Those pipes must call you to smoke them all the time. On one hand, it's sad that beautiful 107 year old Barling's like haven't been smoked. Odds are, they are fantastic smokers. On the other hand, there aren't many unsmoked Barlings left, much less a cased set like that and can you be responsible for ending that.
Fortunately I have a nice selection of vintage Barling pipes from this period that I do smoke, so I have no desire to set a match to these. It would also be a pretty expensive match since once smoked they're just another set of old Barlings and half the value disappears. How many unsmoked Barling sets of this vintage in the world? A hundred, maybe? And this particular set? Well, at east one since we're lookng at it.
There is something wonderful about seeing what these were like when they left the factory. The case is like a little time machine.
Buying an unsmoked antique piece is a total departure for me, one that I thought I would never make, as I smoke the pipes that I own. But I don't see it as a shame that these are unsmoked, because there is no shortage of smoked antique pipes in the world, and smoked versions of these show up from time to time, just no longer cased and a bit beat up. No, not a shame, but more a good thing, so that pipesters who appreciate the history as well as the practice can have something to enjoy in that way.