The Package
Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 6:07AM | Neill Archer Roan | Permalink tagged Comoy, Comoy Blue Riband, Lovat | in Collecting, Pipe History 
Late Thursday afternoon the doorbell rang. I wondered why the mail carrier was at the door. To my knowledge, we weren’t expecting anything. There was a package addressed to me from an old friend who I have been corresponding with for years.
This friend is a gentleman in his seventies who has, in his collection, a pipe I have tried to buy (a Comoy Blue Riband Lovat) with no success for a long, long time. Although he thought about selling it to me four years ago, he decided not to because his wife bought the pipe for him for a birthday present - a good reason we would all agree. I recently received a letter from him apprising me that he had willed the pipe to me and that I would receive it and a couple of others when he passed on.
Comoy Blue Riband Ad Panel from in-box BrochureWhen I wrote back, I told him that I really hoped his death was not necessary for me to pry the pipe out of his hands. I was trying to lighten the moment, but I worried that something was wrong because he’d also written me recently about an upcoming surgery, but with no details as to why the surgery.
I had received packages from him in the past. Among other things, he is also a pipemaker, and a pretty darn skilled one at that. I have two pipes that he’s made and they are both lovely pipes that smoke wonderfully. I wondered if there was another of his creations in the box.
Curious, I decided to open it up. Inside, I found a handwritten letter to me and the long-sought-after Blue Riband Lovat. It brought tears to my eyes. I just couldn’t believe it. I had never seen the pipe, but I heard about it. He left it unsmoked for decades and finally started smoking it a year or so ago. In his letter he wrote that he didn’t clean the pipe because he knew I would want to do that, myself. He also wrote that he thought he’ put maybe ten bowls through the pipe.
As you will note from the photographs, this pipe is in fantastic condition. There is no wear at all - just a little bit of cake in the bowl.
Earlier and Later Versions of the inlaid 3-part C Comoy stem logo.The stem has the inlaid, three-part C that indicates a London-made Comoy that is Pre-Cadogan. The more delicate C, which this pipe has, reveals this to be a pipe that was made in the 1950s.
For reasons I’m not quite sure of, there are some shapes that are nearly impossible to find in the Blue Riband finish. Any of the lovat shapes fall into this category. Comoy used to put a little folding brochure into pipe boxes with their most popular lines advertised on them. Three panels of the brochure show a “representative selection of the most popular models available in all the series illustrated.” This series included the Blue Riband as well as the Tradition and Sandblast lines. One finds the Liverpool and the Canadian on this chart, but the Lovat is conspicuously absent. This makes me wonder about the popularity of the shape and the number of them that were cut. I wonder if the Lovat was not particularly popular with Dunhill and Barling customers, too? I have seen one Barling lovat (I used to own it but gave it to a friend who collects Lovats). I haven’t been all that successful finding Dunhill lovats, although I have seen a number of them.
Popular Shapes in all the Comoy LinesThis shape, the 212, is one I’ve seen in shape charts, but have never seen in the wood, so to speak. The 212 is the largest of the lovats that Comoy made in bowl diameter; the 435 is the same length, but has a taller bowl and a shorter mouthpiece. This lovat is 5.6” (142mm) long and 1.8” (46mm) tall. It has a .82” (21mm) chamber diameter and weighs 40 grams.
I am still on the hunt for the 156 and the 210, but at long, long last I have a Blue Riband Lovat in my collection. It is a gorgeous specimen, the quality of which is equal to the best pieces I have. It surpasses most in condition terms.
I wrote him a heartfelt thanks. He has asked for anonymity which I will respect. I wish I could give him a big shout out because he is such a wonderful, sweet, and generous person.
He is a regular reader here, so I hope he knows from reading this post how grateful I am to him, and how much I will treasure this pipe. It has found a home among its brethren, and it shines among them to be sure.
Reader Comments (7)
Though my collection is limited to GBD's, I too share a passion for these fine old stalwarts.
They all represent a bygone era when things were done slowly and right the first time and in typically understated British fashion.
After all, a pipe in those days was a smoking tool, it had to be functional without unnecessary embellishment or bling, while at the same time adhering to an accepted and entrenched shape catalogs of the times.
The important thing was how it functioned, although they did manage to make them look great at the same time.
I love them all and collect them relentlessly. They deserve no less as good examples are becoming increasingly rare. We owe it to ourselves and future generations of pipe smokers to collect and conserve what I view to be the origins of pipeddom.
and to the anonymous gifter, you have no doubt done right by this pipe and all that is attached to it by sending it to its new home; it has now reached totem status.
michael
Thank you for sharing such a great story. I would if you would not mind give a bit of history on this Comoy line. Where did the name Blue Riband come from and what does"per-Cadogan" refer to?
It looks like a beautiful well cared for pipe.