GBD Pedigree II 256 for Tinder Box 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Lumberman Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

GBD was one of several prominent examples of a French pipe brand that, due to certain circumstances, became a maker most associated with classic ‘British’ pipes. Founded in 1850 by the French trio Ganneval, Bondier & Donninger, the brand was bought by English company Oppenheimer at the beginning of the 20th century, who opened factories in London and Paris to meet an increasing demand for the make’s high-quality and highly desirable pipes. Partly owing to the make’s inventive, yet traditional shapes, and partly due to the high standards of their production, GBD pipes are particularly coveted by collectors, as well as those who simply appreciate classic, well-made smoking instruments.

One of GBD’s earliest slogans was “Pipes with a Pedigree”, which certainly wasn’t wrong, but the “Pedigree” grades, introduced during the 1930s, marked pipes that were a cut above even GBD’s more “regular” pipes. In previous listings I’ve compared the best of them to something like a Dunhill Dead Root or a Comoy’s Specimen. This Pedigree II grade Lumberman only cements that comparison as far as I’m concerned.
But there’s something about this GBD that makes it even more out of the ordinary. That’s because it was made specially for the golden anniversary (50 years, from 1928-1978) of the historic American tobacconist chain The Tinder Box—an event for which some of the world’s great pipe makers released limited edition pipes. This included GBD, with other 50th annivdersary pipes provided by Caminetto, Charatan, Comoy’s, Dunhill, and Nording. Only 321 GBDs were made for the occasion, specifically straight grain models, with a price tag equivalent, in today’s currency, to around $500 a piece. This one is num ber 38 of 321.
It should also go without saying that this is, being a 1978 pipe, a pre-1980 GBD, from before the make was consolidated with various other Anglo-French mainstays in the Cadogan Investments merger of the early 1980s.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening and a few minor handling marks on the bowl and shank.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.82 / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 1.64″ / 41.65mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 32g