England
Another one old good pipe from the 1950s. Some sources say that “Straight grain” was a kind of Comoy’s second (like other makers marked their pipes “Reject”) but we didn’t find a confirmation.
The pipe is 15.0 cm long, 5.0 cm tall and weights 27 gr. The bowl’s external diameter is 3.2 cm, inner – 2.0 cm, inner depth – 4.0 cm. Vulcanite stem, no filter.
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…
USA The pipe has stamping of two famous and legendary American manufacturers. But it’s not a mistake: since 1953 Dr. Grabow company was merged with Henry Leonard & Thomas Inc. All further owners (United States Tobacco company, Lane Ltd., IPAL) continued to produce the popular Royalton series until our days. The pipe was very lightly…
England, 1960s A 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…
England We didn’t find any hint who could make this pipe. Some sources mention Comoy’s London Tower pipes although the stamping font on this pipe is noticeably different to Comoys. The shape and the sandblasted surface are reminiscent of Orlik creatures, such as Captain Black. But it’s just a remark. Pipe markings “LONDON TOWER \…
England A nicely made English pipe. The heavy bowled bent shape and cross cut grain look quite similar to Charatan’s products from 1960’s, but the pipe is just a beautiful item regardless its origin. And the dark spot on the bowl’s back doesn’t prevent a smoking pleasure.
England, 1950-70s The highest grade GBD pipe made in 1970s the latest, before the acquisition of the company by Cadogan. Amazing straight plus birdeyes grain, elegant aristocratic shape, great lightweight briar make the pipe an incomparable addition to any collection.
Hi,
I have a smooth, plum- stained pipe stamped just like the one above, and have been scratching my head over it. The only stamping I can find is “STRAIGHT GRAIN” over “LONDON MADE” on the left side, and the number “20” has been stamped on the right side. It is a small pot in shape. The script looks exactly like that used in the stamping of my Blue Riband and London Pride, but I see no trace of “Comoy’s” on the pipe. I can see no fills, and the grain is vertically straight and very tight. I see no maker identification on the stem, which may be a replacement, but is very well made and fits perfectly. Any idea who may have made it? I have had no luck in trying to trace the shape number.
Thanks,
Jeff Stierman
Hi Jeff,
The reasons why a particular pipe wasn’t stamped with its manufacturer name may be vary and at times not clear for us in the 2021. Such pipes are not always “seconds”, some of them could be made tobacco shops, some others were not finished due to closing / moving of production facilities.
“Straight grain” is not a registered brand name, therefore any maker could stamp this name on pipes. However you right, Comoy’s stamping is quite unique and I would say preliminary your pipe is one of Comoy’s too. But the small pot with the shape number 20 is not in Comoy’s shape charts (of course if it wasn’t made at the commission of another company).
I would recommend also to ask the question at the pipesmagazine.com forum, maybe someone of experts can identify your pipe or recall who was producing such the shape Nr. 20.
The very best regards, stay safe!