I've seen Walt Cannoy post some of his pipes on Instagram and he's made a custom case for it. I don't know of anyone else
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Hello. First time poster here - nice to virtually meet you all!
I came across this small pipe at a local bric-a-brac shop in Brighton, UK, among a selection of largely unremarkable pipes. I'm relatively new to pipe smoking but just so happened to read an article about Barling's about 2 weeks ago and could just about make out the words "Barling's Make" stamped on the visible side of the stummel.
I returned to the shop earlier today and asked for a closer look: the pipe is small at about 4 1/2" - not much larger than my Big Ben Ranger, and has the "Barling's Make" curved logo on one side, and "John Cotton" stamped on the reverse. There appears to be some stamping on the underside but it's extremely faint and blends in with the grain to the point of illegibility (I'm still not certain if my mind's playing tricks on me and there's no base stamping at all). The stem doesn't appear to have any markings and seems to be made of a hard rubber, noticeably different in texture than all my other pipes.
From some cursory researching the brand stamping seems to indicate that this is a pre-transition pipe from the "family era" and, due to the lack of shape or size markings, probably pre-WW2. John Cotton was apparently a Scottish tobacconists with a presence in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Please correct me if any of this is wrong.
I've not seen any other examples that resembles this shape - it reminds me of a ducks head - and haven't seen anything made by Barling's that would match the dimensions of a pocket pipe. Does anyone have any further information about it? Is anyone able to authenticate it? It certainly seems to be made from a nice piece of briar.
Thanks very much in advance.
I came across this small pipe at a local bric-a-brac shop in Brighton, UK, among a selection of largely unremarkable pipes. I'm relatively new to pipe smoking but just so happened to read an article about Barling's about 2 weeks ago and could just about make out the words "Barling's Make" stamped on the visible side of the stummel.
I returned to the shop earlier today and asked for a closer look: the pipe is small at about 4 1/2" - not much larger than my Big Ben Ranger, and has the "Barling's Make" curved logo on one side, and "John Cotton" stamped on the reverse. There appears to be some stamping on the underside but it's extremely faint and blends in with the grain to the point of illegibility (I'm still not certain if my mind's playing tricks on me and there's no base stamping at all). The stem doesn't appear to have any markings and seems to be made of a hard rubber, noticeably different in texture than all my other pipes.
From some cursory researching the brand stamping seems to indicate that this is a pre-transition pipe from the "family era" and, due to the lack of shape or size markings, probably pre-WW2. John Cotton was apparently a Scottish tobacconists with a presence in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Please correct me if any of this is wrong.
I've not seen any other examples that resembles this shape - it reminds me of a ducks head - and haven't seen anything made by Barling's that would match the dimensions of a pocket pipe. Does anyone have any further information about it? Is anyone able to authenticate it? It certainly seems to be made from a nice piece of briar.
Thanks very much in advance.
Waiting for Jesse (@sablebrush52 ) to chime in with his extensive knowledge.
It looks like one of Montague Barling's love child from his Grand Tour of Denmark circa 1970
It looks like one of Montague Barling's love child from his Grand Tour of Denmark circa 1970
Here’s a sneak peak of an 1884 Barling Meer. It’s currently getting a Ryan Alden stem
It looks like one of Montague Barling's love child from his Grand Tour of Denmark circa 1970
Montague was the Johnny Appleseed of the briar pipe industry. Countless women were treated to the “full Monty” and his by-blows were scattered in every corner of the Empire.
This is really odd. The Danish made Barling's didn't use this stamping. They used a script Barling. This block BARLING'S over MAKE stamp was discontinued in 1962.
The shaping isn't anything that Barling would have made when the family ran it.
Makes me wonder if it's from a later period, 1980's or later. I'm not as familiar with the various incarnations, or if someone with access to a Barling stamp used it on a no name or shop project. Could have been a special order. The lack of any other nomenclature is odd. Very curious piece.
Thanks for the reply Sablebrush52.
The only other nomenclature is the name "John Cotton" stamped on the opposite side of the shank. Apparently John Cotton was a Scottish tobacconists based in Edinburgh. There's some background in the following article:
"John Cotton started life as far back as 1770 and remained independent until taken over by the Gallaher Group in 1962." - US tobacco firm revive a Leith classic - https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/us-tobacco-firm-revive-leith-classic-615358
Although the pipe's appearance, especially in profile, appears anachronistic and quite modern - Danish, even - in the hand it gives the intangible impression of being very old. The briar seems very dense.
I wondered when I first saw it if it was a fake, but it seems unlikely that a forger would go to the effort of putting an obscure Scottish tobacconists name on it, only for it to ultimately wind up in a dusty cabinet of a Sussex junk shop - especially it being such a diminutive pipe.
Sure:
There's also another PipesMagazine post from a few years ago regarding another "John Cotton" stamped pipe that has some info:
JOHN COTTON 47 7 Frederick St Edinburgh Scotland Saddle Billiard :: British Pipes
So, a question for the pipe detectives, who made this pipe? John Cotton obviously made tobaccos, but my assumption is this pipe was made by one of the English (or maybe it would be more politic to say British) pipe companies as a private label. Looking at it, on first impressions, I would RULE...
pipesmagazine.com
I've now come to the conclusion that this pipe is a fake.
I'll post my reasoning once I've finished doing a bit more research, but thanks very much for your help!
I'll be curious about what you have to say about it. The shaping of the button and slot is similar to late '20's-early '30's, but the shaping of the stummel is something else.
1884 Barling Meerschaum with Ryan Alden Stems and a clean up.
Here's my only pipe I can contribute to the thread and I'll clarify that I'm not a Barling collector, more of an African meerschaum enthusiast. I know this isn't from the Barling golden era and isn't actually even made by them, but all the Laxey pipes I've had have been great smokers and I happen to quite like the look of this one. This was an estate listing with lackluster photos so I was pleasantly surprised to receive it in very clean condition with an unusual, although apparently original, orange acrylic stem. It has a very Don Johnson/Miami Vice color scheme so I'm assuming 80s production but that's just a guess.
I recall reading at one point that some of these Barling meers were made from leftover Peterson stummels, and the fact that this one is drilled just like a Peterson system pipe (reservoir with adjoining draught hole) would seem to support that idea.
I recall reading at one point that some of these Barling meers were made from leftover Peterson stummels, and the fact that this one is drilled just like a Peterson system pipe (reservoir with adjoining draught hole) would seem to support that idea.
A 1904 Barling bent billiard with army mount saddle stem.
Interestingly the stem has been filed into a flatter profile just before the button and the bit is slotted rather than orific.
A very generous present from Tim (@ashdigger)
Interestingly the stem has been filed into a flatter profile just before the button and the bit is slotted rather than orific.
A very generous present from Tim (@ashdigger)
Attachments
An update on this 1905 Barling bent billiard motor dome
Just came back from Geoff Watson of Cambridge Pipe Repairs
His usual immaculate work
And a gentleman, to boot
Just got it a few days ago. My first Barling and Barling family era pipe! 
Bought it from doctorbob. It's 1962 Barling Pot Flat.
Bought it from doctorbob. It's 1962 Barling Pot Flat.
Ok I’ve seen all your post but you need to give us some context for who you are if you’re going to drop all these hot pipes on us.