BBB Fiesta 420, Smooth Bent Bulldog Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

‘BBB’ originally stood for ‘Blumfeld’s Best Briars’, so named after Louis Blumfeld after he took over the historic Alfred Frankenau Company in 1856. Later, the pipes came to be known as ‘Britain’s Best Briars’. Though the name might have changed, the quality of the pipes did not – they really were fantastic pipes, made in the classic style of the English-French shape chart. Like GBD, Dunhill, and Barling’s, BBB are pipes with a rich history behind them, proudly holding the title of “the oldest trade mark in the [pipe] industry.”

As far as I’m aware, BBB pipes are still in production, though it has been many years since the make was acquired by Cadogan Investments, which owns and produces many of the iconic British pipe brands these days. Judging by the brass ‘BBB’ rondelle on the stem, I would estimate that this one was made before the Cadogan merger, which would make it several decades old. The pipe itself is a very classic bent bulldog, in a wine-red stain. The ‘Fiesta’ line seems to have been pipes of this stain complemented by a vulcanite stem with a brass and acrylic inlay. It’s a nice touch, giving the overall design an extra degree of elegance.

 

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.25″ / 31.75mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g