Becker & Musico Smooth Bent Dublin (2000) Tobacco Pipe

Becker & Musico is one of those brands that could so easily be lost in the history of pipes. Paolo Becker, of course, is a household name in the world of Italian pipes: he's one of the finest pipe makers on that storied peninsula. Massimo Musico who, with his father, ran one of the great pipe shops in Rome, is less well known, but similarly accomplished. For a few years at the end of the 1990s and barely into this decade (I think the last ones were in 2001), they made a line of English inspired smaller pipes, frequently with silver mounts. They were great, well priced pipes that were well engineered and nicely finished. This lovely bent dublin is one example of that series. It's a shame that the brand ceased to be (though given the extraordinary things that Paolo Becker has done in recent years, we can hardly begrudge him that), but it is nice to see an example pop up as an estate from time to time.

-- Sykes Wilford