My first bucket- list tier pipe acquisition - a Rueben Era 3109
Show Off Your Charatans Here!
- Thread starter ssjones
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I always liked this shape of theirs. It seems rather rare one to get. I’ve seen some call it a bent bulldog, some a Rhodesian. Let us know how she smokes.
Picked this up in the late 80's. "XX"ed out Lane era. Biggest bowl I have ever seen in 65 years of pipe collecting.
My first Charatan(s). I was visiting London for a few weeks and a very nice woman was moving and selling these pipes her husband had recieved as a gift from a gentleman they rented shop space to. He had a tobacco/pipe shop that closed in the early 80's. The husband never smoked pipes so they sat in the drawer, still unsmoked.
None have the telltale Lane marking, though timing-wise they could have been 'Lane Era', although not likely on the Belvedere giving the stem stamping.
Top is a Belvedere. Shape 353 D.C. 9mm
Next is my fav, a Rarity.
Bottom one is a Distinction 'Extra Large'.
Probably a bit too large for my habits, tho it's a beautiful shape and bowl so it might be a shelf-queen for a bit.
None have the telltale Lane marking, though timing-wise they could have been 'Lane Era', although not likely on the Belvedere giving the stem stamping.
Top is a Belvedere. Shape 353 D.C. 9mm
Next is my fav, a Rarity.
Bottom one is a Distinction 'Extra Large'.
Probably a bit too large for my habits, tho it's a beautiful shape and bowl so it might be a shelf-queen for a bit.
Was in Dallas and picked up this Charatan’s Make possibly marked 42 (very faint, so not certain) with no “L” marking. I believe the stem is a replacement. It’s about 6 in long with a 2 in bowl. It’s much bigger than any of my other pipes. Thought it may be a Giant but possibly too short.
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There are so many reasons to love Charatan's pipes, but for me one of the biggest one is the way they take a classic shape, change it very subtly and you get beauties like this 322DC
Agreed, they have a small, but interesting shape catalog. Is that a repair band?
No original one with a nice arched sterling silver stamp on top, will add photo later
I would agree. I think original work would have some Charlatan markings. If done in England I believe hallmarks are required. An aftermarket band does not necessarily mean the shank is cracked though. Some folks just like silver
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OK here are some examples of charatan with silver bands with little to no markings on them, also they are perfectly aligned and fitting. There is no way a master silver Smith is just adding silver bands to charatan pipes just for fun. I found around 15 very similar examples, here are 5 
Those look beautiful! I'm in no way an expert on English silver work on pipes, there are members here that are much more knowledgeable than I. However, I would look into this if I were dealing with the estate market. I have banded many estate pipes in my days, some just for fun, some for $$$. I'm pretty sure I've heard sometime in the pipe world that English law requires hallmarks on any silver. Maybe "Sterling Silver" is enough for the law, I don't know. But I do know many collectors frown on non original silver work on pipes, even if there is no crack. If any silver covers up any of the nomenclature I would think is a pretty good indicator that it's aftermarket. I cannot tell if any of your pipes show that. If you could find a collector that has purchased new Charlatans with silver work he may be able to share how his silver is marked. I think ornamental silver is beautiful!
I'm not a silver expert, that's for sure. Pipes with silver sold in the UK did require a hallmark. If a pipe were banded after a shop/dealer acquired it, I doubt a hallmark would be required. Unless you have the pipe in hand, there's no way to determine if it was an adornment or a repair.
At any rate, a banded Charatan is a pretty rare thing. There are three on this 9 page thread. Those shown here are by non-participating members, but the bands look plain, like Dshifts. (its too bad the pictures of the bands don't show detail)
At any rate, a banded Charatan is a pretty rare thing. There are three on this 9 page thread. Those shown here are by non-participating members, but the bands look plain, like Dshifts. (its too bad the pictures of the bands don't show detail)
Do you mean banded from the factory? If so, I'd agree. I haven't seen too many Charlatans with original silver work from the factory and those I did see I believe had "CP" marked on the silver. To my recollection,Charlatan was never big on silver on their pipes from the factory.
I miss "Feathers" Thompson.....
Actually, that’s not uncommon. If someone wants some bling, a silversmith will oblige.
Those look like aftermarket bands to me. No hallmarks and no makers marks.
I’ve seen both sterling stamps on pipes from other manufacturers.
In fact, they look exactly like a number of Barlings that were up for auction about 5-6 years ago, all from the same collector, and had those stamps. No factory sterling on any of them.
The only Charatan makers mark I’m currently aware of is “FC” for Frederick Charatan, in a frame. I IDed it years ago for Ken Barnes.
I did some research because I see way too many silver bands for them to be repair rings or for someone to do it just for the bling factor. I also spoke with a few other restores and collectors from Germany, people with collections/ investories of hundreds of pipes each, the hallmark law apperantly has weight factor to it- until 1975 silver had to be hallmarked only if it weighs more than 1,56g (just the silver part of a product) and after 1975 it changed to 7,78g. Most silver on pipes would fall under this limit, but most companies would choose to hallmark it anyway.
Aditionaly pipes made for export weren't hallmarked as consistently, also smaller productions, like Ferndown(l.Wood) just skipped it completely.
Aditionaly pipes made for export weren't hallmarked as consistently, also smaller productions, like Ferndown(l.Wood) just skipped it completely.
A lot of the examples I saw while researching had a recess, so the band would be flush with the wood and stem. I see this extremely rarely, if ever, done for repair or beauty rings.
This would be a great indication the silver is original. If it is flush, it's more than likely original. Good research in your previous post! I think Dunhill today just has "AD" and .925, or something similar on their factory silver. Peterson on the other hand does marvelous markings on their silver even today. I saw one time the tool they use to "roll" their markings. Oh, how I'd like to have one of those tools!!!
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