I believe the two gentlemen may have been related. Beautiful work by the carver. Nice picture as well. The camera I'm using for the photo shoots will not photograph close-ups well at all. If I get too close everything is out of focus.
Today I'll be featuring the third pipe from my Meerschaum collection. This is a small and relatively inexpensive Meerschaum, possibly under the $25.00 range, and as such the level of detail and craftsmanship is of a lesser quality. I believe him to be either a sheikh or sultan. Judging by the varied pricing of Turkish Meerschaums the smaller less detailed pipes appear to be marketed for the tourist trade and budget conscious smokers looking to add an inexpensive Meerschaum to their collection. But for the connoisseur of fine art there are intricately carved museum quality Meerschaums readily available if you're willing to pay the price. Some are so beautiful I'd be tempted to use them for display purposes only, and never smoke a bowl.
To take your mind off the Dog Days Of Summer, and considering there are only 177 days until Christmas, I thought I'd bring down the temperature several degrees and celebrate Christmas in July with my bent basket pipe from Lars Of Dublin. Another great smoking pipe I found while rummaging around in a basketful of seconds and rejects at The Tinder Box many decades ago. Even though minor pits and imperfections were abound on this fellow, and looking down on the bowl you can plainly see the rim around the chamber is off-center (yet a pipe cleaner passing completely through from the stem to the draft hole bowl unencumbered), there was something about it that orphan basket pipe that spoke to me ... "Buy me and I promise you a lifetime of smoking enjoyment!". So I did - and we've been friends ever since.
My CAO was purchased at a pipe shop outside of Miami as a Christmas present in 1984. It's not signed so I have no idea who carved it, but I found this interesting article on pipepedia - https://pipedia.org/wiki/CAO. Before reading that I thought CAO started as a cigar company which dabbled in pipes.
I don't think this is a Bekler but the quality of the carving is better than some new ones I see now.
@PappyJoe Very interesting article. I've always found it a shame that a majority of the less expensive Meerschaum pipes have little if any identification marking on them. I never realized that the same CAO company where I get my fine tobacco "Eileen's Dream", "Moontrance" and "Black" and "Bella Vanilla" are also involved in the quality Meerschaum pipe business. Is the CAO mark etched anywhere on the pipe? I'll have to give my Meerschaums a better examination to see if I have any identifiable markings.
Today's featured pipe is the latest addition to my collection, acquired at a local antique shop in the town of Crown Point, Indiana. There was little in the way of bargaining with the shop owner as she was pretty steadfast with the price. But in the end I managed to get the paltry sum of $8.00 marked off the $58.00 asking price. My bargaining skills are nothing to brag about. But I came home with a beautiful pipe that required minimal cleaning and restoration, other than a little polishing and some extensive stem sanitation to eliminate any lingering 'cooties' taking up residence in the stem, and some minor oxidation discoloration. The pipe is a Danish-styled Thumbhole Pipe with a plateau rim. And upon closer examination I discovered the pipe was stamped "Burl King" and manufactured in Israel by the Shalom Pipe Factory. It's a massive chunk of wood and a definite 'holder' - much too heavy to clench for any length of time unless you have jaw muscles of steel. I've seen a few similar pipes listed on EBAY with a starting bid quite a bit more than I spent on my pipe, so maybe in the end I did get a bargain after all. Regardless ... I'm extremely happy with the purchase and it makes a great addition to the collection. The ample bowl holds enough tobacco to make for a nice hour long smoke.
@motie2 - the CAO logo is on the stem itself. No where else.
I've always been disappointed that more good meerschaum pipes don't have any identification on them I do have two Servi's and one Bolgi. Have no clue who Bolgi was though.
@PappyJoe That's a stunning looking pipe and I can fully understand why the pipe maker would have his name etched in the stummel. The final Meerschaum in my collection was one bought for me as a Father's day present from my boys when they were very young, and is a badly carved rendition of a dog with a game bird in his mouth. Now that's a pipe I can fully understand the pipe maker not wanting his or her name attached. But that sailing ship is a true work of art.
With your Coast Guard history I must say this pipe perfectly suits you. And the hat really sets it off. I can almost imagine you as the skipper of 'The Venture' leading a party of explorers to Skull Island in search of King Kong.
@moties2 Thank Gordon, it really spoke to me in that display case and I knew one way or the other I had to have it. I actually visited the shop a week earlier and saw the pipe but was put off by the price. When I buy a pipe from an antique shop or second hand consignment store I don't want to pay over $30.00. But this was in exceptional shape unlike my other Estate pipe purchases. My wife insisted we return and buy the pipe as a Birthday present if it was still there. And as fate would have it ... there it sat waiting for a new home. The only bad thing about it is it's too big and chunky to fit in any of my pipe racks. So I display it alongside the Dragon Claw pipe which is also too big to fit any of the racks. Maybe one day I'll find a rack that can properly display both of them.
Since 4th Of July is just a day away I thought a picnic theme might be appropriate for today's Daily Briar Photoshoot. And after packing up all the gear an vittles you'll be needing for a family outing don't forget to bring along your pipe for a quick smoke once the hot dogs and hamburgers have been consumed. Between tossing around the Frisbee or a game or two of beach Volleyball you may be able to pull yourself away from the family just long enough for a short smoke. And that's where your compact Baraccini Pocket Pipe comes in handy. Perfect size for a ten or fifteen minute smoke, and compact enough to fit in your shirt pocket without leaving an unsightly bulge. For a side-by-side comparison of size and practicality I've included a photo of the Rolex Vest Pocket Pipe and The Baraccini Pocket Pipe. My particular preference is the Baraccini. It's less of a novelty and more like a proper pipe.
@xDutchx And once again I'll comment on the beauty of that pipe. I love everything about it from the unique design to the wood grain. Turtle is a very appropriate name for the pipe.
This is the last of my four Meerschaum pipes and ... well let's just say ... the craftsmanship is lacking. But believe it or not it is my favorite of the lot and for one simple reason - it was a gift from my two boys on Father's Day. The boys were young tikes and decided they wanted to use their allowance money to buy Dad a pipe, so Mom took them to the Tinder Box to make their purchase. Being dog lovers, the boys immediately gravitated to the Meerschaum retriever with some sort of mangled game bird in his mouth. As you might expect Mom made up the considerable difference from the change in the boy's pocket to finalize the purchase.But in the end the boys were delighted with the pipe, ad proud as peacocks when handing it to me on Father's Day that year. And I loved it, no matter what it was suppose to be. As a matter of fact I smoked the pipe so often I actually have a hole in the bit from a tooth mark. So at some point in time I need to replace the stem.
Additional Father's Day gifts grace the photo shoot including a knickknack featuring a group of forest friends playing a game of dominoes with the title "Boys Night Out". And if you look real close you'll notice the little mouse on the end is smoking a pipe.
Comments
Today I'll be featuring the third pipe from my Meerschaum collection. This is a small and relatively inexpensive Meerschaum, possibly under the $25.00 range, and as such the level of detail and craftsmanship is of a lesser quality. I believe him to be either a sheikh or sultan. Judging by the varied pricing of Turkish Meerschaums the smaller less detailed pipes appear to be marketed for the tourist trade and budget conscious smokers looking to add an inexpensive Meerschaum to their collection. But for the connoisseur of fine art there are intricately carved museum quality Meerschaums readily available if you're willing to pay the price. Some are so beautiful I'd be tempted to use them for display purposes only, and never smoke a bowl.
To take your mind off the Dog Days Of Summer, and considering there are only 177 days until Christmas, I thought I'd bring down the temperature several degrees and celebrate Christmas in July with my bent basket pipe from Lars Of Dublin. Another great smoking pipe I found while rummaging around in a basketful of seconds and rejects at The Tinder Box many decades ago. Even though minor pits and imperfections were abound on this fellow, and looking down on the bowl you can plainly see the rim around the chamber is off-center (yet a pipe cleaner passing completely through from the stem to the draft hole bowl unencumbered), there was something about it that orphan basket pipe that spoke to me ... "Buy me and I promise you a lifetime of smoking enjoyment!". So I did - and we've been friends ever since.
Today's featured pipe is the latest addition to my collection, acquired at a local antique shop in the town of Crown Point, Indiana. There was little in the way of bargaining with the shop owner as she was pretty steadfast with the price. But in the end I managed to get the paltry sum of $8.00 marked off the $58.00 asking price. My bargaining skills are nothing to brag about. But I came home with a beautiful pipe that required minimal cleaning and restoration, other than a little polishing and some extensive stem sanitation to eliminate any lingering 'cooties' taking up residence in the stem, and some minor oxidation discoloration. The pipe is a Danish-styled Thumbhole Pipe with a plateau rim. And upon closer examination I discovered the pipe was stamped "Burl King" and manufactured in Israel by the Shalom Pipe Factory. It's a massive chunk of wood and a definite 'holder' - much too heavy to clench for any length of time unless you have jaw muscles of steel. I've seen a few similar pipes listed on EBAY with a starting bid quite a bit more than I spent on my pipe, so maybe in the end I did get a bargain after all. Regardless ... I'm extremely happy with the purchase and it makes a great addition to the collection. The ample bowl holds enough tobacco to make for a nice hour long smoke.
@PappyJoe That's a stunning looking pipe and I can fully understand why the pipe maker would have his name etched in the stummel. The final Meerschaum in my collection was one bought for me as a Father's day present from my boys when they were very young, and is a badly carved rendition of a dog with a game bird in his mouth. Now that's a pipe I can fully understand the pipe maker not wanting his or her name attached. But that sailing ship is a true work of art.
With your Coast Guard history I must say this pipe perfectly suits you. And the hat really sets it off. I can almost imagine you as the skipper of 'The Venture' leading a party of explorers to Skull Island in search of King Kong.
Since 4th Of July is just a day away I thought a picnic theme might be appropriate for today's Daily Briar Photoshoot. And after packing up all the gear an vittles you'll be needing for a family outing don't forget to bring along your pipe for a quick smoke once the hot dogs and hamburgers have been consumed. Between tossing around the Frisbee or a game or two of beach Volleyball you may be able to pull yourself away from the family just long enough for a short smoke. And that's where your compact Baraccini Pocket Pipe comes in handy. Perfect size for a ten or fifteen minute smoke, and compact enough to fit in your shirt pocket without leaving an unsightly bulge. For a side-by-side comparison of size and practicality I've included a photo of the Rolex Vest Pocket Pipe and The Baraccini Pocket Pipe. My particular preference is the Baraccini. It's less of a novelty and more like a proper pipe.
As requested, here are a couple pics of my Maigurs Knets Turtle, weighing in at 38 grams. Pics courtesy of Bobby Nesbitt at Two Friends Pipes.
This is the last of my four Meerschaum pipes and ... well let's just say ... the craftsmanship is lacking. But believe it or not it is my favorite of the lot and for one simple reason - it was a gift from my two boys on Father's Day. The boys were young tikes and decided they wanted to use their allowance money to buy Dad a pipe, so Mom took them to the Tinder Box to make their purchase. Being dog lovers, the boys immediately gravitated to the Meerschaum retriever with some sort of mangled game bird in his mouth. As you might expect Mom made up the considerable difference from the change in the boy's pocket to finalize the purchase.But in the end the boys were delighted with the pipe, ad proud as peacocks when handing it to me on Father's Day that year. And I loved it, no matter what it was suppose to be. As a matter of fact I smoked the pipe so often I actually have a hole in the bit from a tooth mark. So at some point in time I need to replace the stem.
Additional Father's Day gifts grace the photo shoot including a knickknack featuring a group of forest friends playing a game of dominoes with the title "Boys Night Out". And if you look real close you'll notice the little mouse on the end is smoking a pipe.