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Memorable Estate Pipe Find Story
Jayhawk422
Master
What is everyone’s memorable estate pipe find story?
Mine has to be a trip to an antique mall in Lawrence, KS. I I went there with a friend of mine and stumbled upon a booth that had a lot of unique looking pipes. They were hand carved from George’s that was in town in the 70’s. I had bought a few of them and left my number with the shop in hopes the booth owner would contact me for more pipes.
The booth owner contacted me and was happy to show me more pipesthat he was trying to sell. He had a racks of pipes that he had been trying to sell and said pick out the ones you wanted. I saw a few Preben Holmes, Ben Wades, and a few Dunhills. I asked him what he wanted for them, and said $80. This is one of the few times I actually offered more money and told him these are worth far more than that.
He appreciated my honesty and said, after our lengthy conversation about my love of pipes, that he knew I wasn’t going to fix the up and sell them but would actually enjoy them. After I paid them he said, let me help you box all of these up.
He proceeded to box up the racks, and all of the other pipes he had. I was so moved by his genoristy, I had to ask why? He simply said these have been sitting in a box since 1974, and you were the first person who displayed such passion and a respect for the history of the individual pipes.
When I got home I started researching the others, that were in rough shape. Found a few magic inches, some vintage Grabow, and Kaywoodys. The Kaywoodies were from 1932-1935. Further discovering the collection, found some nice Barlings, old Peterson’s, and Savinelli. I will never forget this day and when the time comes hope to repay the favor to pass along these great pipes.
Mine has to be a trip to an antique mall in Lawrence, KS. I I went there with a friend of mine and stumbled upon a booth that had a lot of unique looking pipes. They were hand carved from George’s that was in town in the 70’s. I had bought a few of them and left my number with the shop in hopes the booth owner would contact me for more pipes.
The booth owner contacted me and was happy to show me more pipesthat he was trying to sell. He had a racks of pipes that he had been trying to sell and said pick out the ones you wanted. I saw a few Preben Holmes, Ben Wades, and a few Dunhills. I asked him what he wanted for them, and said $80. This is one of the few times I actually offered more money and told him these are worth far more than that.
He appreciated my honesty and said, after our lengthy conversation about my love of pipes, that he knew I wasn’t going to fix the up and sell them but would actually enjoy them. After I paid them he said, let me help you box all of these up.
He proceeded to box up the racks, and all of the other pipes he had. I was so moved by his genoristy, I had to ask why? He simply said these have been sitting in a box since 1974, and you were the first person who displayed such passion and a respect for the history of the individual pipes.
When I got home I started researching the others, that were in rough shape. Found a few magic inches, some vintage Grabow, and Kaywoodys. The Kaywoodies were from 1932-1935. Further discovering the collection, found some nice Barlings, old Peterson’s, and Savinelli. I will never forget this day and when the time comes hope to repay the favor to pass along these great pipes.
Comments
Even though I started smoking pipes in 1972, I had not gotten into the hobby of rescuing and restoring pipes myself. When I found one I liked, i would send it out for a professional cleaning and polishing. This one I asked a friend to see what he could do. It wasn't until he started polishing the pipe and stem that he got nervous. The $3 pipe was a La Savinelli Giubileo d'Oro from the 1970s. It was one of their top of the line pipes at the time. The Savinelli website says this about the pipes:
The significance of ‘Golden Jubilee’ is to commemorate the “50th anniversary”; it defines the rarity of these pipes. Only 0,1% of our total production has the quality to be worthy of this unique series. Nature gives us this rare jewel of a pipe as an unparalleled and exceptional combination of perfect raw material and outstanding grain.The selection process is passed on only by word of mouth and is determined by the experience and high quality standards of Savinelli, a guarantee of reliability and elegant style. The availability of models will be supplied on request.
I sent good photos to Savinelli and they responded that it was indeed from the 1970s and that it would have sold for around $600 - $700 at the time.
The gentleman I spoke with said the Giubileo d'Oro back then were the equivalent of a Dunhill in quality.
Not bad for a $3 pipe.
My only regret was not looking more closely at the other pipes in the antique booth. He may have had a $5 Dunhill. The photo is before cleaning.
It was listed at 35$, but when I got to the register she reminded me it was 50% off and that she had one more not in the case that she would give me. It was a beautiful Savinelli (lightly smoked).
Two gorgeous pipes for $17.
Before
After