Trever Talbert 2004 Halloween Pipe Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

A former professional illustrator, fine artist, and designer, America’s Trever Talbert began pipe making as a hobby, receiving early instruction (and briar) from the legendary American artisan Paul Perri, and later from the equally legendary Mark Tinsky and Mike Butera. In 1998, Talbert decided to enter Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine’s inaugural Pipecarving Contest and—much to his own surprise—won outright, securing 1st place. It was only up from here for Talbert Pipes, with Trever’s wife Emily soon joining him as the second half of a decades-long pipe making endeavor. Soon enough, “Talbert” became one of the most recognizable names in pipes, even amidst the Renaissance of the international artisan scene that began around the turn of the new millennium. The Talberts still make pipes today, with the sheer demand for such rarely not outpacing supply, while also retaining a place as two of the most acclaimed and culturally significant pipe makers of the modern age.

In 2000, Trever Talbert began creating an extremely limited, annual series of Halloween-themed freehand pipes. While the Talberts are well-known for producing singularly artistic designs, the Halloween series has rarely been surpassed in the creative ambition it showcases. This ambition has, furthermore, never been unmatched by its execution, with the Talberts’ Halloween series being more like a distinctly gothic contemporary analog to 19th and early 20th century Viennese meerschaum carving than “pipe art” as it is typically understood.

This one of the Halloween Pipes the Talberts made for 2004 (only four in total were made that year), and is perhaps one of the most grandiose designs even within that series. One could easily call it “Lovecraftian,” not only because it resembles a creature from one of the many films and television programs inspired by H.P. Lovecraft (John Carpenter’s The Thing, for example), but because its form is so complex and alien that it is difficult to put into words (a running theme in Lovecraft’s stories is that their protagonists are either unable to describe the horrors they’ve seen, or succumb to madness in trying to do so). Perhaps a basic itinerary of dimensions and composite materials will have to suffice: large, long, heavy; briar, morta (bog oak), antler, more morta, ebonite.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It comes with its original, special, Halloween-themed sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 11.4″ / 289.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.75″ / 44.45mm

Weight: 6.1oz / 174g