Need Help on Older Ben Wade

[hoppes]

I have managed to collect 3 Leeds Made Ben Wade pipes. Because of their history doesn't appear that there are many being sold or auctioned. This is the latest addition. A somewhat unusual square-shaped double stained little gem. The shank has the imprint of the oval Ben Wade with the Gentleman's head profile. It's marked "Virgin Briar" The opposite shank has Made In Leeds, England with the number 376.There is also a Shamrock or clover marking. One of the other Ben Wades I have has a heart shaped figure in the same place??? The stem is marked BW and is in two parts. I'm thinking it is a repair but if so,is very well done. The button was broken out so I repaired that. Otherwise the pipe is in quite good shape.It's a rather smallish pipe so I'm thinking it might be fairly early. Any early BW experts or collectors?

Thanks, Hoppes

 

[jguss]

Hi Hoppes,
You always have interesting pipes to share. It's a pleasure to see them and add my two cents.
I think your pipe dates from the thirties. The first time I found a trace of the Virgin Briar model was in the 1930 Tobacco World Annual listing of Retail Prices; it's still listed through 1940. Note that I have a few breaks in my run of the Retail Price lists. I know the Virgin Briar doesn't appear in the 1925 edition, but my next copy is 1930 so in theory it might have been introduced a few years earlier. I didn't see it in the 1941 or 1945 prices lists (I'm missing 1942-44), and strongly suspect it was a casualty of the War. As I know you know, many pipe manufacturers trimmed their lines in the face of war-time disruptions in raw material and production capacity.
Now for the nomenclature. As you probably know, Ben Wade's nomenclature during the 1930s denominated where the pipe stood in one of three tiers; pipes that bore the "Ben Wade" stamp were the highest grades; those stamped "B.W." were the middle grades; and those stamped "B.W.L." were the lowest. There were many models produced at each level, and the models changed over time, so I'll just give a few examples with pricing from 1938 to illustrate the point:
Ben Wade "Larnix" (Gold) 42/-

Ben Wade "Larnix" (Silver) 25/-

Ben Wade "Super Grain" 16/9

Ben Wade "Selected Grain" 12/6

Ben Wade "Walnut" 10/6

Ben Wade Standard 8/6
B.W. "Statesman" 7/6

B.W. "Club Special" 7/6

B.W. "Ambrosian" 5/6

B.W. "Virgin Briar" 5/6
B.W.L. "Garrick" 3/6

B.W.L. "Hurlingham" 3/6

B.W.L. "Advent" 2/6

B.W.L. "Adelphi" 2/6
So as you can see, your pipe falls square in the second tier offered by Ben Wade at that time. It's a beauty!
Best,

Jon

 

[shaintiques]

Pretty cool pipe. I almost bought one like that in Chicago but it was overpriced. Love learning about the older stamping.

 

[dmcmtk]

Great information Jon.

 

[hoppes]

Jon: What a great asset you have there about Ben Wade pipes. Thanks so much for the history. My second BW is a selected grain that was owned by the director George Sidney. Here's some pics of that:

Sidney had all his pipes banded with gold and engraved with his name by Al Kramer of Kramer's pipe shop in Hollywood.

My other BW is a "county" marked pipe with a silver band with an early 1900's imprint.Haven't seen where that model fits in because I can't identify the date stamp. Thanks again, Hoppes

 

[beefeater33]

Those are some SWEET Ben Wades! Thanks for posting this, and thanks to J. Guss......... I learn a lot from this forum...... :clap:

 

[mikethompson]

Those are some very nice pipes!

 

[jguss]

Hi Hoppes,
The County and Selected Grain models dive earlier into Ben Wade history, and my records are scantier. Here's what I think. The County was introduced no later than 1921, when it appears in a list of Fancy Brands, and may well have appeared some time before. Apparently it was produced for generations, as it appears in lists of Francy Brands at least through the mid 1970s.
The County was a mid-grade model, equivalent to what later was denominated as the "B.W." tier of the company's pipes, and spent most of the 1930s priced at 5/6. At one time it came in both a County and County de-Luxe version. Interestingly the mid-tier, called "B.W.' in the 1930s, was called "Bourchier" in the mid-twenties. In a similar rebranding the lowest tier from the 1930s, the "B.W.L." models, was renamed Yorkist a few years after the War.
As for the Selected Grain model, it too had a long production life, appearing in Retail Price and/or Fancy Brand lists no later than 1925 and continuing to be listed at least through 1963. This model stood considerably higher in the pecking order, however, and was part of the "Ben Wade" tier (see comparative 1930 pricing, at 12/6, in my post above). By the mid-1950s post-war inflation had driven the price up to 40/-. Since your pipe belonged to George Sydney, given his date of birth and the impact of the War on pipe production, it seems a reasonable guess (but only that) that it dates from the late 1940s or beyond.
Best,

Jon

 

[mso489]

What a nifty little pipe in the original post, from the original factory in Leeds, when the family owned the business. Ben Wade is quite a saga, presented on pipepedia:
https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade
I bought one a few years ago, no doubt from the London plant, a good little billiard sold at my local independent brick and mortar.

 

[bnichols23]

Wow. Yeah, I like that one too, Tom! Much more a style that appeals to me than the vanilla traditional shapes.....