Trever Talbert 2003 Halloween Pipe “Dhole” Freehand Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

A former professional illustrator, fine artist, and designer, America’s Trever Talbert began pipe making as a hobby, receiving early instruction (and briar) from the legendary American artisan Paul Perri, and later from the equally legendary Mark Tinsky and Mike Butera. In 1998, Talbert decided to enter Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine’s inaugural Pipecarving Contest and—much to his own surprise—won outright, securing 1st place. It was only up from here for Talbert Pipes, with Trever’s wife Emily soon joining him as the second half of a decades-long pipe making endeavor. Soon enough, “Talbert” became one of the most recognizable names in pipes, even amidst the Renaissance of the international artisan scene that began around the turn of the new millennium. The Talberts still make pipes today, with the sheer demand for such rarely not outpacing supply, while also retaining a place as two of the most acclaimed and culturally significant pipe makers of the modern age.

In 2000, Trever Talbert began creating an extremely limited, annual series of Halloween-themed freehand pipes. While the Talberts are well-known for producing singularly artistic designs, the Halloween series has rarely been surpassed in the creative ambition it showcases. This ambition has, furthermore, never been unmatched by its execution, with the Talberts’ Halloween series being more like a distinctly gothic contemporary analog to 19th and early 20th century Viennese meerschaum carving than “pipe art” as it is typically understood.

One of the handful of Halloween Pipes the Talberts made in 2003 was this piece, named the “Dhole.” While in the natural world, Dholes are a species of wild dog, this one got its name from a creature far beyond the bounds of nature—at least, as far as humans can conceive of it. Instead, “Dhole” is one of many references the Halloween Pipes have had to H.P. Lovecraft, in whose stories the Dhole, or Bhole, is a gigantic, burrowing worm capable of devouring planets and crossing dimensions through the medium of human dreams. As one would expect from a Lovecraft-inspired design, the Talberts’ creation is amorphous, alien, and unsettling, with protrusions that almost appear to “writhe” like their nightmarish namesake.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It comes with its original, special, Halloween-themed sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 7.5″ / 190.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.70 / 17.78mm

Bowl Depth: 1.38″ / 35.05mm

Weight: 2.2oz / 64g