Wengholt (Preben Holm) Collector 200 XL Rusticated Stack Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

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, and 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.

Preben Holm’s Wengholt make appears to have been one means by which he explored styles not typical of the “Danish Fancy” freehand genre he was best known for (as was also seemingly the case for his Monte Verdi pipes). And, having handled a fair few Wengholts in my time, it seems that they were, as such, a means for him to explore finishes that rarely featured on his Preben Holm-make pipes. Specifically, many Wengholts were rusticated, and not in the typically “Danish” style pioneered by figures such as Peter Brakner, or Viggo Nielsen’s Bari. Instead, they were rusticated in a very “Italian” manner, one not too far off from, say, Castello, or Caminetto. This Collector series piece is especially unusual for Holm, incorporating not only an Italian-style pebble-dash, or weathered-stone, finishing like those of the workshops mentioned, but also taking on a stacked, “capped”-looking form that, funnily enough, I have also seen in the early, Ascorti-Radice era pipes. If anyone more familiar with Italian pipes happens to know the name of such a shape, I would be most grateful to learn.

The condition is good. Minor rim darkening and some handling marks.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.89 / 22.60mm

Bowl Depth: 2.36″ / 59.94mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g