G.F.B. Gold Mounted Smooth Bulldog Estate Briar Pipe [SOLD OUT]

G.F.B. was a make of pipes manufactured around the turn of the 20th century, with the three letters standing for Genuine French Briar. Such pipes likely came from the birthplace of briar pipes, France’s Saint-Claude region, being sold in the United States through outlets such as Sears. I always enjoy it when one of these late-19th to early-20th century pipes lands on my desk. There is something so pleasing about the way they look. Perhaps I am just a sucker for the old days, but French briar and gold filigree really does it for me. What’s even better is when the pipes are, like this one, immaculate. It appears to have been smoked, but either very carefully or very rarely. The filigree cap is spotless, as is the stem. Speaking of stems, I did at first wonder if this one had been replaced, as the GFB pipes I’d encountered previously all had amber stems rather than ebonite. A closer look at the Sears catalog that these pipes were featured in revealed, however, that some GFB pipes did indeed feature ‘hard rubber’ (i.e., ebonite) push stems.   Details: Length: 6″ Bowl Width: 20.0mm Bowl Depth: 1.5″ Weight: 1.1oz / 34g