Spitfire by Lorenzo Lario Smooth Brandy Estate Pipe, Oval Shank, 9mm Filter, Fishtail Vulcanite Stem

The shank carries two names, not one: Spitfire, stamped first, and Lorenzo behind it, with the model name Lario stamped alongside them.

This is a Spitfire by Lorenzo, model Lario: a smooth, straight brandy with an oval shank, fitted with a vulcanite saddle stem cut to a fishtail bit and bored for a 9mm filter.

Spitfire was Lorenzo's budget sister brand - the same models, cut to the same shapes, mostly in 9mm and the smaller classic sizes, sold under a second name at a second price. To understand what that meant, the Lorenzo side of the shank is worth tracing.

The house behind it began as Fratelli Lana, founded in 1900 in Gallarate, the third pipe maker to set up in the Varese district after Rossi in 1886 and Ceresa in 1897. Tagliabue, a Milan trading house, began working with Lana in 1922, and the export business grew through the interwar years; by 1939 the factory employed 120 workers. In 1946 Tagliabue took the firm over outright, renaming it Manufattura di Pipe Tagliabue. Around 1950 Lorenzo Tagliabue took over its management, studied the work coming out of Castello and Brebbia, and pushed the line upmarket with new house shapes. In 1969 the brand itself was renamed Lorenzo Pipes.

The Lorenzo pipes of the 1970s and 80s built a following on thick-walled bowls, flat sitting bottoms, and a silk-matte stain in bold reds and oranges, worn by big, heavy Oom Pauls sold on the idea that they were built for strong hands. Lorenzo Tagliabue retired in 1983, after the death of his daughter that year; the brand was briefly licensed to Comoy's of London and nearly disappeared before Tagliabue's death in 1987. In 1988 Riccardo Aliverti - whose family had been with the firm since Romolo Aliverti joined Lana as technical director in 1920 - bought the rights outright with Gabriella, and production resumed.

THE MARKS
- Spitfire by Lorenzo, stamped on the shank
- Lario, the model name, stamped alongside it

The brandy shape takes its name from the rounded, big-bellied bowl of a brandy snifter: a wide chamber that narrows toward the shank, giving the tobacco room without the bowl growing tall. This example is cut straight rather than bent, with an oval shank rather than the more common round one - a small proportion change that shifts how the pipe sits in the hand and reads from the side. The vulcanite stem is cut to a saddle profile, stepping down from the shank rather than tapering smoothly into it, and finished with a fishtail bit: the slot widens toward the button, spreading the airflow across the tongue rather than concentrating it in one stream. Fitted for a 9mm filter, the draw is meant to run through a paper or charcoal cartridge rather than open air, a European approach to moisture and bite control common to Italian and German factories of this kind. Held in the hand, the oval shank sits naturally between thumb and forefinger, distinguishing this piece at a glance from its round-shanked siblings in the same line.

The bowl is finished smooth, not sandblasted or rusticated. A smooth finish is achieved by sanding the stummel through graduated grits until the surface is even, then staining and waxing so the grain reads clearly under light rather than being broken up by a textured surface. Finish and grain: see the photographs.

Condition: sold as pre-owned. Overall grade is good, per the seller's assessment.

THE MEASUREMENTS
Length: 145mm (5.8")
Bowl height: 47mm (1.9")
Bowl width: 42mm (1.7")
Chamber depth: 40mm (1.6")
Chamber diameter: 20mm (0.8")
Weight: 2.0 oz
Filter: 9mm

Ships from the Faridunhill / Pipe Collectors Encyclopedia archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe.

SKU: 034