Hilson Antique 290/S Slightly Bent Chimney Billiard, Vertical Grain, Saddle Stem

HILSON on one side of the wide oval shank, 290/S on the other. This is a Hilson Antique 290/S, a smooth chimney billiard with a slight bend and vertical grain, on a vulcanite saddle stem with a fishtail mouthpiece, made for a 9 mm filter.

HILSON and 290/S are clear. The line under HILSON is too faint to read in the photographs; the name Antique was recorded when the pipe came in.

HILSON was the brand of the Hillen pipe factory in Bree, Belgium. In 1980 Elbert Gubbels & Sons of Roermond in the Netherlands, the makers of Big Ben, bought the Hillen factory together with its HILSON brand, and the Bree works closed soon after. Gubbels had made pipes in Roermond since 1946, moved into a new factory there in December 1972 and received the title Royal that year. The firm filed for bankruptcy in March 2012.

THE MARKS

- HILSON on the shank
- a second line under HILSON, too faint to read
- 290/S on the shank

No mark on this pipe dates it, so it may come from before or after the 1980 sale.

A chimney bowl is taller than it is wide, as this one is. The pipe has a slight bend, the shank is wide and oval, and the saddle stem has a wide, flat step near the shank before the slimmer bit and the fishtail.

The finish is smooth and glossy, and straight grain lines run up the sides of the bowl.

Condition: pre-smoked, good, with a dark stain spot on the bowl side. The chamber still holds hard layers; some have been removed, but more still need removing.

THE MEASUREMENTS

- Length: 142 mm (5.6 in)
- Bowl height: 57 mm (2.3 in)
- Bowl width: 38 mm (1.5 in)
- Chamber diameter: 20 mm (0.8 in)
- Chamber depth: 50 mm (2.0 in)
- Weight: 2.0 oz

Ships from the Faridunhill archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe. SKU: 010