Charatan

The stamping on this pipe is so worn it took the camera to show me the true credentials and value. Mind you I did have a clue when I picked it up – incredibly light. A fine piece of briar, with a good-sized bowl. The bowl has strong cross-grain front and back, with very faint BirdsEye between. It seems that there is too little soft wood for a distinctive grain. However the cross=grain continues over the shank showing a nice differentiation of hard and soft briar. I don’t think the mouthpiece is original. Certainly there is no logo, and the join with the shank is not flush. The pipe has been well cared for, only slight burn marks around the inside rim of the bowl, and very few dings. Thanks to the camera I can just see that the stamping is “Charatan’s Make” “London England” SPECIAL 33. But even the camera couldn’t help with the scratchings to the left of the stamp. Dating is very difficult, maybe you could try for yourself. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dating_of_Charatans It doesn’t seem to be from the period when the pipes were made in France since there are no letters after the shape number. It appears that all the other manufacturing periods provided pipes of Charatan/Dunhill quality – a great smoke. Vital statistics: Weight 33g Inside bowl diameter 22mm Inside bowl depth 39mm