Ed Burak Connoisseur Smooth Panel 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.

You have to hand it to Ed Burak, he sure had a knack for taking the most classical of shapes and making them refreshing novel, often with just a few slight adjustments. This tall, full bent calabash benefits not only from beautiful straight grain, but from a diamond-paneled bowl pushes this grain to center stage.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening and what is either a dent or a natural briar imperfection at the top of the front of the bowl (pictured), which was not uncommon for Burak’s pipes. I’ve adjusted the price to reflect its presence either way, though I wouldn’t say it detracts much from what is a very nice pipe.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.84″ / 46.73mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g