Family Era Barling’s Make 1127 Preedy Smooth Straight Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

Barling and Sons was originally founded in 1812 by Benjamin Barling and began as a family business making silver-adorned meerschaum pipes. In the early 20th century, however, the Barling family began to produce what the brand is today most famous for – expertly made briar pipes.

As we discuss in our Barling pipes dating guide on the main MBSD hub (with acknowledgements due for the research of historians Richard Carleton Hacker, Tad Gage, Jesse Silver, and Jonathan Guss), so-called “Family Era” Barling pipes, such as this one, are highly coveted by collectors. This is owing to their being made by the Barling family prior to the make’s acquisition by Imperial Tobacco Group, and Imperial’s decision to fire the family from the Barling factory. And, as is covered in the guide, there are ways to readily identify Barling pipes from this era. The arched “Barling’s” over “Make” nomenclature is one tell, and if a shape code is present, that will typically seal it. If a shape code has four digits, it is usually a “Transition” or “Post-Transition” pipe – unless that code begins with the number “1.” This particular Barling is just such a pipe, with its shape code being “1127.” This Barling also looks to be an older Family Era offering, owing to its relative lack of stamping, aside from the make’s name, the shape code, and “PREEDY,” denoting that it was sold through the English tobacconist Alfred Preedy & Sons.

The condition is great. It is rare to come across pipes as old and as well preserved as this one. I note a hair of rim char at the front, inner lip of the rim, which has pushed the rim out of round ever so slightly, as well as one or two small scratches on that rim, but nothing major at all.

 

https://www.mbsdpipes.com/dating-barling-pipes-a-three-step-guide/

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.75 / 19.05mm

Bowl Depth: 1.57″ / 39.87mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 32g