Preben Holm Fancy Matt (C5) XL Smooth Freehand Sitter Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Though he would tragically pass away at the age of 42, Preben Holm was one of the pioneering figures in the ‘Danish design’ movement in 20th century pipe-making – a movement that still dominates the high-grade pipe scene. By hand-shaping his pipes on a belt sander, Holm was able to make the most of the patterns of grain hidden within briar, creating spectacular works of pipe art that looked just as good as they smoked. Owing to Holm’s untimely passing, his pipes are even more highly sought after than they were during his lifetime.

As mentioned in a recent newsletter, this is one of the many unsmoked Preben Holm pipes that came through our trade-in program recently. A few of those have already been snapped up by our most devoted newsletter readers (don’t forget to sign up if you haven’t already), though there are plenty more to come. This is the first to hit the site proper, and certainly puts a good foot forward.

It belongs to his “Fancy” series, a name that requires a little bit of context. One of the names originally associated with the Scandinavian freehand movement was the “fancy,” or the “Danish fancy.” This term was largely used to denote pipes that we today would simply call “freehands,” not unlike the Nording Freehand lines that dominate the genre today, though not exclusively. Additionally, the word “fancy” did not first arise from the Danish language but was a borrowing from English, particularly as a descriptor of something “modern.” Early catalogs from workshops like WO Larsen, for example, separated their most unconventional shapes from their regular (though still very “Danish”) shapes by referring to the former as “Fancy.” The notion of the Danish Fancy evolved over time, becoming more synonymous with the contemporary “freehand,” likely in part to the sheer force Preben Holm’s name carried in Danish pipe making. This Fancy Matt (the latter being a reference to its matte finish) is exemplary of Holm’s style, being a large, finely grained, flowering freehand sitter, complete with an ornate, flared and beaded vulcanite stem.

On a last note, the “C5” stamp on the pipe’s underside is purported to have been used by CAO, who took over American distribution of Preben Holm’s pipes in 1985. As Holm laid off his workshop staff in late 1985 and largely stepped away from pipe making shortly after due to health concerns (contributing to his untimely passing in 1989), this one will have been from his final and most mature period.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with its original (slightly time-worn) box and sleeve. There’s a small amount of oxidation on the pipe’s stem, but we’ve chosen to preserve this pipe in the exact condition it was received, due to its especial significance. Its next owner can decide for themselves what they would like to do with it in that regard.

 

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 1.00 / 25.4mm

Bowl Depth: 1.76″ / 44.70mm

Weight: 2.4oz / 70g