From time to time we get people that ask us about the pipe they’ve found or that someone has handed down to them. When we get great example pipes, I’d like to share them with you all here. In this case, I’m not sure where they got it but it is a great example of a well colored pipe:

Wow Carol, I must say, this looks to be a great pipe you've got there.

This is an example of a pipe that most likely dates from the turn of the last century. It is a smooth bulldog with gold accents. Overall, it is a fairly short pipe; what we would call a "nose-warmer" today.

The meerschaum bowl and shank appear to be exceptionally well colored. It is a little hard to tell from the pictures but I'm guessing that the color or the bowl/shank are a deep, rich brown; perhaps with a slight reddish cast to it? This is the sign of a pipe that has been lovingly smoked and taken care of over a long period of time. This particular pipe started out life as white as a sheet of writing paper and took on this color over time as the meerschaum (actually the wax/oil coating on the surface of the pipe) absorbed the color from the process of smoking this great pipe.

Since it appears to still have the original stem on it and from the markings you indicated, the stem is most likely made of amber which is rare. I can see bite marks on the mouthpiece but it doesn't appear to have been adversely worn down.

Again, working from pictures, it appears that the exterior leather finish on the customer-fitted case has been worn off and is down to the wood. Is that true?

The logo on the case indicates that it is from the William Demuth Company (http://www.pipetrader.com/Wiki/Default.aspx?page=William%20Demuth%20Company), which helps date it.

Best guess is that you could probably get in excess of $2-300 for this pipe if you were able to find the right buyer on a direct sale. You might have better luck selling this via an antique auction house as it would probably have value to an antique collector than to a pipe smoker. As with many items like this, if this was handed down to you via a relative or friend, its sentimental value would far outweigh it's value to a collector.

If you were looking to sell it, your best bet would be through PipeTrader, eBay or any number of different pipe collecting forums on the web. This is the type of item that we COULD try and sell for you on consignment and Ron can give you more details on this if you'd like. Chances are good that your local tobacconist would not have the type of traffic through the store that would truly appreciate and spend top dollar for an item such as this.

Best of luck and thanks so much for sharing these images with us!

MJG