Preben Holm (Early Piece) Extra Large Smooth Freehand with Horn (Estate)

About this pipe:

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 also happened to be exceptional smokers. Holm’s work was so popular, in fact, that he not only put out pipes under numerous makes (such as Wengholt, Monte Verdi, Rungsted), but was also contracted by pipe shops and companies around the world to make pipes for them. Dunhill had Holm produce pipes for the Harcourt make, and Lane Ltd.’s Charatan had him make Ben Wade pipes, at a time when Charatan itself was already at the pinnacle of its freehand output. All of this was achieved in the span of around 25 years, before Holm’s untimely passing, and his pipes remain firm favorites among casual pipe smokers and die-hard collectors to this day.

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 pipe making career began in the 1960s, during Holm’s mid-teens. This was not uncommon for pipe makers back in the day, especially in Denmark, where many a modern legend was carving pipes before they were old enough to drive (or, indeed, smoke). Holm’s first distributor was his own father, but his first major distributor was Pibe-Dan (later known as Pipe-Dan), to whom he began selling his pipes when he was just 16 years old. The rest, as they say, is history.

If I had to guess, I’d say this particular pipe was made near the end of Holm’s early period, as it breaks off from the distinct style found in his Pibe-Dan works, gesturing toward the style he began pursuing with his Hand-Cut series. Given that it is stamped with Holm’s original nomenclature—“P. Holm,” which he used both for his Pibe-Dan and for some of his Pipe-Lon freehands—it is, however, still very much an artefact of the “young Holm.”

The condition is very good. Minor inner rim darkening, slight finish fading, and a couple of small nicks on the outside of the bowl.

Details:

Length: 7.02″ / 178.3mm

Chamber Width: 0.97″ / 24.63mm

Chamber Depth: 1.37″ / 34.79mm

Bowl Height: 1.75″ / 44.45mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 64g