CHARATAN’S MAKE Selected Cavalier
England, 1960-70s
An absolute rarity! The 2nd highest grade (“Selected” follows their fantastic “Supreme” grade) 2nd Lane era (1965 – 1976) Charatan’s Selected pipe of the cavalier shape.
According to pipedia “A Cavalier is a pipe-shaped based off the Tyrolean pipe, an ancient pipe popular in Germany. This shape is probably the most recognizable of any pipe shape because of the extruding shank at the base of the bowl.
The Cavalier is unique because the air hole in the shank continues past the bowl, down into the shank extension. This feature traps the moisture of the tobacco in a cavity, which keeps it away from the tobacco and the smoker’s mouth. In essence, it is an engineering breakthrough that uses the simple law of gravity to keep the smoke cool and dry. Of course, this moisture trap is going to need cleaning after every smoke. This is why the end of the shank has a foot cap. This cap will either pop or screw off, giving the smoker an easy access point to clean out the pipe”.
The pipe markings are “(L)”, “CHARATAN’S MAKE \ LONDON ENGLAND \ SELECTED” “MADE BY HAND \ Extra Large (hardly readable)”. The length is 20.4 cm (8.03″), bowl’s hight is 5.6 cm (2.2″). External diameter of the bowl is 3.9 cm (1.54″), internal diameter is 1.9 cm (0.75″). The depth is 3.4 cm (1.34″) and this pipe weights 60 gr. Briar, vulcanite stem, no filter. The golden collar clamps the netatcrack in the shank very reliable. It might look not extremely refined, but it’s also a kind of a witness of the era. 1/20 14K G.F. on the collar means the gold layer is 14 karat gold and comprises 1/20th of the total weight of the collar.
