I mentioned this wonderful, rare piece of smoking history in a post and someone asked for pics, so here we go.
Excuse the glossy finish on it, I had just treated it with silicone grease to preserve the rubber - I will NEVER use it, it's something I just had to have for sentimental reasons. I had a very similar one to this, it was red and didn't have the bee in the centre about 38 years ago, and have spent all those years longing for another one - in those days it wasn't tobacco I used it for. Nonetheless, it kept anything stored in it in perfect condition and was just a trendy little item you could easily pick up at any tobacconist for about $5 which was actually a hell of a lot back then come to think of it.
As I said, I've searched the world twice over physically, and spent many, many hours on the www trying to find someone, anyone, who still sells them today but, alas, it's an impossible quest. I've even emailed the French Smoker's Museum to see if they can assist!
So, here we go, my newly acquired "elephant's anus" baccy pouch that was purchased in a lot of 14 misc pouches that were all rubbish, except for this beauteous prize find .... as you see from the design of the neck, the thing folds into specific fabricated folds and closes automatically without any effort on the part of the user. Another pic shows how the rubber has pitted over the years, but overall it is still perfectly servicable and in excellent condition otherwise. The pic that looks slighly balloonish, that's because there's a little air remaining in it that I didn't squish out.
Note: If anyone has any or knows a store that sells them, I would gladly pay the $'s to get another (or more) that I can actually use ... until then, this remains locked away amongst my treasures.
Excuse the glossy finish on it, I had just treated it with silicone grease to preserve the rubber - I will NEVER use it, it's something I just had to have for sentimental reasons. I had a very similar one to this, it was red and didn't have the bee in the centre about 38 years ago, and have spent all those years longing for another one - in those days it wasn't tobacco I used it for. Nonetheless, it kept anything stored in it in perfect condition and was just a trendy little item you could easily pick up at any tobacconist for about $5 which was actually a hell of a lot back then come to think of it.
As I said, I've searched the world twice over physically, and spent many, many hours on the www trying to find someone, anyone, who still sells them today but, alas, it's an impossible quest. I've even emailed the French Smoker's Museum to see if they can assist!
So, here we go, my newly acquired "elephant's anus" baccy pouch that was purchased in a lot of 14 misc pouches that were all rubbish, except for this beauteous prize find .... as you see from the design of the neck, the thing folds into specific fabricated folds and closes automatically without any effort on the part of the user. Another pic shows how the rubber has pitted over the years, but overall it is still perfectly servicable and in excellent condition otherwise. The pic that looks slighly balloonish, that's because there's a little air remaining in it that I didn't squish out.
Note: If anyone has any or knows a store that sells them, I would gladly pay the $'s to get another (or more) that I can actually use ... until then, this remains locked away amongst my treasures.
