Barling Bent Billiard Block Meerschaum Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Barling and Sons was originally founded in 1812 by Benjamin Barling and began as a family business making silver-adorned meerschaum pipes. In the early 20th century, however, the Barling family began to produce what the brand is today most famous for – expertly made briar pipes.

While predominantly known for their excellent briar pieces, the history of the Barling make has, for the most part, retained an intimate connection with meerschaum. From the silverware that the Barling family provided for meerschaum pipe-makers in the 19th century to the Barling brand meerschaum pipes sold by Kopp today, meerschaum has been an important part in Barling’s history. In the 20th century, after the Barling family had sold Benjamin Barling & Sons to Finlay and Imperial, Barling brand meerschaum pipes were made by another important company in the history of English pipes, known as Laxey. Laxey made pipes using African, rather than Turkish, meerschaum and did so under their own brand, Manx. But Laxey also made meerschaum pipes for other companies, including Peterson, Nording, and—of course—Barling. But, sadly, this was not to last, in part because all African meerschaum mining ceased in the last decades of the 20th century.

Remarkably, this Barling African meerschaum is completely unsmoked and in pristine condition (the white spot on the rim in the first photo is from my camera flash). As fans of the Peterson models Laxey produced will tell you, finding a pipe in such a condition is almost unheard of.

 

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.73 / 18.54mm

Bowl Depth: 1.42″ / 36.06mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 54g