Digby 9648 (by GBD) Smooth Panel Shank Zulu Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Digby was a sub-brand made by GBD. GBD itself was founded in 1850 by the French trio Ganneval, Bondier & Donninger, before the brand was bought by English company Oppenheimer at the beginning of the 20th century. Retaining the name, Oppenheimer opened GBD factories in London and Paris to meet an increasing demand for the make’s high-quality and highly desirable pipes.

The mid- to late-20th century saw an explosion of sub-brands from pipe-makers, in order to rescue pipes that, for one reason or another, weren’t quite perfect enough to be sold through the company’s main brand. Comoy’s, Charatan, Dunhill, and Sasieni are makes notable for their still very high quality sub-brands, and so is GBD. Sub-brands are often not marked with the nomenclature of the parent company, which can make it difficult sometimes to work out who made it. Digby pipes are (typically) no different, except for the fact that they come in shapes that are so distinct as to be instantly recognizable as GBD’s own. This very unique, panel shank Zulu is a great example, with its shape number corresponding to the same design on GBD’s main line pipes. Based on the “London England” stamping, this pipe is also identifiable as having been made prior to the Cadogan Investments merger of 1980, with GBD collectors often preferring these pre-1980 pipes.

This Digby is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. There is a small, natural flaw in the pipe’s underside, but nothing significant.

 

Details:

Length: 5″ / 127.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.72 / 18.28mm

Bowl Depth: 1.47″ / 37.33mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g