G. W. SIMS poker

December 8, 2023December 8, 2023

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 one of the few English pipe makers who produced Danish style freehands carved from specially selected plateaux briar. Mr. Sims willingly made pipes to personal specifications”. (Pipedia). Some customers made a long way from other English cities to purchase wonderful G.W. Sims pipes for a collection.

So, in front of us is an exquisite traditional English poker pipe from a famous ex-Charatan’s artisan.

Pipe markings “G.W. SIMS \ LONDON MADE”
Length 14.1 cm (5.55″)
Bowl Height 4.8 cm (1.89″)
Outside Diameter 3.6 cm (1.42″)
Chamber Diameter 1.8 cm (0.71″)
Chamber Depth 3.3 cm (1.3″)
Weight 43 gr.

Briar, vulcanite stem (carefully patched near the button – the trace is visible in good light), aluminium air cooler.

The pipe was accurately smoked, it has been thoroughly cleaned, polished, sanitized and now is ready for a new life.

PETERSON
PETERSON Mark Twain (corncob)
October 31, 2021October 31, 2021
Ireland, 2009 In fact Peterson’s Mark Twain series launched firstly in 1981 was inspired by two great smokers: personally Mr. Samuel Clemens known as a dedicated admirer of Peterson pipes (more precisily: Charles Peterson Patent pipes) and Mr. Huck Finn’ who smoked corncob pipes. Therefore the set traditionally consist of two pipes: one Peterson System…
Read More PETERSON Mark Twain (corncob)
BARLING
BARLING’S MAKE Ye Olde Wood T.V.F. poker
May 31, 2019May 31, 2019
England, 1940-50s An eye catching decent size classical English poker pipe made at Barling’s family factory between 1941 and 1962, i.e. during the pre-transition period. The arched BARLING’S MAKE logo is already of a full size, larger than before WWII. There’s still no shape number, but the stamping “EXEXEL” was introduced after 1941 when Barling…
Read More BARLING’S MAKE Ye Olde Wood T.V.F. poker
CHARATAN'S
CHARATAN’S Make Executive poker
May 31, 2017December 29, 2018
England, 1960s A Charatan’s pipe of “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. There’s no shape number on the pipe, thus it was made by one of the leading carvers at this factory regardless any catalogues….
Read More CHARATAN’S Make Executive poker
... MORE AMERICAN
Sandstorm
May 1, 2014September 26, 2022
USA A poker pipe is close to a sandwich. Both pipe and sandwich were invented for card players to make the game more comfortable for gentlemen. Of course it would be interesting to look at the pipe for chess players, we suspect it should be something like the Charatan’s pot – our another today’s pipe.
Read More Sandstorm
WILLIAM ASHTON-TAYLOR
TAYLOR MADE poker
September 2, 2023September 2, 2023
England, 1980s By a fortunate coincidence, William John Ashton-Taylor was born in 1945 in a house next to Alfred Dunhill’s factory. It seemed like only a matter of time before he would become an apprentice in a factory at the age of 14 (Bill was still in school). Over the next quarter-century, Bill climbed through…
Read More TAYLOR MADE poker
G. W. SIMS
G.W. SIMS Special
October 1, 2022October 14, 2022
1 Comment
England, 1960-70s G.W. Sims (just the modest G.W., though some consider that he was George) is known from the first half of the XX century, and the first pipes of the artisan (and at times a repairman) were marked even more modestly – “GWS”. According to some sources, G. W. used to work for Charatan’s…
Read More G.W. SIMS Special