Baldo Baldi XL Smooth Stack Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

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.

This one is a classic Baldi; large, laden with straight grain, and taking on a form that quite evidently comes from the labors of the hand, rather than the machine. Slightly bent in figure, it also features a rather curious, asymmetric saddle mouthpiece that adds an extra line to the design, one joining the angles of the stem to those of the rim.

The condition is good. Some wear to the rim and general handling marks.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.93 / 23.62mm

Bowl Depth: 2.08″ / 52.83mm

Weight: 2.5oz / 72g