Ed Burak Connoisseur Rusticated Calabash Estate Briar Pipe, American Estates

Description

Known as the “dean of American pipe designers” Ed Burak was not a pipe-maker per se. Rather, Burak was someone who worked with the master carvers of his time to bring his distinct ideas of what a pipe could be to life. As the owner of the Connoisseur Pipe Shop, Burak designed freehand pipes so singularly representative of pipe-making as an artistic endeavor, that many of the resulting works ended up in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

While its bowl is recognizable as a calabash shape, for American pipe enthusiasts, this particular Connoisseur represents something a little different. Instead, it is an example of a recurring motif in Burak’s designs: the saxophone. This is achieved not only by the pipe’s inordinately long stem, but also through its flat, sitter base, giving the distinct impression of something like an alto or tenor when viewed in profile. Perhaps Ed was a jazz man—I can’t say for certain, though I can say that he knew how to design a good looking pipe.

The condition is very good. Some inner rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.82 / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 1.71″ / 43.43mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g