Age Bogelund (B) Smooth Hawkbill Dublin (Estate)

Age Bogelund—or to use the correct Danish spelling, Åge Bøgelund—was a fascinating figure in the Danish artisan scene. He seems to have got his start working at Denmark’s famous Bari Piber company, where he made high-grade pipes under its original owner and operator, Viggo Nielsen. It also seems that he was adept at pipe making that he would end up running Bari himself, after Nielsen stepped aside. In addition to his work with Bari, he also made similarly high-grade pipes for the German distributor Charles Fairmorn, as well as under his own name. Part of what makes Bøgelund so interesting, however, is that, aside from the brief biography just given, little else is known about him. Furthermore, despite being such a mysterious individual compared to so many of his peers, his pipes are very highly regarded and sought after. Ordinarily, that kind of demand is accompanied by extensive documentary research on the artisan and their works, though in Bøgelund’s case, those endeavors have largely come up empty. In any case, one could say that his legacy is not just that he made excellent pipes, but also that he proved that pipe makers don’t need to be celebrities to be recognized for their worth.

From what I’ve seen, Åge Bøgelund appears to have been quite interested in hawkbill-style designs, with a good number of his pipes employing the shape’s hallmark inverted curvature following from the base of the shank to the button. Even within the Bari workshop’s output, such designs were far from unheard of, so it stands to reason that there may be a connection between the two as well. In any case, this one blends the hawkbill’s figure with a more typically Danish Dublin bowl, one that—as should be expected from a high-grade Danish pipe—shows off 360 degrees of straight grain lining its broad bowl and a halo of pure bird’s-eye at its rim.

The condition is very good. Some inner rim darkening and a few very small scratches on the bowl.

Details:

Length: 5.4″ / 137.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.83 / 21.08mm

Bowl Depth: 1.84″ / 46.73mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g