19th c. Pre-KBB CPF Best Make Gold Mounted Antique Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

The Colossus Pipe Factory, known by its initials C.P.F., is a make that is – as of yet – still a little shrouded in mystery. What is known is that the make was established in 1851 and that it was owned by Kaufman Bros & Bondy (later of Kaywoodie fame) by at least 1898. It is also understood that the make disappeared, and was therefore likely discontinued, at some point between the mid- to late-1910s, with the exact year still under debate.

Unraveling the history of these CPF pipes we’ve had in recently has been a blast. As I mentioned in a previous listing, I was able to find out – thanks to a small, ancient piece of paper tucked into one of the CPF pipes’ bowls – that the make was founded in 1851. This, coupled with the more extensive work done by Steve Laug and his interlocutors on the Reborn Pipes blog, allowed me to narrow down a relatively specific period in time when these pipes were made, starting 1851 and ending at some point between 1884 and 1898. After the 1884-1898 window, Kaufman Bros & Bondy absorbed CPF and the KBB emblem was added to CPF pipes, which neither this nor those previous ones show any trace of. So, like those few others, this is a guaranteed 19th century pipe, with (what I presume to be plated) gold mountings on its rim and shank end.

This pipe is completely unsmoked. The only small issue I note with it is that there is a small chip in the base of the amber stem (see the last photo), so I’ve adjusted the price of the pipe to reflect this.

 

Details:

Length: 5″ / 127.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.72″ / 18.28mm

Bowl Depth: 1.46″ / 37.08mm

Weight: 0.9oz / 28g