Baldo Baldi Smooth Fluted Dublin Sitter Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Baldo Baldi was one of those rare and extraordinary pipe makers who, like Bo Nordh or Tom Eltang, was so highly regarded that someone wrote an entire book about the man and his work (that book being Il sono Baldo Baldi, by the renowned architect, author, and Italian pipe authority, Diego Morlin).

Baldi was born in 1947 and died in 2021. He was trained as an artist and an architect, electing to pursue the latter for his career but, ultimately, he would end up instead becoming professional pipe maker, which he remained until his passing. Not unlike his contemporary Claudio Cavicchi, Baldi’s pipe making was born out of necessity—a necessity for more pipes, to which most of us can relate. Unlike Cavicchi, however, who began making pipes because they took too long to arrive, Baldi’s pipe making was a result of simply not having enough money for the ones he wanted—again, something very relatable. When his local tobacconists saw the pipes Baldi had made for himself, they were so enamored that they requested that he make pipes for them to sell in their stores. All of this took place while Baldi was still pursing his architectural studies, but a momentum would quickly build to the point where Baldi’s career as an architect was quickly usurped by a full-time pipe making vocation.

As seen in a few other recent listings—and, indeed, as one can see across his portfolio—Baldo Baldi’s architectural training appears to have had a certain import on his approach to pipe design. This can be seen in his liberal use of facets and panels, which he incorporated into creations that, even when they were not especially tall, nonetheless had a “towering” stature to them—in multiple senses of the term. Such can be seen in the design of this one, a positively palatial Dublin rendition, with its slightly hawkbill-esque shank extending from the bowl like a drawbridge from a gatehouse.

This pipe is completely unsmoked and comes with its original sleeve.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 2.20″ / 55.88mm

Weight: 4.0oz / 114g