Strange Markings on a Charatan Special

[Duke of Erinmore]

Hi folks,

this lot I've acquired becomes more and more interesting. It also contains an unsmoked Charatan Special (unfortunately with a little scratch in the shank) which is quite puzzling.



The pipe only shows a number "3" on the rear side of the shank, and the logo on the stem is quite different from a normal Charatan logo, with wider letters. Also, on the other side of the stem there is a stamp "203573" which is the regd number I believe.

Any explanations / dating would be most helpful - especially about the logo.

 

[Ahi Ka]

If I remember correctly, I have been told the DC patent/reg number wasn’t applied for until 1965.

 

[Duke of Erinmore]

Thx. Any ideas about the logo?

 

[JimInks]

The photos are a little too fuzzy to really see what you're asking about.

 

[Ahi Ka]

The photos are a little too fuzzy to really see what you're asking about.

That’s cos you’re sober.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Thx. Any ideas about the logo?

I don’t know the brand well at all. Did you check out the excellent dating article on pipedia? It would seem that since the C still enters the P it would be pre-82. To my eyes the CP on your one doesn’t look that different to the example given for the lane era

 

[JimInks]

That’s cos you’re sober.

Curses!!! Foiled again!!!

 

[JimInks]

I don’t know the brand well at all. Did you check out the excellent dating article on pipedia? It would seem that since the C still enters the P it would be pre-82. To my eyes the CP on your one doesn’t look that different to the example given for the lane era

I think it's Lane era, too, but I'd still like to see sharper photos.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Curses!!! Foiled again!!!

Scotch and bergs to the rescue

 

[sablebrush52]

It's probably Lane era. The lack of a Lane stamp means nothing. Better pictures might help.

 

[Duke of Erinmore]

Thanks everyone. I also reckoned Lane area. I will give it to my wife for better images, she is the Leica user here

 

[Duke of Erinmore]

What really puzzles me is the CP logo. The typefont is completely different from the CP logos shown here: Charatan -- Pipes : Logos & Markings - http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-charatan.html

Maybe it's not the original stem, but that would be unlikely for an unsmoked pipe. It was quite faded and took serious buffing to make it look like it does now.

Also the "3" is kind of weird, normally the Lane era pipes have 3 or 4 digit numbers with DC afterwards

 

[huntertrw]

If I remember correctly, I have been told the DC patent/reg number wasn’t applied for until 1965.

You are correct, 203,573 is the Patent Number. The Patent date was January 25, 1966 by William Alan Williamson Barling, London, England, assignor to F. Charatan & Son Limited, London, England, a company of Great Britain

 

[sablebrush52]

Seems doubtful that anyone would bother to stamp the registration number on a replacement stem, So that argues for the stem being legit.

Whether that stem is original to the pipe is debatable. The fit is somewhat off. And while the pipe is unsmoked, the stem has been buffed quite a bit.

The stem logo IS different, but is not Dunhill era.

So, Lane era, though stem is possibly not original.

 

[Duke of Erinmore]

Thanks. The buffing of the stem is easy to explain, that was me. See how it looked like when I got it:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/FGkAAOSwmZFjVh1N/s-l1600.jpg (3rd from the left).

But the fit seems a valid point.

 

[sablebrush52]

Thanks. The buffing of the stem is easy to explain, that was me. See how it looked like when I got it:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/FGkAAOSwmZFjVh1N/s-l1600.jpg (3rd from the left).

But the fit seems a valid point.

Was the shank cracked when you got the pipe?

 

[orlandofurioso]

I own a Reuben Era one with a similar, rarely seen, stem CP logo, what puzzles me is to see the serifed logo on a much later DC stem. The "3" is not so much weird; I believe it was a price group designation, I've seen it on plenty Charatan pipes.
The registration nr. is on any ugly DC stem.

 

[Duke of Erinmore]

Was the shank cracked when you got the pipe?

Yep, just checked the other eBay images.

 

[orlandofurioso]

I was to discuss the serifed logo with Ken Barnes shortly before he met his demise.
And then my mails were not replied anymore, I miss him.

 

[craig61a]

The 3 on the right hand side of the shank notes price point. I discussed it with Ken a few years ago. Had a made in City of London with a ‘2’ on it. Well, still do as a matter of fact.

As for the stem logo, I believe I’ve seen that before. As to what timeframe that was used I have no idea.

Probably the best you could nail it down would be late 1960’s, early 1970’s…

Changes, lines, markings, etc were of dizzying proportions during the Lane regime…