Trebor Patent Silver Mounted Pipe 1919

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K

klause

Guest
Evening all,
After a bit of a nail biting wait I was the highest bidder on an absolutely gorgeous vintage pipe.
Sellers pictures - HERE.
The pipe is stamped - TREBOR, LONDON MADE, G COTTON & SON. PAT No 5518/12.
The silver collar is stamped AR with hallmarks for 1919.
I've done the usual checks and can't find who AR was - but, that's not really important. What I would really like to know is, who made Trebor pipes? Anyone come across them before?
I am really looking forward to loading and smoking this pipe.

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,074
Maryland
postimg.cc
A new make on me! Here's a mention in a 1922 Tobacco Journal Weekly:

https://books.google.com/books?id=jJRDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR34&lpg=PR34&dq=tebor+pipes&source=bl&ots=3W5Ef3229t&sig=UpVpB-6EbzuTe4MlvwSnyAvYtic&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4RISVbvYKO_lsATylYDQDg&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=tebor%20pipes&f=false
The Patent number lookup didn't yield any hits (6518/12 or 651B/12?)

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,221
5,341
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
klause:
The Patent Number on your pipe is actually 6518, and it was granted to Baron Cohen of Baron & Co., Cigarette Specialists - Piccadilly, London W - on December 12, 1912 for his design for a "cooling chamber" in the stem of a pipe. Here is a link (Patent No. 6518) to the patent document as displayed on the Espacenet Website.
Unfortunately this is all that I have been able to find so far. Perhaps Forum member Jon Guss can fill in the rest of the missing pieces.

 
K

klause

Guest
Huntertrw, Good catch on the Pat no. That's probably why I couldn't turn anything up related to the number I typed in!! No excuses, just lack of attention on my part.
Thanks very much for the information - it's brilliant, and good to know. It really does enhance my enjoyment and appreciation of these old pipes - also, the knowledge gained is invaluable to me. That book you have is the Bees Knees.
I managed to dig up some stuff about George Collins. The first George established a tobacconists in 1775, and the business eventually became Tobacconist to the Royal Household in 1842,
I'm looking forward to getting my hands in this pipe - and seeing what this patented cooling chamber is like.
Thanks, again, for the information and help - much appreciated.

 

jguss

Lifer
Jul 7, 2013
2,414
6,221
Klause,
Once again you've done an incredible job of finding an obscure treasure from the past! This is a pipe about which I know almost nothing; but that won't stop me from making a few remarks.
First, I think if you look closer you'll see that the stamping says "G Cotton & Son", not "G Collins". This is corroborated, by the way, by the Trebor mentions in the various US Tobacco issues from the late teens/early twenties available on Google. In several cases they mention bundling promotions with John Cotton product.
G. Cotton & Son was founded by the father of the John Cotton we all know, George Cotton (1749-1831). Old George had eleven kids, of whom John was the last. One of John's older brothers (also named George) went into business with old dad, and helped perpetuate the company he had established in Edinburgh about 1774. Interestingly enough this family business was separate and distinct from the tobacco shop and snuff manufacturing business eventually launched by John. Only many decades later did the two businesses come together, when the later owners of John Cotton bought out the later owners of George Cotton & Son. This happened some years before your pipe was made.
As for Trebor, as huntertrw notes the patent was issued to Baron Cohen in 1912. Here the trail gets murky. But before we try to follow it up, I can tell you that Baron Cohen (1864-1951) was listed as a tobacco manufacturer by the age of 27 in the 1891 census; that he was in the cigarette manufacturing and importing business with his father, Woolf Henry Cohen (1838-1920), and two other men until the end of 1893, at which time he exited the partnership; and that he is listed in subsequent censuses as active in the cigar importing or tobacco dealing trades.
More obscure is the progressive ownership of the Trebor pipe. It continues to appear in industry brand listings through 1957, after which is disappears, never to return. Over the approximately 36 years for which I have data, it is shown as owned by Cohen & Co. in 1921, by Trebor Ltd and Cyril Arnold Ltd from 1927-1929; by the same two entities plus Baron & Co. from 1932-1938; by the same three entities plus L. Hill & Co. in 1939; and after a gap in the listings reappears as owned solely by L. Hill & Co. from 1949-1951; finally from 1953-1957 the name is owned by Trebor Products & Agencies. What does this alphabet soup of entities mean? Without a lot more digging I can't say. Several are clearly related to Baron Cohen the man; others are more obscure, bobbing up on the waves for a few years before sinking without a trace. Cyril Arnold Ltd, for example, only appears in the London phone books from 1925-1930. Similarly brief appearances are true of most of the other companies.
More interesting is the question of where the name Trebor came from to begin with. This is just pure speculation, but there was a long time candy giant in England called Trebor; it was founded in 1907 and the brand was eventually absorbed into Cadbury in the 1980s. A book has been published about the history of the company (see: http://www.thetreborstory.com/). I haven't read it, but there was a long standing symbiotic relationship between tobacco and confection retailers that spanned most of the 20th century. It seems possible to me that Trebor (the candy company) might have financed/licensed/distributed Trebor the pipe. But to be clear: that's pure speculation.
In any event, Klause, another beauty. I hope you enjoy it!
Regards,

Jon

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,221
5,341
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
jguss:
Thank-you, Sir. I feel somewhat ashamed, for I missed the Cotton connection completely!
6084379ad6c502936e4f693398234c13.jpg


 

dottiewarden

Lifer
Mar 25, 2014
3,053
57
Toronto
Interesting how back in the good old days they were talking about yet better older days. It seems our selective memory has us convinced that things were better in the past than they are now. I my view we're currently living at a very special moment in the history of pipes, pipe tobacco and pipe smoking. And part of what makes it so special is our access to all of this invaluable information.
Thanks to all of you for sharing the fruits of your research skills with the rest of us.
By the way klause, the pipe looks like it's in fantastic shape. Congratulations and happy sipping!

 
K

klause

Guest
Ah! Jon! Staggering! Thank you, very much, indeed - that is quite superb.
I mistyped Cotton and put in Collins - It was Mr Cotton I found some small info about - it was amusing to me to think that he was a purveyor of tobacco products to HER majesty. But, you paint the big picture and bring these people, including Baron and his associates, to life - again adding that wonderful vibrant dimension to a pipe I'm fortunate to have in my posession - the piece of wood is a tangible link to these long gone souls, bringing them into the present, if only briefly, so we can make their acquaintance. Thanks for introducing me, Jon - it's really super. We owe them a debt. And, I am endebted to you, and HunterTRW, for your assistance in finding out about this lovely old pipe.
As for the Trebor connection, I remember scoffing copious amounts of Trebor mints as a lad, and, now that i think about it - the sweetie shop also had a good stock of tobacco products, and pipes.
The journey with these pipes is not just about who owned it, or what tobacco I'm going to smoke in it - it is vaster and more interesting than that. And, to think, it would be so easy to simply dismiss it as a silly, smelly, old lump of wood!!!!
Dottie, thanks. I might add that it is the historians and researchers who are prpeared to help find and share their information that truly elevates this into a golden era, for me, at least.
I'm even more excited about getting to hold this pipe now.

 
K

klause

Guest
Al, thanks very much for the link - good to know that we can nosey around these old publications so easily - apprecited.

 
K

klause

Guest
It's here!!!
And it's gorgeous!
I'm just heading out the door for the weekend, but when I get back I'll post a picture of the tenon, and the Patented cooling system - it's very cool. But, what is better is the fact that it (the tenon bit) is complete :)
Happy days. Have a good weekend, fellas.

 
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