Dr Plumb EXTRA 61 (Made by GBD) Smooth 'Fatboy' Rhodesian

This reference example documents a Dr Plumb EXTRA smooth Rhodesian of the stout proportions colloquially known among enthusiasts as a 'Fatboy', bearing the shape number 61 and produced in England under the manufacturing umbrella of GBD. The smooth finish presents the wood's surface without rustication or sandblasting, the treatment traditionally reserved for stummels of cleaner grain in an English factory's grading hierarchy. Dr Plumb occupies an instructive position in British pipe history. Pipes stamped 'Made by GBD' beneath the Dr Plumb name reflect this consolidated production, in which GBD's workshops and standards served multiple brands within the group. The EXTRA designation marks a line within the Dr Plumb range, and the numeral 61 identifies the factory shape. The Rhodesian is among the classic bowl forms of the English canon: a rounded, bulldog-related shape distinguished by its beaded or grooved waistline and a squat, domed bowl. The 'Fatboy' epithet describes an especially full-cheeked rendering of the form, with generous width through the bowl relative to its height, lending the pipe a compact, muscular presence in the hand. Dating rests on the stamped nomenclature rather than any factory date code, since neither Dr Plumb nor GBD employed a systematic year-marking convention on standard production. The combination of the Dr Plumb name, the EXTRA line stamp, the GBD manufacturing attribution, and the shape number places the pipe within the twentieth-century period of group production, with a narrower interval left undetermined. It is preserved here as a representative example of English factory pipemaking under shared-brand manufacture.