Ben Wade (Preben Holm) Nobel Prize 2000 Extra Large Smooth Freehand Sitter with Ebonite Ferrule (Unsmoked Estate)

Though he would tragically pass away at the age of 42, Preben Holm was one of the pioneering figures in the “Danish design” movement in 20th century pipe-making – a movement that still dominates the high-grade pipe scene. By hand-shaping his pipes on a belt sander, Holm was able to make the most of the patterns of grain hidden within briar, creating spectacular works of pipe art that looked just as good as they smoked. Even Herman Lane, owner of Lane Ltd. and Charatan during the 1960s and 1970s, was so impressed by Holm that he contracted the Danish artisan to carve pipes under his newly-acquired Ben Wade make, despite simultaneously stewarding the meteoric rise of English-made freehand pipes through Charatan). Today, Holm’s pipes remain highly sought-after, perhaps even more so than when he was still alive, to the extent that even the historic—and, originally, very English—Ben Wade name is difficult to separate from Holm’s work.

As mentioned in our recent newsletters, this is one of a significant number of unsmoked Preben Holm pipes that came through our trade-in program recently. A few of those have already been snapped up by our most devoted newsletter readers (don’t forget to sign up if you haven’t already), though there are more to come.

Preben Holm’s workshop made many different series and ranges of pipes, with these pipes being in various styles and finishes. Some of these pipes were made by Holm himself, but many were also made by his highly skilled apprentices, such as Poul Winsløw. Identifying pipes made by Holm himself is not an easy task, but there are pipes that can be identified with absolute certainly as being Holm’s own work. For his mature period (1970s-1980s), we know that only Holm made his highest-grade pipes, and we know that the series names for such pipes were the “Private Collection” and the “Nobel Prize.” The latter was essentially the Ben Wade equivalent of the former, to the extent that even their gradings were analogous.

The first rung on the Nobel Prize’s grading scheme was the “2000” series, seen here, and even then, these pipes were genuinely something special. This one is not only beautifully grained and finished, with a golden contrast stain intensifying the bowl’s natural vertical and bird’s-eye patterning, but also often marvels of pipe engineering, with this exceedingly large example nonetheless being a comfortable sitter. “Pipe art” is not a concept I’m overly fond of, though with Holm’s highest-grade works, I do find that they are just as at home displayed on a desk or a mantlepiece as they are smoldering in the hand.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating, and comes with its original wooden presentation box.

Details:

Length: 7.1″ / 180.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.47″ / 37.33mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 68g