Exploring the Interesting Heritage of a Drucquer & Sons of Berkeley Cherrywood

The Blasted Cherrywood now on the worktable came to me from a generous pipeman who donated it along with 9 others to make a very attractive Lot of 10 – now waiting in “Help Me!” Basket 2 for pipemen and women to commission.  This pipeman has commissioned several pipes and I’ve had the privilege of …

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Refreshing an AMPHORA X-tra 732 Made in Holland Blasted Pickaxe

The next pipe on the worktable was the second commission of pipeman Bill from the state of Georgia who works as a Control System Engineer contracted to the Department of Energy.  Bill has commissioned a few other pipes from me, but the last was a challenge.  I named the write up accurately because of the …

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Refreshing a Sculpted Vineyard Slightly Bent Meerschaum

The Sculpted Vineyard Meerschaum now on the table came to me recently when Corey from Orange, California, reached out to me concerning a box of pipes he discovered in the attic.  The pipes had belonged to his father who passed away 10 years earlier.  He did not know that his father had smoked pipes, but …

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A Rim Rescue for a Tennessean Comeaux USA CC S 05 ‘Dublinesque’ Lovat

The pipe that is now on the worktable is truly a unique shape.  It came to me from a pipeman who donated several pipes to benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria, now called, Spring of Hope.  He was also thinning his collection and the benefactors of this are those seeking to commission pipes from the  For …

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Reclaiming the legacy of a Comoy’s Made in London England P510 – D Billiard

The Lot of 66, as I have called it, was probably my first large acquisition of pipes.  I saw the Lot on eBay in September 2017.  The by-line by the seller in Georgetown, Texas, was this: “Huge Lot of 66 Smoking Pipes, Pre-Owned, Pre-Smoked and Deeply Loved.”  The final tag caught my attention.  The seller …

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A Survivor of the Now Gone Bertram ‘The Nation’s Pipemaker’ – a Bertram Washington DC 30 Billiard

The next pipe on the table is a workhorse Billiard without doubt.  It was found along with a few other treasures November 2021 at The Antique Market in Michigan City, Indiana.  We were traveling from Colorado to my son’s home in Dearborn, Michigan for Thanksgiving celebrations.  My wife and I always like to explore the …

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Revisiting the Provenance of a Pipe Pub Imported Briar Zulu

My wife and I have been traveling and it’s good to be back to the worktable.  We did a camping road trip from Colorado to Orange County, California, to visit our youngest daughter and her family.  As is our custom, we pulled our small travel trailer and visited many fabulous places going and coming back.  …

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Pipe Picking in Athens, Greece – An Unbranded Slightly Bent Oval Shank Billiard

The next pipe on the table brings back very good memories.  Our 15 years living in Sofia, Bulgaria, provided many opportunities to visit our neighbor to the south, Greece.  One such visit was in April 2018 when I attended a conference on better understanding of the Eastern Orthodox Church and its impact on Eastern European …

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