WDC Marlborough Double Airway

[pitchfork]

Not sure what I've gotten my hands on here in terms of smoking quality, but it looks really cool. It's a WDC "Marlborough" -- a chunky, but fairly small, sitter with a double airway stem. Someone would know for sure, but it looks to be a 1920s design, and looks to be in pretty decent shape. Absolutely an impulse buy.
Still working on the cleanup, but I figured out that the airway in the top of the stem loops around to the bottom piece of the stem. The smoke exits through one hole in the bottom part of the stem into a little chamber (like a Peterson System). The actual draft hole is a second hole within the bottom section of the stem that then pulls air out of the little system-like chamber, through the stem and out to the smoker's mouth.

 

[xrundog]

I think it's earlier than the 20s. I think it's 1890s - 1900s. That's based on the style and the gimmick. Looks more art nouveaux than art deco to me.
Nice pipe.

 

[pitchfork]

Interesting about the date. I know Ben Rapaport has a WDC catalogue from the 1880s or so posted on his site, but I wonder if there aren't some later ones posted around somewhere. That might provide another clue as to the date.

 

[papipeguy]

That is a fascinating pipe. It does not look like it'll take a lot of work to dress it up. Good luck with it.

 

[pitchfork]

Thanks, papipeguy. It's all pretty much done, except for some stubborn tar on the rim. The usual whiskey isn't up to the job, so maybe I'll look for some higher proof stuff.

 

[misterlowercase]

I think it's an interesting pipe,

I've seen them pop up and was always fascinated by them.
I was hoping to find a patent somewhere but no such luck.
CPF made one called the Cromwell which looked almost exactly the same.

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_Pipe_Factory
CPF was part of KBB from about the late 1880's until around 1915.

Are the hallmarks faux?
One possible way of dating it is through font research (trying to determine when that style was popular),

that's a beautiful font they use for Marlborough!

 

[yohanan]

Both the pipes are neat and unusual, thanks for sharing the photo's. That's what I like about this forum, folks sharing things I probably would never know existed, especially from yesteryear.

 

[xrundog]

Are the hallmarks faux?

Yeah, that's nickel plate.

 

[pitchfork]

Thanks for the link and pic, mlc. I saw a similar pipe, which I think was a WDC, sell on ebay a while back. I'll let you know how the "font research" goes. LOL

 

[ssjones]

Steve Laug just finished a similar, but slightly more elegant model.

https://rebornpipes.com/2017/07/01/out-damn-spots-a-c-p-f-cromwell-double-vertical-stem-bent-billiard/comment-page-1/#comment-21442