On his great site Greg Pease writes about Comoy's history:
- The Comoy pipe is historically significant. François Comoy in
- Saint Claude, France originally founded the company Comoy in
- in the early 1820's, as a manufacturer of clay pipes. In 1848,
- either François or his son, Louis, made the first Bruyére
- pipe from the root burl of the indigenous White Heath, Erica
- arborea, known today as briar. Henri Comoy, son of Louis, established
- Comoy's of London in 1879 where most Comoy pipes have been made
- since. Sometime in the 1980s, Comoy was bought or absorbed into
- Cadogan Industries, who continue to make the Comoy pipe today.
- ...
- In the early 50's, the sans serif "COMOY'S" was stamped,
- with the apostrophe, and the country of origin stamp changed to "
- MADE IN LONDON" in a similar circle, with "ENGLAND"
- underneath in a straight line.
According to these quotes from Greg Pease, I would say that my first Comoy
is made sometimes between the early 50's and 1980s, that is, before the Cad-
ogan era. The stamping is exactly like it is supposed to be if it is made at that
time. There are letters "HC" stamped on silver and I do not know their meaning
yet. It is possible to get information about silver hallmarks from WWW, and this
is exactly what I am going to do very soon.
Comoy's smooth, bent Hallmark, January 28.2001
A smooth bent "Hallmark" with mostly bird's eye grain
Its grain pattern is clearly seen from this view
This Comoy is very light-weighted and the only negative point I have noticed in
it is that the stem is a bit loose. This means I have to apply beeswax on it.
The vulcanite stem is also somewhat oxidated and perhaps needs Chlorine bleach.
This pipe has never been smoked. It has had a silent life of decades. Now, at last
time has come to get it in work and do what it once was made for.
I smoked it yesterday and am fully satisfied. It smoked very well considering it
was smoked never before. No gurgling, no excess warming, just mellow puffs from
Haddo's Delight, which is a great new Greg Pease (GLP) blend (thanks Lance!).
Sasieni "Four Dot" Buckingham
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Created February 2. 2001