I always wanted a Lighthouse....

PappyJoe

I found this at Bayou Tobacco in Baton Rouge and it was at a price I was comfortable with paying. Lot of pics attached.

motie2

Magnificent, but a holder, not a clencher, for certain.....

WookieeJake

That, sir, is gorgeous.

Iwoodcarve

Impressive work in that one.

ghostsofpompeii

@PappyJoe My God that thing is beautiful. How heavy is it?

Please post the pictures as well on the Daily Briar Photoshoot ... that thing is too stunning not to be a part of the Photo Shoot.

From the pictures you're posted you appear to have an amazing Meerschaum pipe collection.

PappyJoe

@ghostsofpompeii - I had to disassemble it to get all the pieces on a kitchen scales. It weighed in at exactly 6 oz. In comparison my Coast Guard meerschaum weighs 4.9 oz. and my Sailing Ships is a light 2.86 oz. 

I'll set up a photo shoot of the ship passing the lighthouse later.

As for a collection, I only have six - and other than the ones mentioned, they are a smooth churchwarden, the oldest (the one I've owned longest) is a CAO Cavalier (the face not the style). and I have a Saxophone style Turkish Sultan. 

I generally don't smoke the Sultan because even though it was unsmoked when I found it, it has a couple of hairline cracks that appear when it gets hot. Maybe I'll shoot pictures of it and even smoke it in the near future.

I just like the artistry that goes into carving a beautiful Meerschaum.

Charles

That is one beautiful Meerschaum!  Not sure if I would smoke it or display it in a glass case but it is a beautiful pipe for sure!

PappyJoe

I smoked it yesterday. If I want to smoke it with the cap (top of the lighthouse) I can only fill the bowl about half full.  The top makes a good wind screen but you have to tend the tobacco a little more. Without the top it smokes a good as any other meerschaum pipe.

jfreedy

@PappyJoe -- probably the most unique meerschaum I've ever seen. Very cool!

motie2

Again, y'all might enjoy visiting http://www.meerschaumstore.com/

PappyJoe

I buy from this site:

http://www.meerschaummarket.com/

motie2

@PappyJoe -- Outstanding! Thanks for pointing it out. Another resource, and this one with your recommendation!!

PappyJoe

Here's one more site I have booked marked. Haven't bought from him but his pipes are beautiful.

http://www.esmeerschaum.com/lattice-meerschaum-pipes.html

Woodsman

Really beautiful pipe, glass case for sure.

thebadgerpiper

That is absolutely one of the most stunning meers I've ever seen. I'm glad it's part of your collection.

PappyJoe

I always have an interest in finding out more about the estate pipes I find. With briars, it usually just tracking down a time period for when it was produced. With Meerschaums it's really difficult because so many of them are just carved and not signed or stamped or anything. If lucky, the come in a case which has some type of a identifying mark in it. Lucky for us pipe smokers the trend now is for pipes to have a stamp or be signed. My Coast Guard pipe and churchwarden are both Servi's, My Sailing Ship pipe is a Bolgi #1 (have not been able to find out who Bolgi is as of yet.) And, the Lighthouse is signed "Created by Akdolu."

Here's what I found out about Akdolu through searching the internet and reaching out to a meerschaum carver on Facebook. One of the replies was from the cousin of Huseyin Akdolu and according to the cousin, he carved the Lighthouse.

The Akdolu family were pipe carvers from Adana, Turkey. 

Cuynet Akdolu, Huseyin's brother, reportedly gave pipe carving demonstrations in Baton Rouge, LA back in 1987. Cuynet now lives in California. 

I also received a reply from the man who made the cases for Huseyin Akdolu pipes. 

I'm still trying to find more information about the pipe itself. Because of the size and intricacies in the carving, I'm guessing it had to be a special pipe, maybe a commissioned pipe even. You just don't see pipes like this on the market very often and none of the websites I've visited show anything like it for sale.

xDutchx

Even though I tend to gravitate towards lighter pipes in the 20 to 50 gram range, I am sometimes intrigued by a larger pipe, and will go ahead and add one to my collection. Some meers fall into this category, and your's is certainly a beauty you have there Pappy. For some reason, I am also drawn to any nautical theme. I suppose most of us have ancestors who have spent a considerable amount of time on a ship.

Meerschaum pipes are unique unto themselves, and I think everyone should experiment with smoking at least 1, if not a dozen.

ghostsofpompeii

After spending so much time dealing with people and their problems at my old job I often fanaticized the life of a lighthouse keeper. But not just any lighthouse keeper ... I wanted the job that of the character Stevie Wayne in the John carpenter movie "The Fog". To combine a lighthouse with a radio station would be the ultimate job. Spin the discs I like all day long while overlooking the ocean.     

PappyJoe

@ghostsofpompeii I had to scratch my head and read that again. Oh! You meant like a AM radio station. 
At one point the lighthouses maintained a VHF radio watch as well as the light and fog horn. 

PhilosoPiper

@pappyjoe, that is a beautiful pipe! Incredible detail!

drac2485

@PappyJoe I love it

Watchmaker61

A real show piece for sure!!