Butz Choquin D’Artagnan Extra Smooth Cavalier Estate Briar Pipe, French Estates

Description

With its origins in an 1858 collaboration between Jean-Baptiste Choquin and Gustave Butz, Butz-Choquin ultimately become one of the premier smoking pipe companies in 20th century France. The brand is known both for its stylish variations on traditional English-French shapes and for its exploration of atypical and elaborate finishes. The brand is also known for its collaborations with celebrated French pipe-makers, such as Paul Lanier and Alain Albuisson, who made some of Butz-Choquin’s highest-grade pipes for the company.  

I’ve found that most French pipes, if they are given a name of national cultural significance, tend toward locales and landmarks, like Chacom’s Champs Elysees and Montmartre pipes, Jeantet’s d’Orsay, or Butz-Choquin’s own Saint-Tropez and Marigny lines. This rather beautiful piece from the latter, however, is instead named after a certain monsieur d’Artagnan, who was, of course, one of France’s iconic historical personae. So iconic was d’Artagnan that he would end up as a protagonist in the novels of another French icon, author Alexandre Dumas. The pipe itself is, as mentioned, a genuinely beautiful work, taking the form of a true cavalier, with a removable, amber-toned “foot” for easy cleaning and moisture management. It may well be the nicest Butz-Choquin I’ve yet encountered up close, and one certainly befitting its noble namesake.

The condition is great. Some minor wear to the inner rim and some slight handling marks, but nothing major.

 

Details:

Length: 7.5″ / 190.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.83 / 21.08mm

Bowl Depth: 1.56″ / 39.62mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 80g