Blog by Dal Stanton

A pipe man’s dream scenario: His daughter and son-in-law, who live in Denver, give him the perfect birthday gift – a budget enabling him to land a special, coveted pipe on eBay!  It doesn’t get much better than that – there is the hunt, the find, the anticipation, the bid, the stress, and finally, the victory (hopefully)!  I started the hunt looking for a meerschaum to add to my growing briar collection, but when I saw the McLardy Calabash and it’s perfectly shaped and colored gourd – the quint-essential Sherlock Holmes pipe, decked out with silver cap and ferrule, it cried out to me and resistance was futile.  The eBay seller was in Manchester, UK, and his description of the Calabash was very helpful with silver hallmarks which dated the pipe in 1907 – the first year that the Chicago Cubs won the World Series followed…