Masta 189S Large Smooth Bent Billiard Estate Pipe, 9mm Filter, Vulcanite Saddle Stem, Fishtail Bit, Made in London England

MASTA over SMOOTH 9MM, with the number 189S and MADE IN LONDON over ENGLAND, is stamped on the shank of this pipe. It is a large Masta bent billiard in a smooth light-brown finish, with a black vulcanite saddle stem that ends in a fishtail bit. The pipe is made for a 9 mm filter.

Condition: pre-smoked, in very good condition.

THE MARKS
- MASTA, with a large M, over SMOOTH 9MM, on the left side of the shank
- 189S, on the shank
- MADE IN LONDON over ENGLAND, on the shank

THE MAKER
Masta pipes were made by the Masta Patent Pipe Co, and the pipes stamped MASTA form a small brand of their own. An advertisement of 1921 already lists MASTA PATENT pipes. In 1967 the Hardcastle and Parker firms merged as Parker-Hardcastle Limited, and the Masta Patent Pipe Co was taken into the new company as well.

THE SHAPE AND THE STEM
A billiard is the classic pipe shape: a bowl shaped like a cylinder, set on a shank. In a bent billiard the stem curves down so the pipe hangs from the mouth. On this pipe the shank curves up into a black vulcanite saddle stem: the stem steps down to a flat, narrower part before the bend and ends in a fishtail bit, flat and widening at the end. With the stem out of the shank, the filter tenon can be seen in the photographs.

THE FINISH
The bowl and the shank are smooth, in a light-brown finish. The bowl shows straight grain on one side and bird's eye grain on the other. The stamps sit on the shank, between the bowl and the stem.

DATING
Neither the number 189S nor MADE IN LONDON over ENGLAND dates this pipe, so the year it was made cannot be fixed from its stamps.

THE MEASUREMENTS
- Length: 137 mm (5.39 in)
- Bowl width: 40 mm (1.57 in)
- Chamber diameter: 20 mm (0.79 in)
- Chamber depth: 51 mm (2.01 in)
- Weight: 49 g (1.73 oz)

Ships from the Faridunhill archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe. SKU: 638