Barling’s Make YOW Special 169 EL Smooth Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

Barling and Sons was originally founded in 1812 by Benjamin Barling and began as a family business making silver-adorned meerschaum pipes. In the early 20th century, however, the Barling family began to produce what the brand is today most famous for – expertly made briar pipes.

So-called Family Era Barlings are among the most sought after pipes in the world. These are pipes made between the end of the 19th century and 1960, when B. Barling & Sons was owned by the Barling family and its pipes made by the Barling family—hence “Barling’s Make.” There are many articles written by prominent pipe historians, such as Jonathan Guss, Jesse Silver, and Tad Gage, which meticulously document the changing of hands of the Barling brand over the course of the 20th century, and MBSD Pipes has a three-step guide based on these materials for easily dating a Barling pipe to the main eras of manufacture. Based on the nomenclature and three-digit shape code, this is most certainly a Family Era Barling, but it might be said that it is even more special than that. That is because it is a “Special” grade pipe. As Tad Gage has pointed out, the famous “Ye Olde Wood” (as also seen stamped on this pipe) designation was originally used by the Barling family for certain higher grade pipes. As Gage also documents, after the Second World War, “Ye Olde Wood” became more of an informal trademark instead, with grades such as the Special taking its place. In contrast to the Straight Grain grades, the Special appears to have been used for pipes with extraordinary bird’s-eye patterns. Such is the case for this one, whose flanking bird’s-eye is interrupted only by the cross grain that connects it at the front and rear of the bowl.

The condition is good. Some wear to the rim, including some darkening and slight scratches, and faded, though still legible, nomenclature.

 

Details:

Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.57″ / 39.87mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g