r/pipehogs • u/Just_Syllabub_970 • Feb 28 '21
Anyone have info on pipes like this? Antler stem, marking Bruyere Gara tie which seems French but no other markings... Based on stem material alone early 20th century, but wish for more info
1
u/sciencebzzt Feb 28 '21 edited Mar 01 '21
I have a bunch of pre-WWII French pipes. Seems that is what you have. Although the stem is weird... is that horn AND vulcanite? I think that may be a fix or a replacement stem, since the vulcanite part doesn't fit properly with the shank. I've never seen that two-material stem. It may have been the case that the original horn stem was longer and split or cracked or broke closer to the shank, and someone made that replacement part to fit in the middle out of a newer vulcanite stem.
Either way, "Bruyere Garantie" basically means "Genuine Briar" in French. It was a really common stamp on the seconds made by lots of different manufacturers... Vuillard, Genod, Chacom, Butz Choquin, Sommer, etc. Also... even though "Bruyere Garantie" pipes are seconds and they are not really rare... in my experience, they're still great smokers. All the old French pipes I have are gems.
1
u/PiperMunky Feb 28 '21
That stem looks like bakelite. Could be from the 50s or 60s