Jacobean (by Les Wood) Reo 206 Smooth Pot Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

While Leslie and Dolly Wood today are most famous for the Ferndown make, the two went through a number of successive makes upon starting their joint pipe making venture. After Les left Dunhill’s in-house silversmithing department to establish an independent firm, L&JS Silverware, and once Dolly had also left her position in Dunhill’s finishing department, they soon set about making their own pipes. The methods and premises involved in the manufacture of these pipes developed and changed over time, as did the names the pipes were sold under. The Jacobean, along with the Tudor, was one of several early makes conceived by Les and Dolly, each taking its name from a period in British royal history.

This one, for example, is a Jacobean Reo, and Ferndown collectors will no doubt notice its similarity in dress and nomenclature to Ferndown pipes. After all, the Reo was a signature finish for the Ferndown make, one characterized by smooth polished, reddish-brown bowls not unlike the one seen here. As far as I’m aware, of all of the finishes Les and Dolly have used for their pipes, the Reo is the oldest, as light smooth Jacobeans were originally termed “Natural” (as opposed to the Ferndown “Root”), and the rusticated “Bark” did not exist yet (the earliest “Bark” made by Les and Dolly was a sandblast finish, used for the Tudor make). You may wonder, then, what exactly the difference is between a Jacobean Reo and a Ferndown Reo. Having spoken to Les about them (which you can read in our interview with him on the main MBSD Pipes hub), the key differences are that Jacobeans, while being very good pipes, were not quite yet of the standard of a Ferndown, with a significant part of this coming down to the materials used. Les and Dolly had not yet found a reliable source for high-grade briar for the bowls of Jacobean pipes, and they had not yet begun to hand-cut their mouthpieces from ebonite rod, opting for pre-molded ones instead. On the other hand, Jacobean stummels were hand-turned and oil cured, just like Ferndowns, and the former typically featured Les’s signature silverware, as in the case of this one’s beautiful, engine-turned, sterling silver collar.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. A few scuffs around the bowl, though nothing too major.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.96 / 24.38mm

Bowl Depth: 1.42″ / 36.06mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g