Lorenzo Smooth Bent Tomato Estate Pipe, 9mm Filter, Metal Band

Lorenzo in lower-case letters inside a stamped outline, the letters LTONA running up to an aftermarket metal band, and the number 8461: this is a Lorenzo smooth bent tomato on a vulcanite saddle stem.

The stem ends in a fishtail mouthpiece and takes a 9mm filter. The band covers part of the stamp: the letters LTONA show, and the first letter of that word sits under the band. What lies under the band cannot be seen.

Lorenzo pipes come out of a workshop founded in 1900 at Gallarate, near Varese, as Fratelli Lana - the third pipe maker in that district, after Rossi in 1886 and Ceresa in 1897. The Tagliabue family, merchants from Milan, began to work with Lana in 1922; exports rose, and the firm had 120 workers in 1939. In 1946 the Tagliabues took control, and the business became the Manufattura di Pipe Tagliabue.

From about 1950 Lorenzo Tagliabue ran the house. He looked closely at Castello and Brebbia, designed models of his own and took the brand upmarket. Because another firm already carried the Tagliabue name, the pipes were renamed Lorenzo Pipes in 1969. Lorenzo Tagliabue retired in 1983, and for a short time the name was licensed to Comoy's of London. In 1988 Riccardo Aliverti and Gabriella bought every right from the family and started production again. Today the better Lorenzo lines are made in Italy and some cheaper current lines in Albania; no country can be read in the stamps that show on this pipe.

THE MARKS

- Lorenzo in lower-case letters inside an outline, stamped on the shank
- LTONA in capitals, the first letter under the metal band
- 8461 stamped on the shank

A tomato is a round, squat bowl, wider than it is tall, and this one is 48 mm wide and 39 mm high around a chamber 20 mm across and 30 mm deep. The pipe is bent, a metal band finishes the shank end, and the vulcanite saddle stem ends in a fishtail bit.

The finish is smooth and glossy, and grain lines show on the bowl.

Pipes from before the 1969 rename rarely carry the Lorenzo name, so this one is most likely from 1969 or later. The meaning of LTONA and of the number 8461 is not known.

Condition: pre-smoked, in good condition.

THE MEASUREMENTS

- Length: 147 mm (5.79 in)
- Bowl height: 39 mm (1.54 in)
- Bowl width: 48 mm (1.89 in)
- Chamber diameter: 20 mm (0.79 in)
- Chamber depth: 30 mm (1.18 in)
- Weight: 52 g (1.83 oz)

Ships from the Faridunhill archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe. SKU: 460