English Estates: GBD Prodigy Straight Grain Bent Dublin (pre-1980) Tobacco Pipe

GBD, its name deriving from those of its three founders Ganneval, Bondier, and Donninger, originally began life in Paris in 1850. In later years, the company would be sold to A. Oppenheimer & Co. in London in 1902, where it would become an English marque. A strapping rendition of the form, this bent Dublin from GBD boasts a towering up front, its figure filling the hand effortlessly as its thick walls reach from the rounded heel and flare toward the craggy, plateau-crowned rim. Housed within the bowl is a capacious chamber, one that's sure to provide plenty of leisurely smoking sessions, which the vaulted shank and stem will deftly aid. Echoing the rim, the shank sees an outcropping of plateau at its face, which pairs with the crisp expansion ring at the stem's base to lend this piece a striking profile. The stummel wears a rich, smooth finish that reveals healthy grain all throughout.