Blog by Dal Stanton

In my last post restoring the Jeantet Fleuron (Link), I mentioned my recent pipe hunting expeditions during our R&R travels in Bulgaria with our daughter and son-in-law visiting from Denver, Colorado.  Jordan, my son-in-law, is a blooming pipe man and was my eager accomplice as we dipped in and out of antique shops we found.  One of those ‘dips’ unfolded in one of the longest inhabited cities in Europe and the world (since 5000BC!) – Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which enabled me to land the Denicotea Deluxe Curling before me now.  Since my field shape identification skills are still in development, when I first saw the pipe in the display case, I thought it was from the Canadian family – the longish shank and the long saddle stem got my attention.  Since the antique shop was situated in Old Towne, Plovdiv, in the shadow of…

Blog by Dal Stanton

The Jeantet Fleuron before me was mentioned when I posted the restoration of a beautiful BBB Banker Bent Volcano.  I found both pipes last April, during a visit to ‘The Hole in the Wall’ antique store near the Zhenski Pazar (Women’s Market) in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria.  In order to achieve a better bargain for the BBB Banker I grabbed the Jeantet out of the basket as a good candidate for a bundled deal, which helped me negotiate 30 Bulgarian Leva for the pair – not a bad deal!  When I arrived home from the Hole in the Wall I took these pictures:The bent egg shape is in pretty good condition with an attractive elongated bowl that fits well in the hand.  The left side of the shank is marked with Jeantet (pronounced, ‘Zhawn-Te’) over Fleuron and on the right what I assume is the…