GBD Extra Dry 1028 Smooth Pot Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

GBD was one of several prominent examples of a French pipe brand that, due to certain circumstances, became a maker most associated with classic ‘British’ pipes. Founded in 1850 by the French trio Ganneval, Bondier & Donninger, the brand was bought by English company Oppenheimer at the beginning of the 20th century, who opened factories in London and Paris to meet an increasing demand for the make’s high-quality and highly desirable pipes. Partly owing to the make’s inventive, yet traditional shapes, and partly due to the high standards of their production, GBD pipes are particularly coveted by collectors, as well as those who simply appreciate classic, well-made smoking instruments.

Back in the heyday of the stinger and related smoking technologies, GBD came up with their own version of a condensing metal fitment to be included with some of their pipes. This was the “Extra Dry,” which GBD introduced in the 1920, presumably as a competitor to innovations such as Kaywoodie’s Drinkless, Comoy’s Grand Slam, and Dunhill’s Inner Tube. Like the latter, the idea is that, as smoke passes through the fitment, it cools and drys, making for a more comfortable smoking experience. I haven’t encountered many of these pipes before, and strangely, this one doesn’t have a country of manufacture stamp on it either. I do wonder whether it might be from GBD’s Paris factory, which closed in 1952. It is certainly pre-1980, and hence pre-Cadogan merger, in any case.

This Extra Dry is completely unsmoked.

 

Details:

Length: 5.4″ / 137.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.73 / 18.54mm

Bowl Depth: 1.02″ / 25.90mm

Weight: 0.9oz / 26g