PARKER Root Bruyere 42

England, 1950-60s

Children should have some degree of a freedom. Especially such “children” as the Parker trademark. That’s very well known story: the Parker company was founded by Alfred Dunhill in 1922 for the quite utilitarian purposes: to finish and market pipes which didn’t went into production as the Dunhill ones. However, this split happened unlike other manufacturers much earlier, just after a bowl turning. And all further processes – stoving, curing, carving, finishing – happened already in the Parker’s specific way. After the merge into Parker-Hardcastle fathers and children dispersed even more strongly: Parker acted as an absolutely independent business unit from the suply of material to the marketing policy.

This approach was quite justified, the most interesting and collectable Parkers were made in 1950-60, under conditions of the freedom of creativity and freedom of business. There is, however, a question how to identify them, those pipes?

First of all, Parker conducted dating of products similarly to Dunhill: from 1925 till 1941, and then after an interruption – from 1945 till 1957. Secondly, old catalogues are interesting and useful indeed. Such Root Bruyere was published in the Parker’s catalogue of 1955, but in the 1970’s similar models weren’t offered any more. So even the lack of a year suffix shouldn’t confuse: the pipe was made after 1957, but not later than 1967 when models of Parker and models of Hardcastle were significantly reconsidered. Family traits, naturally, are present too: the group size, and the inner tube.

The pipe markings are”PARKER \ \ BRUYERE”, “42”, “MADE IN LONDON \ ENGLAND”, “(3)”. The length is 15.2 cm, bowl’s hight is 4.6 cm. External and internal diameters of the bowl are 3.1 cm and 1.8 cm. The depth is 3.5 cm and this pipe weights 28 gr. Briar, vulcanite stem, inner tube.