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, 1950-70s H. Simmons was one of the most famous London tobacconists with a long history and very nice tobacco shop in the Burlington Arcade. The pipes were ordered from different sources including the Dunhill company. In the 1980 the business was acquired by Dunhill. We can’t confirm that this pipe was made by Dunhill;…
England The highest grade pipe made in the second half of the XX century at the John Redman LTD & British Empire Pipe Co factory. Unlike many other large and quite “freehandish” designed “Royals” this pipe is made rather according to the classical British tradition – a capacious (but not chubby) English horn pipe (some…
Italy This pipe appears to be another example from Savinelli’s Hand Made line—a sort of secondary branch of the Savinelli Autograph series. At least all the usual signs are here: the marking style matches other Savinelli Hand Made pipes, the briar boasts a rich, attractive grain, the shape flows naturally, and the blend of smooth…
France All available sources unambiguously classify the pipe as a Chacom product. The series is very probably named after Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (c. 1476 – 30 April 1524), “a French knight at the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, generally known as the Chevalier de Bayard. Throughout the centuries since his…
Denmark, 1970s A pipe from the greatest Danish tobacconist made in the 1970s. There were many legendary pipe carvers working for W.Ø. LARSEN and it’s usually difficult to say who exactly made a specific pipe. But such the elongated, specifically bent stem hints that our today’s pipe was made by (or at least inspired by)…
England, 1960-70s The largest Charatan’s pipe we have ever offered! This giant high grade Distinction was made in 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…
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!