England The pipe is interesting not only as a great example of English craftsmanship from the middle of the 20th century but also as one of the rare series equipped with the “twin bore” stem – very popular at the time and much more reliable than today’s mouthpieces with traditional “slot” buttons. And another thing:…
England, 1950-70s One of the most famous English tobacco shops, Bewlay & Co. Ltd, was founded in 1870 at 49 W. Strand in London by the Jewish Elkan family, who immigrated from the Netherlands. At the initial stage, the business was positioned as retail trade in tobacco products; Bewley was one of the first to…
UK (Scotland) “Herbert Love …traded as Murray Frame for 80 years” the Herald Scotland wrote in an article about the closure of Herbert Love’s last independent smoke shop in Glasgow. Murray-Frame was one of the last independent pipe companies in the UK (and appears to be the last in Scotland) and was only acquired by…
England, 1950s “… Portland pipes make up one of the great mysteries of London pipe making. No one knows when Barling bought Portland but most of us barling guys believe it was mid to late 30’s”. Yes, both our humble investigations and eyewitness accounts of the time indicate that the history of the Portland Pipe…
Ireland, 1921 Unfortunately, the year mark on the silver collar is a little weak, but a thorough analysis and comparison with the hallmark charts suggest that this should be the title letter F, corresponding to 1921. Also, pay attention to the absence of the COM stamp (‘Country of Manufacture’). According to Pipedia, this is characteristic…
England, 1950-60s A very interesting and unusual Charatan’s make pipe with a tapered mouthpiece and a luxurious silver collar. This is the Belvedere pipe, either from the late Ruben or the early Lane period; soon, tapered mouthpieces will be replaced exclusively by saddle or patented Double Comfort (DC), and shape numbers will necessarily be accompanied…
England, 1960-70s A Charatan’s pipe from the ‘Lane era’ (1960 – middle 1970s), the period of the brightest blossoming of this brand, with delightful shapes and grains that eclipsed all other pipe makers, including Dunhill. A nicely made Belvedere series pipe of the classical and cozy bent shape! Pipe markings “CHARATAN’S MAKE \ LONDON ENGLAND…
England, 1960-70s According to pipedia, George W. Sims used to work for Charatan’s (that is clearly visible of some Sims pipes) and for Barling (that is also not excluded). But finally he found himself as an independent tobacconist and an owner of a little shop in Northern London, which existed till 1980. “G.W. Sims was…
England The pipe with the old, rare, and intriguing English name is, in fact, a proud member of the Dunhill family. Founded in 1900, the Masta Patent Pipe company, like Hardcastle, was acquired in 1946 by Parker (a subsidiary of Dunhills) and was wholly incorporated into Parker Hardcastle Limited until 1967. Since then, all three…
England Herb Wilczak and Tom Colwell mentioned two manufacturers of Highgate pipes: L. Orlik Ltd and Comoy’s. However, if you look at the stampings, there is no doubt: this Serif font on Comoy pipes cannot be confused with any other. The pipe looks like Comoy’s answer to some of the innovative American and English brands…