English Estates: Comoy's Grand Slam Patent (188) (Bar Logo) (1933-1945) Tobacco Pipe

Comoy's "188" shape is one we've seen several times in the past, though in a number of different arrangements, such as the classic Billiard, a tall Stack, and this: a Dublin-like Billiard with a jaunty forward cant and a handy build that makes it delightfully portable. The transition is wide, and it gives way to a fairly thick, but remarkably short shank that's met by a sleekly tapering stem of black vulcanite. Up front, the bowl stands on a rounded heel and builds thick walls toward a flat rim, their forward cant lending the aft wall an understated angle offset by the angle of the fore wall: creating a Dublin-like sense of flare without intensely broadening the walls of the bowl.

Comoy's is one of the most legendary brands in all of pipe making, being one of the oldest marques in existence to still be operating today, with the unique distinction of being one of the first firms to use briar for their stummels. Founded in 1825 by Francois Comoy and his brothers in the small town of Saint-Claude, France, the original iteration of the company made clay and boxwood pipes until 1848, when his son Louis discovered the smoking properties of briar. In 1879 Comoy's expanded into London, England, and rapidly grew, influencing London's own pipe industry as Henri Comoy introduced high-quality briar pipes into the popular consciousness of English smokers. The brand continued to expand throughout the early 20th century, hindered only by the strict manufacturing limitations of supply shortages of World War II, remaining within the Comoy family until the brand was bought out by Cadogan Investments in the early 1980s.