English Estates: GBD Ebony Pot (9442) (pre-1980) Tobacco Pipe

This classically inclined Billiard from GBD displays the hallmarks of English style, featuring a pert bowl with a rounded heel at the fore of a balanced round shank. Out back, a comfortable vulcanite saddle stem offers an effortless clenching posture. Dressed in the English marque's Ebony smooth finish, the stummel offers a wealth of attractive grain.

GBD was established in 1850 in Paris, France, its name the initials of its founders, Ganneval, Bondier, and Donninger, and the company was dedicated to the manufacture of meerschaum pipes. After a number of name changes thanks to the rather unstable company hierarchy, which saw Bondier being the only remaining original member of the brand's eponymous triumvirate, GBD's main operations began being ran by August Marechal and Ferdinand Ruchon. The first 40 years of the marque's existence was marked by a staggering 15 medals of achievement for their various pipe making innovations across multiple international fairs, firmly establishing them as one of the preeminent pipe manufacturers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1902, GBD became an English company, being sold to A. Oppenheimer & Co. in London in 1902 and having since expanded into the carving of briar pipes. Over the next century, Oppenheimer & Co. acquired other iconic brands such as BBB, Orlik, Loewe & Co., and Comoy's in the 1980s. Since then, GBD's production has been handled by Cadogan, continuing the marque's pipe making legacy into the 21st century.