England, 1960s
An unsmoked very high grade Charatan’s pipe from the “Second Lane era” (1965-76), the period of the brightest blossoming of this brand, delightful shapes and grains which eclipsed all others pipe makers including Dunhill. Every Charatan’s admirer knows the highest grade was the “Supreme”. Another one of the highest grades, “Selected” level was the second from the top. In fact, it’s difficult to explain at times why the certain work of art was graded only as “Selected”: in both cases the pipes were made of a very high quality briar, had clear attractive grain and very stylish shapes created by leading carvers from Charatan’s.
The pipe marking is “(L)”, “CHARATAN’S MAKE \ LONDON. ENGLAND \ SELECTED”, “Extra Large \ MADE BY HAND”. The length is 15.5 cm (6.1″), bowl’s height is 5.9 cm (2.32″). External diameter of the bowl is 4.8 cm (1.89″), internal diameter is 2.4 cm (0.94″). The depth is 4.9 cm (1.93″) and this pipe weights 72 gr. Briar, vulcanite stem, no filter. The stem is newly made of the fresh piece of vulcanite and with all respects to Charatan’s traditions.
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