Charatan c. 1950 Selected Large Billiard Shape 132

Charatan c. 1950 Selected Large Billiard Shape 132
I do not think it accidental that the shape of the bowl of this lovely classical piece is very similar to a Barling. In a sense, Charatan and Barling were not merely competitors, but "brothers under the skin." Both approached pipe making not so much as manufacturers but rather as craftsmen, continually in search of quality and integrity in workmanship and materials. Hence their pipes were idiosyncratic and original, even when the basic shapes were time honored and conventional.

So here we have a top notch large billiard, one which if made by Barling would have been an EXEXEL. It's having a shape number tells us that it was a standard design for Charatan, albeit made entirely by hand rather than on a frasing machine. It is perfectly proportioned, and its bowl has almost sensuous lines, remaining nicely articulated from the rather long, tubular shank. It is fitted with a notably high quality, handcut vulcanite taper bit with the slightly blocky lip of the period. Overall condition is quite extraordinary, and one could be forgiven for thinking it unsmoked.