories, catalogs, and advertisements we can often get a pretty good idea...when all that crap is findable, of course.
As for the specifics of your pipe (which is a beauty, by the way!), flatticus's find demonstrates that first use in Canada was in 1941. Listings in UK sources begin much earlier (no later than 1930), and there's some evidence to suggest that the name was in use as early as late 1906/early 1907.
As for the relationship between H. Perkins, Oppenheimer, and Cadogan, that's a much larger topic, but the nub is that H. Perkins had passed into Oppenheimer control by the winter of 1917 (I have more specific info at my office, but am confident this is right as far as it goes), and Oppenheimer's equity in H. Perkins was thrown into the Cadogan pot along with everything else at the time of formation in the summer of 1928. So yes, the "James Adler" you found is indeed the same "James Adler" who was part of the controlling family of Oppenheimer (and what is now Cadogan)!
Best,

Jon

 

[ssjones]

I was chatting with Tony Soderman at Chicago

I would have loved to been a fly on the wall for that conversation!

 

[jguss]

Easily done; come to Chicago next year!
Tony stuffs his room with more old English pipes than you can readily imagine, and leaves the door open what seems like 24 hours a day, luring the unwary into his treasure house. When he sees me pass by in the hall, his MO is to poke his head out and say "Jon, do you have twenty seconds?"
An hour or two later I stagger out, bloodied and often bowed. For such a saintly looking guy he packs a wallop.

 

[misterlowercase]

Thanks for the additional info Flatticus,

very interesting.
Jon,

much appreciate the update, it all makes a bit more sense now.

I guess I'll hafta just get myself a copy of TMJ and see how it is, I can't resist!
I do have a 1917 Tobacco Year Book and it lists the Compton, but not the Eazy, then I can only jump to 1935 where the Colonel does make an appearance on the bottom at 2/6 --- explains why the Perkins name ain't even on the pipe I reckon, nor their logo stamped on stem.
This pipe is indeed in amazing condition,

it's quite stunning to be such a lowly grade.

Tony stuffs his room with more old English pipes than you can readily imagine, and leaves the door open what seems like 24 hours a day, luring the unwary into his treasure house. When he sees me pass by in the hall, his MO is to poke his head out and say "Jon, do you have twenty seconds?"
An hour or two later I stagger out, bloodied and often bowed. For such a saintly looking guy he packs a wallop.

That does sound insanely cool, even for just looking/handling I would be thrilled, I think I'd probably blow my whole budget in a room like that!

 

[chalbach72]

Quite a lovely pipe! Really glad you've found out who made it! :D

 

[danielplainview]

Great looking pipe.