Sommer Paneled Fat Rhodesian (Cf. GBD 9242)

[pitchfork]

Picked up a French paneled fat Rhodesian marked "SOMMER / PARIS / GRAND LUXE / * ." I know nothing about this pipe other than it's French, presumably made in Paris for the Sommer department store, but it could just as well be of St. Claude manufacture from the looks of it. It may be fairly new, but the styling is very old fashioned, especially at the button (very thick and aggressively tapered). The shank contains a fairly massive tenon-mortise gap, or a second chamber (a la Peterson), giving this pipe a very cool, dry smoke. The bowl of EMP I put through it last night burned like a charm with nary a gurgle.
I would be much obliged if anyone knows anything about Sommer pipes.

 

[ssjones]

I have not heard of a Sommer pipe, but it sure is beatiful! The grain looks nice and I love the panels! A good pickup I'd say.

 

[pitchfork]

Thanks, Al. I actually thought of your taste for GBD Rhodesians as I was putting this up.

 

[kashmir]

That's a lovely pipe! Congrats.

 

[pitchfork]

Thanks, Kashmir. And congrats on the new do!
BTW, a search of "paneled rhodesian" yielded this Ligne Bretagne. As many of you know, Trevor Talbert makes this line of pipes from old French stummels he bought with some property in France (or something like that). Anyhow, there's definitely a family resemblance to the Sommer pipe.

 

[ssjones]

Stop it, you are killing me! Wow, that Ligne is smashing. I'd say those two shapes are identical. There's nothing better than a tapered stem on a chubby Rhodesian!
The new Kashmir avatar also made me chuckle.

 

[jah76]

I'm digging that stem pitch. Congrats.

 

[uberam3rica]

I can't give you any info on that pipe, but what I can tell you is that it is amazing! I really like the look of it.

 

[numbersix]

That is a beautiful pipe. I also have a Sommer - a Meer. Here's what I was able to find out about Sommer:

The brand was created by Jean Sommer in 1855 and produced in Paris, France. His sons continued the business producing meerschaum as well as briar pipes. The production stopped in 1935 but the brand's shop named "Aux carrieres d'ecume" (13 et 15 passage des princes, Paris) kept on with commercial activity until 1988. The logo on some is a gold sun with a white horizontal bar, or just a white bar alone on the side of the stem.

This is mine:

 

[yazamitaz]

I can't help on your search but that is a great looking pipe. I just picked up a Rhodey and they are becoming my favorite style.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

That is one slick looking pipe my friend - congrats

 

[cigrmaster]

Very interesting shape, glad to hear it is smoking well for you. Congrats.

 

[pitchfork]

Thanks, guys. And thanks, Six, for that information. I've seen that somewhere before (in French), but I still can't figure out whether they made/sold pipes after 1935 or not. I think (not positive) that the paragraph you quote refers to the meerschaum production stopping in 1935 (if not briar), so yours is definitely an older model. And what a lovely meer it is -- nice patina, classic shape and what looks to be a very nice amber or bakelite stem.

 

[numbersix]

And what a lovely meer it is -- nice patina, classic shape and what looks to be a very nice amber or bakelite stem.

Thanks pitchfork! A great pipe, circa 1910-ish with a genuine amber stem. Got it unsmoked. My only complaint is that while the pipe is fairly long at nearly 6 inches, the bowl is very small and good only for very short smokes.

 

[pitchfork]

Necro bump.
Thanks to Ben Rapaport's site, Tobacco Pipe Artistory, I'm fairly certain this pipe dates to around 1925. It's the one bottom center on this page from the c.1925 Sommer catalogue.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.119074361510269.29789.101191206631918&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/tobaccopipeartistory/photos/a.119074361510269.29789.101191206631918/119074441510261/?type=3&theater

 

[ssjones]

Bingo-Bango! That is awesome. What a neat catalog and Facebook site.

In a couple of years you'll be able to say "I can smoke pipes less than 100 years old, but I choose not to".

 

[pitchfork]

Al, I was totally unaware of Rapaport's site until he posted a link on another thread here the other day. I think someone else helps out, but what a great resource it is. There's one catalogue from a NYC pipe store from 1868. All the pipes are meerschaum (no briar), but they include some fairly modern shapes we're all familiar with.
http://tobaccopipeartistory.blogspot.com/p/catalogs.html
By the way, the 1875 WDC catalogue is a must-see. Plenty of bulldogs and Rhodesians, some of them in briar, so we know that shape goes pretty far back into the history of the briar pipe.

 

[mso489]

That pipe is in incredible shape if it dates to 1925, or around then. It's an outstanding take on the

Rhody, paneled. My wife gave me an interesting Savenelli bent Rhodesian Opera shape 673 for

Christmas, with a sort of elliptical shank, bridging between a bulldog and Rhodesian shape, and

one of the prettiest Rhodesians Sav makes, I think. It's dark stain and briar bands, low key but

quite striking. It's smooth with a bead line. No carbon coating!

 

[ssjones]

Those catalogs are terrific. I found a FDR figural at JB Hayes last week, just like the one pictured in the Louis Lamberthod, St.-Claude catalog. Also a figural of Fidel Castro and Jesus. Matt wanted $50 for the FDR figural, so I passed (no clue as to it's age)

 

[misterlowercase]

Absolutely love the panel Rhodie!
A great find.
The 1925 catalog is of much interest because they show blasted pipes!
And,

I learned a cool new term - "sablage profond" (deep sandblast) :!:

The panelled Bulldog shape is one of many French classic shapes from Saint-Claude. What we know of the classic "British shapes" have been borrowed from French shapes created in Saint - Claude.

So true, and in many cases even the names!

bruyere/briar, billiard etc etc