Charatan Pipes: The Mysterious and Marvelous Marriage of a Pipe-Making Family and a Renowned Tobaccoman Among collectible pipes, few brands ‘afler variety and interest equal to the venerable Charatan. Fara very modest sum of mone ire a ' paaeible to a collection of attractive, great-smoking pipes. At the other end of the spec tram, you cam spend a fortune and ere= ate a collection of some of the finest high-grade pipes ever made. And tae by Tad Gage day, you ean stare a collection of fine new Charatan pi Dunhill Part of the charm, confusion, and ight of Charatan pipes comes from the fact that this brand has had three dliseines iden Not to apply too much Barling logic two the es, resurrected by situation (pre-transitioa, transition, and post-tansition), there isa distin pre-Lane Charatan period (hefore 1950), a Lane era (1950-1984 or so), and a post-Lane era (1984-pres Bo you want classic English shapes, generally small and almost always we made? Charatan made such pipes through the early 1950s. If you seek larger, but still atively standard= shaped English classics, you can easily find Charatans to your liking made from the 1950 through today. Or, do you prefer some of the most striking and daring freehand designs hese are also available ible Charatan pipes made 50s through the 198s, and in today. Despi jon of making small, atractive stand= ard-shaped English pipes hefore 19 the Charatan name is synonymous wi handeraited pipe shap jes that are une Herman Larne made Cheratan pipes a totally remgatced aime, mistakably Charatan to the train thar might be labeled “Danish” (ee tainly aot “English” by many. How Is Alt Began Austrian immigrant Frederick Charatan hegan his business in 1863, ith a small factory on Mansell Sue Landon, later moving ta Preseatt Street, and finally Grosvenor Stree Chara pipemaking and one of the first English firms to create briar pipes (along with Britain's Best Briar, Comoy and Bar- ling) Almost from the outset, Frederick ‘Charatan had a particular fondness for seeking out and producing straight- grain pipes, making him one of the first pipemakers vo identify and exalt this rarest of all grains. Buring the early 19006, a8 companies such as Coma Dunhill and later Sasieni w ng to turn out large numbers of briar n is one of the oldes pes, Charatan remained a small fam~ ily-run business, making really fine bri- ars in small numbers. ‘The brand was virtually unknown aurside England Charatans created before World ‘War [I ane extremely rare, because pro~ duction was limited—as mentioned, were a bit lax about filling orders for their pipes. Like many old pipes pre-World War IL Winter 2003The mest famine Charatan ever ascot? A Dubie Simmra Cam Larue frnehend cnrced by Reuben taratan fir Herman Lane (abe lf) The Summ as the highest Charatan grace ever marketed. Alsivagh mumy offer fine pipes er being made at she tome, wa aber Brand wus hueked by sib extensive marketing. Thiel sem ix marion! msgacines. Before Lane, Charatan ay a small Raglich ppeonaking fire selling primarily seradued Eaylsh stapes, ABoce corer om ad forse short-lived tube and filtered Underbucr pipe, Tr appre at the same tinge ather Knish maakers 1 re raarkering filter pa an early example of Charatan marketing pre-Lane, ‘Charatans were smaked ta death or Is, the hiroken, Sometime in the 19: Supreme emerged as Charatan grade, Iv featn ‘grain available, and was often sold in a fitted leather case, ‘The stamping, which usually was centered om the shank, was simple: “Charatan's Make London, England, Supreme ¢shape The Deluxe and Underboae (it was spelled this way, not *bore™) stampings were also used, and wi the finest str discontinued afier World War Il, DeLuxe signified a smooth, wellegrained pipe. Like so many filter pipe experiments of the day, the metal tube filter Underboar t much of a success. he Underboar was a system pipe signed to keep moisture from hack= ing up into the smoker's mouth. Most pipes manufactured hy Charatan ia these early days were made from Al sgerian briar (atleast, so P've discovered fram early literature). Algerian briar was 2 commonly used wood despite its soft and spongy qualities. ‘Only careful and long curing helped this wood achieve high quality, but ald~ time makers seemed to have plenty of time to eure this stuff ‘Charatan pipes made before 195 have recently heen commanding large ‘Winter 2003 sums in the collecting world, although a decade ago, their prices were on-par with other collectible pipes of similar age. Rarity has certainly driven the prives, and che pipes did incorporate fine old briar in wellemade standard English shapes. While some collectors say these are among the best smoking pipes ever made, others consider them good, but eannot understand the pr fetch. During World War I and the bambing of London, production aam= rally slowed wo a crawl, as it did for most English pipemakers, Unfartu~ nately for pipe company histary buffs, a man bombing raid damaged the ry and destroyed all the eampany’s ords. After the fact pre-war re war Charatan’s rebuilt fhetory once again began creating pipes, and the company contacted jobbers and wholesalers with an eye to building sales owing U.S. pipe market. Herman Lane, who was already building a large and thriving pipe and tobaceo shop: near Grand Central Station, was one of the wholesalers contacted Lane Takes Charge Despite being a wellemade English pipe for many decades, the company’s worldwide minence wasn’t established suki as Dunbill's rverrule, Barling? Tron, am Conroy's Grind Stamm, cbt righ ts until the 1950s, when Herman Lane, a tobacco wholesaler who immigrated to the United States with nathing but his beloved wife and the shirt on his hack, assumed U.S. distribution of the Charatan pipe. Lane and his wife fled Germany in 1937, leaving ehind one of the largest family-owned tobacco and cigareete concerns in E had already tak ship of the family business, bur at 34 years of age or so (he was always reticent ta reveal his birth date, but he passed away in the 19906 in hhis 90s), he had the wisdom and courage to leave before Nazi re= criminations took their tall on both Jews and business owners alike. The family company was eventually dis- al by the Nazis, and over lead solved and absor! Lane most fi wile’s lives by fle ng ta Amerie: pus Nazi persecution of German Jews began. A poor immigrant traveling to America, dreaming of being a self- made man, is one thing, to be sure. But imagine coming to a new country with the knowledge that you we wealthy man with au assured family fareune, but now, you have nothing! for him and far collectors, Lane had « Fortunatel ratan Pps) 37smarts, the benefit of 2 fine education, and tremendous worldwide conner= tions in the tabacco business. A resident of Dresden, Germany, he was fluent in several language perb student and, by 1937, already an accomplished businessman, His futher and geandfather (the company found in 1890) were cough taskmasters. ‘They were hardedriving ‘Teutonic shape-up oreship-our guys. Lane carried this mort to his business, as anyone who worked for Lane Lad. could attest. Sa, this was not a man who would give up easily Having heen appointed executive vice president in charge af operations 38 Ap) iness at che relatively developed many ions with tobaceo growers throughout the world, and played a major role in building the company within a very short time. This would serve him admirably unplanned career mave. After leaving Germany and arriving in America in 1937, Lane gether enough maney to establish a smoke shop in 1938 at 122 East 42nd Street in New York City. Alchough America was soon to enter World War I, Lane picked the right spat—where ample money and the love of pipes and tobaceos could avercome both the for his family’ bu tender age of 24, business conne a his new Abbough top Claranan grates such as Supremes we Acbievenrent get alot of ‘amennirn, Clrraten aficanide Peat Ren ders cbection of Claranans to Teter” evades tsalseartractce and fateresting ‘tap photo). Fregueathy, wassiel shapes at ret wri were to Be faa aon aries such as Speciel, Disthction td Beccutive. At top Hei specie! with a ood dase of srvight grain. Middle left Dinsinesion ramped “Exenn Large" bos! swhth dts of Fink seve flame gratin. Ar octane defi, aor Executive facavng Characsx's Dublin shape, alter modifi fn a frechonst ete, Tip, idle ve Special standard shape full-bew apple, supe #311, with « Dusble Comsfare stom Mille ra, cvote: 4 ring-youin frveianal relief From the mex Dunbill-roned mata ive, Dub as resurrected ality aad revived the momrentatare of dsc Charatan. Mile sa, third len, graceful Belvedere chiriiey, Att ders snd sree efor Late stert- ced segping up tbe average sive ofits pipes: Bottom center 4 “bumble” Perfection supe +490 fronu che 1960. AP op right, son Exec arated Dulin stage from the 1970, Second frome tap, right, s- cher Kvecative Dublin stomped “Exara Large.” Thind fromm mp, righ an elegans Distineion — aborostw clubs shape. alt doitonn sight, 0 madified bem Distinction that Borrozsed heavily from swoderatsti Darwish vorving themes. As opposed rv snperbigh-wrade Chantaans thar carry extremely bigh prize regs suc Charanans cave unurual, inseresting, beautiful, and fe fd ae fora prices. Typicak ere Chrtans amcrclatte sc 0 Ls ree plet) Great Depression and the onslaught af the war. He worked tirelessly, stocking shelves, making conne: ers, and doing whatever it took to build a business, inclusling selling high-qual- ity tobaceos and pipes. Within a few years, he had established a sobaeco and Cigarette empire, with 150 employees. During this same period, over in Eng- land, Charatan grew considerably more slowly, as it had for the past 80 y Charatan would be a historical as- terisk in pipe for Herman Lane. The same could be said for the Ben Wade brand, which he ac- quired and promoted. > Winter 2003The Dathlin shape, real specialty of Chart, was recurring theme in bvit standord-sbaped pines aad the company’s elegant esr freehand piper sudh as tbis rare Crown Achievement A litelesknown fact is that he alsa adopted the Luciana brand (later Known as Brebbia), which was his effort to popularize Hea manship. Sure, Saviaelli were making pipes hack in the 760s, h Lane saw the marketing promise of the lovely handcrafted Italian pipe while was still a relative secret to the Am can market, And he wanted w by Italian pipes to the forefrant, even while the English-made Charatans rime, Hlerman Lane wae always thinking ahead, even as he saw the tide turn from E pipes in the 1970s, His gift of Captain Black vo ordi= nary pipe smokers tyes, he cre blend) and his papularis English blends such as Crown ment are legendary. He hated Captain Black, by the way, bur he knew that so Fw an pipes and crafts lish to Iralian wed this n of rich, chiever millions of pipe smakers would lave it and he knew how to market it. And Captain Black isn’t a had vahacco, as aromatics go. [e's just thar Herman Lane hated flavored tobavcos, But Cap= tain Black good tobaceos as a base, He sold a lot of cigarettes in his day, and he hated them, too. I finest Oriental tabaccos. He loved hi gling with Middle Eastern tobae merchants—in their own language did and still does: contain is love was fine briars and the mind you, for he spake many lan= guages. ‘The man was brilliant, As head of Lane Luf., he gave many noweleg= endary members af the pipe and to= ba they sometimes acknowledge. Herman Lane was a marketing maven, first and foremost, In Herman Lane's mind, if it made people feel good, and ic had co community their start, which something to do with Lady Nicotiana, and it made money, then it was worth d According to Lane, who brought business and marketing discipline co the Charatan company, the generations of Charatans who-ran the family bus ness for nearly 100-years were artisans, not business or marketing experts. ‘Charatan was just one af the many pipe brands that Lane imported to his pipe shop in New Yark, bur for ane reason ‘or another, its potential caughe his at- tention. Following the war, the impar- ration of Dunhill, Como Barling pipes into the L full swing. With the popularity of pipe smaking and a baoming po Sasiend and maved into omy, Lane saw the opportunity to ine soduce the Charatan brand. [a the Late 104s, he turned an increasing amount of attention w this fitde-known maker. Winter 2003In the 1960, Charatan carvers were pasbing the ewvelope om umigne tirmd-carced pecs. One of Chartan’s halimarks ms the intricately carved Rnuried sbaak, as exeoopified by bis lovely Ghirraten Stlected FH (freebund). In 1955, he struck a deal to become the sole U.S. distributor of the Charatan pipe. “I remember being shacked when I started going through the company recordsand diseavered stacks of orders for pipes that had never heen com= pleted,” Lane ance said. “Unfilled or= der forms were stacked up in theshop’s display window. What a mess! And thetr pricing on pipes did nar neces= sarily relate to che quality of rarity of the briar, but seemed rather indisce inate, The quality of what these pipemakers produced was absolutely fiesteclass, bur E may say that running a profitable business was not the top pri= ‘arity for the family. So, we made a good team." ‘When he became exclusive distribue tor, Lane and Charatan agreed to have the distinctive script “L” stamped ow ‘Winter 2003 every pipe sent to the United States, European market pipes did not carey: the Lane mark Shortly afier the *L* was added w pipes being shipped ta the United States, Charatan added the “Made by: Hand” stamp on the side of the shank opposite the standard Charatan name, shape and grade nomenclature. ‘This was one of many marketing concepts introduced by Lane, ane that be felt ‘would enhance the aura of exclusivity Indeed, the better grades of Charatan ‘were made by hand, from the tip of the vulcanite button to the end of the hand-turned bowl. But by no means ‘were all Charatans handmade! Lower grades, such as the sand~ blasted Relief and others, were good “everyman” pipes by any standard. The “Made by Hand” stamp appeared mostly an the Charatan Selecteds and Executives, and was oceasionally used con Supremes and very oecasionally on large or unusual shapes in lower grasles—hoth smooth and freehand re= lief. The stamping was haphazard, in retrospect. This makes perfect sense, heeause it was all about selling pipes and creating a niche for Charatan "The variety af grades and stampings was rapidly expanding at this point. At collector shows, Charatan fanciers still wander how they can find a Distinc~ tionegraded pipe, noble bur carrying a low grade, wich grain thar far ourshines the grain they see om a higher-grade Selected or even Supreme. So if you ever find a Charatan low-grade for sale, with the owner's caveat “The geaie is far hewer than grade stamp indicates.” don't diseaune it! Loweregrade pipes gave new smak- ers, ar those with limited budgets, the Fp anchance to buy a real, branded Charatan, not a second. They gor a Charatan, but they gor a production pipe no ben Pride or average Sasieni being turned Bur virtually every Charatan, at least in He than the Comay Landon out at the time nan Lane’ reign, had some kind of'name. Even if he a clunky sandblast Relief like somebody. There was a with the tap-grade which was being. pe mowed and advertised heavily. You were buying a litde piece of heaven, albeit.a modest piece. And if you saved yor peanies, you might someday be able to step up to a Charatan Supreme—or even an Achievement Charatan pip ora Crown Achievement During th Charatan can 1950s and early 1960s, inued 1. expand the va riety of loweregrade pipes offered adiding pipes such as the After Hours, with an elegant whitish shank exten= sion, [ewas nar unusual for a great to thlow out” being turned, yielding am unac sand pit or am even m So, loping off the shank and adding an extension to compensa shank resulting from a flawed piece of briar that length shank allowed some nicely aalned pipes a be used insead of ds J. Again, this rel acumen of Lane, wha coulda’t imagine 2 good piece of briar going wn waste, despite a flaw sharteshanked After Hours pipes a still prety darned good-looking, eve if you know why the shanks are shart atthe shank-end asit was Ido't yield a reasonabl n the shank! Those Alter 30 years, the white shank exten th, looking a lit- tle like ivory and a bit like cheap Japan= ese faux ivaryeplastie Whatever it took to turn a pipe into a Charatan collector was OK with Lane, as long as quality wasn’t compromised. Even with the After Hours, ies impos final ¢ king pipe, with a great straight-geain howl ‘Once you hooked a man and he became ple to deny thar the ult was an elega a dedicated Charatan smoker, it became From Herman Lane's pereamat salleion—a gold-handed, ars Raya Adriezement with waber isd coat sea 42 App) hard for him not to eyeball the and mare expensive geades, Charatans under Lane's guidance were all consistently well-made pood-smoking. As with al p some smokers swear hy them, while thers cam take them or leave them Bur the number of Chat all these years later, speak to the ene during quality of the wood and the craftsmanship. There is nothing to indicate that the “Made by Hand” stamp fore 1950. A similar debate exists ov the famed Charatan “Double Comfort (DC) waleanite bit, a relatively Alae bit featuring a distinctive and sharp ridge (see phatos). Charatan records indicate the DC ss introduced in the 1950s, but a hit few longeime Chara they remember Charatan pipes fitved with DC bits appearing before and shortly after World War Il. As with the Barling dental bit (com “saddle” bit), pechaps eampetition for the denture wearers af the warld led to smokers say imes called a ig bits chat were flat and ex- ly comfortable, regardless of your dental condition. Whenever the DC bit appeared, it was a big hi, and ies sell a big hie with callectars, who praise its eamfort, not they have dentures. Re~ markably, this interesting dental bit has never heen adopted by any ather pipemaker During the 1950s, exeraclarge ant” briare were available by special der (the No. 42 billiard, No. 43 Dublin and No, 44 billiard). While they were supposedly available in Selected or Supreme grades, there are also a few frechand Relief Giants. ‘This was one af the first instances of a pipe company to the growing desire for larger-bowled pipes expressed primar- ily by U.S. smokers. Shapes, Sizes Explode Uncil 1957, the company had four primary smooth-pipe classifications that featured varyi degrees o straight grain: Supreme, Selected, Ex~ Winter 2003ecutive and Belvedere. But with direc tian from Lane, Charatan also beeame a leader in innovative shapes and «les ignations. Somehow, this move adapr the emerging Danish concept af freehand pipes was to he the defining moment for Charatan. Dunhill even tually proffered its Collector freehand pe. GBD eame out with its Unique pe. Comoy jumped on the freehand bandwagon with an occasional Extra ordinaire. But back in the early 1960s, no English company grabbed the arti= san-made pipe with the gusto that haratan shawed. haratan was the first English eom= pany to produce the freehand pipe ‘The Ben Wade brand, also distributed and eventually owned by Lane L was exclusively a line of craggy free= hand pipes. The Danes, led by Sixten Ivarssom and others, were taki pipemaking to an entirely new dimen= sion hy carving free-form expressions on standard pipe shapes, and beyond. They were an expression of a pipemaker’s artistry, nor constrained by having to conform to a elaysie standard shape. They followed the grain of the cehauehon, not a eammand to crank out so many billiards or so many bulldogs. "These Englich-made Charatan free= hhands, as well as the company’s stand= ard-shape high-grades, were handmade by three women and two men in the Charatan factory (as far as I know, al= though there were probably more). "They were all vece these skilled artisans, Dan perhaps the best-known, although Barry Jones (James Upshall pipes) is equally revered, and started his own Tine of pipes. “These shapes were designated by an SPH? stamp to the lower right of the maker's stamps. Berween 1957 and 1467, three different sizes of stamps were used, each larger than the previous one. The “FH” stamp contin« ued until 1967 0 1968. While taking on a variety of un= usual, sometimes bizarre shapes, many of these freehands echaed the Dublin= esque shape that Frederi ratan n employees, OF introduced. Lane never interfered with thar, and he was smart for leaving this “hallmark” alone. Reuben Charatan (probably the finest carver in the Charatan family) felt the tapering, com- ical howl of the Dublin was the ideal shape to fit in the hand and provided the perfece shape for a tobacco bowl. ‘The Dublin had been a classic Charatan shape for decades. In fact, Lane featured a pipe carve by Reuben Charatan in an ad publish in several magazines in the early 1970s. It was a freehand Dublin with straight grain, square shank, and large gold Thand, Ie was advertised as *Charatan’s Summa Cum Laude: world’s mast value able pipe. Fe not for sale.” Ie was a lovely pipe, and never left Lane's per= sonal collection, It was pretty spectac+ ular then, and veey fine today, although many of today's handmade artisan pipes eclipse the not the lovely line and balane Using the Dublin as a foundation for pipe-shaping was a great leap for an English pipemaker, when counter= ‘Winter 2003pares such as Barling, Dunhill, Sasieni and Comay stuck co standard English shapes such as the hilliard and the bull- dog. Same of th freehand pipes fea~ which was supposedly) th the briar burl, It was often left rough and unstained, although sometime dur- ing the 1970s, many freehand pipes emerged either with a stained natural top ar a top carved ta look like the craggy plateau top. While the plateau top was advertised as being the natural outside of the buel, it often wasn't the case. Sometimes, the plateau top was actually the outside of the briar ehau- chon, hut usually: it was carved 10 re- semble the craggy outside of a briar burl Tt was well done, na doubt. How many times daes a pipemaker find the perfect pipe within an ehauchow, with the top ending in a lovely, pe but aot wo craggy, burl exe rior? Not often. A lit pletes the picture. Sull, the effect was captivating. Some Charatan pipes are, admit- tedly, so grotesque thae th how appealing. Several colle referred to the larger fr Charatans as “war clubs,” albeit ina very loving fashion, after the Native American tomahawk. And if those “war clubs" were available for anything less than $300, those same teasing call tors would snap them up with na ques= tions asked! Even when ariginally fered, backed by the Lane marketing mystique and the support of pipe shops, they all sold. The best of the 1960-10-1980 free- hand pipes—which are perhaps Charatan’s greatest claim to fame—are large yet graceful, beautifully grained and, for their size, remarkably light Many callectars believe they represent the perfect eambinatian of impeessive size, excellent halanee and outstanding smoking properties, These are pipes you just have to appreciate, even if you don’t love them or woulda’t want to smoke them. Large, straight-grained pipes, whether freehand or standard-shaped, continued to receive the company’s top stampings. However, irs hard to keep track of the many changes that started to occur during the 1960s in the a Frw a natural, or plateau, bowl top, higher-grade Charatan pipes. In 1957, the first Supreme S—de- signed to be the flagship of the haratan line—was introduced. For many years, the Supreme was Charatan’s top grade—mostly stand= ardesized billiards and Dublins, And lovely they w: “This was the top Charatan until 1964, when Lane and Charatan intro- duced! the $100 freehand, which sold for $100. That was a heck of a lot of in 1964, Although commonly credited with being the first pipe to break the $100 barrier, it was not. Rare top-grade Dunhill DR (Bead Roor) specimen straight geains had brok that barrier several years eaelier. The $-100 was, however, the first com= monly available $100 pipe, and ce tainly the first “markes" pipe with a set Pryor ie did noe, #8 some predicted sspell doom for Charatan, Instead, pricey pipe worked to perte adding marketing cachet to Charatan line, Herman Lane was qui proud of this coup. And the $1040 panded beyond the standard English shape, exploring larger sizes and slight variations on the theme of traditional English shapes. Lane somewhat explained his: mar- keting strategy, although ie is na secret to those who bought and sold Charatans.in the 19606. H you establish 4 price for a rare, handmade ereation, and people buy it at that price, then it is worth that price. Not much different than taday's high-grade handmade pipes, which have prices starting at around S800: Te was time that people resp. value of a work of art, im addition to a fine-smoking pipe, Lane believed. And who could argue with his strate warked. In 1963, ssuch am integral part of the company sucess that he bought the company, as well as Ben Wade, which was part of Charatan, He almost immediately Tih pipemaking, ta atin Ean aperations from the London office Cal, Barnes had, until his appoint- ment with Ch with William Barling and the famed Barling pipe. His addition was as much am asset to Charatan’s prestige as it was in, been connected a blow to Barling’s (which by 1967 was xno longer owned by the Barling family, and the brand was in steep de= its purchase by Imperial ‘I 1962). Cal, Bames bad magic touch when it came to pipe manufacture and market From the late 1940s an, Charatan felt intense competitive pressure fram the growing number of pipemakers in D freehand shapes, but always responded with the new and different, even if it was a marketing coup anid nothing more. The company's attention was continually divided herween the Eng- lish and U.S. markets and the growing West German and Japanese markets. ‘The Germans preferred larger pipes and the Japanese wanted smaller, more traditionally shaped pipes. Some collectors believe that by the WSs, the artentian ro marketing be- gan to overshadow the company’s tra= ditional attention to quality. Lane sold the company to Dunhill im the 1980s, and Charatan production moved to Dunbill’s London plane in the mid= 98s ‘The company pipes to the Uni Charatan made a comeback in the early 19006 with a French-made pipe dis- tributed in the United States by James 1B. Russell. The Supreme grade again reigned supreme, and it was followed by several other geades, but this r. newed distribution soon fell flat. The ‘name torlay has heen rescued hy Dun= hill, which has resurrected the o ‘names and is valiantly tying to res ate Charatan pipes with the same geain and quality as the old pipes. So far, the effort seems to be showing signs of suce Charatan is 2 fascinating brand for the colleewor, and proclaimed for the balance, comfort, interest and quality. Andi for the many of you who may won der what happened to all che super high-grade Charatan and Bea Wade pipes in Lane’s personal vallections: An unfortunate family fraeas led to the pipes being taken by ne’s chi dren withaut the family’s knowledge ‘They have never reappeared, wo any= one’s knowledge. It is a somewhat s note for am otherwise illustrious rela tionship between Charatan, one of the world’s great pipemaking names, and enmark, who also created unusual eof Winter 2003Herman Lane, one of the world’s gr tobacco and pipe marketers. Eaiey rags-taeriches stories don’e always have a tually happy ending, bur the wo derful selection of Charatan pipes avai able provide ample testament to this enduring tradi Ge final note to all chis: Lane loved supporting elasieal music, the arts, higher education, and those less forvunate than ‘himself. With his considerable wealth, he provided grear support to many causes. [ embered hy th following quose: “Lean’t separate my busi= snes from I easy 10 talk like that when you are comfortable. Well, I have think he'd like te be te mown whae it is to be uncomfortable Now I have athriviag business and I want to help peaple. I want to see them live in a world without ignorance, poxerty and war. [consider life my business. ‘That is a fitting tribute to a great person and something 10 aspire to for pipe smokers everywhere. PET (COLLECTIBLE CHARATAN GRADE GUIDE Consistent, predictable grading and the name Charatan have never gone hand-in= hand, In fae, since 1957, there has been very litle predictable about a pipe carrying the Charatan logo. Ie one ofthe things that drives collectors eazy: lek one of the things that makes collecting Charaean pipes so much fun, In any barge group of Charatans, one is bound to find a mid-grade Selected or Fa tecutivewith mare straight grain than a wap line Carnation o Supreme. Wher col= leeting any pipe is best nota be aslave w rade stampings While stampings and nomenelacure are major factarsin determining price and ar ity, ie often bese to let the senses he the f= nal judge: haw the pipe looks, its balance, and ultimately, how it smokes. With Charatan, chisis particulary true. Charatan’: history was strongly influe ‘enced from 1950 onward by Herman Lane, 1.US. tabaceoaist who helped change the dicectioa of che company and the shape, size and Jook of the pipes. Before 1950 (pre= Lane, if you will, there were few grades and they were pretty straightforward. Charatan hat! a good selection of straight and semistragh grains, plus greatsmoking lowet-gracle smooth pipes and relief, or sandblasted, pipes, Mast of the pipes were ‘standard shapes and carried numbers desig- nating the shape. After 1950; stampings (at last on U marke pipes) were as much a function of marketing 3s they were of grain qualiey. De= spite ther often cryptic nomenclature, they remained generally beausfal,sweetstok= ing land of bears Because pre-!950 Charatans and Euro- pean-market Charatans are relaively hard toofind inthe United States, this listing pri= marily focuses on all Charatan sives and grades collectors are likely uo encounter in ‘smoke shops that carey estate pipes and at pipe shaws and swaps. ‘The ranking may not always be accurate, but it close 40 Fw In general, the higher geades come tmanded the highest prices when originally sold. ‘The same helds true today. Lower grade used! Charatans are great sick and can be eacellent valves at $15 to $75, Pre= World War {1 Chararans have been com= manding very high threesfigure prices. Pipes above the Executive grade have varying slegrees of straight grain. Specials ‘were usually pipes with same straight grain, but pipes of undistinguished grain having exceptional size or interest could also be tnarked *Specia” ‘The following five grades were intro ‘duced intermittent into the United States during the late 1960s through the 1970s by Lane Lad, asa way to expand the Charatan eof high-grade pipes. Many, ifrot most, were larger pieces of wood and were dami= nated by the classic Charatan freehand shapes (as opposed to standard shapes). Usually, youll find the cursive Lin a cit dle, but many collectors have noeed thar due to the jaie de oiewe of the Charatan factory, you'll fad American market pipes that didn't have the Lane stamping. English tnarker pipes, which weren't dstrituned by Lane, perse, don't caery the “1.” marking. Collectors, start your engines Summa Cum Laude ~ There are re= porwedly oaly dhree of this wedge-shaped, old-handed freehand in existence, Orig nally priced ac $2,506 ie was certainly one of the most expensive pipes ofits day and was never meant to be a production pipe, Her man Lane told me, however, that a few ‘dozen of these pipes were manufactured. Where they are, nobody knows. If you'rea ‘Charan fanatic, would you want ro find ‘one at the right price? Of course Crown Achievement ~ "The Achiewe ‘ments supplanted the Supeeme as the top= grade Charatan pipe at one time. Royal Achievement ~ As far as | now, and io my discessions with Lane, only afew of these were made. They are perhaps rarer than Crown Achieveznents. Lanehad win his private collection, which has disap- peared. ‘Coronation ~ ‘The Coeonation was ine roduced asa grade bridging the Achieve- ‘ments and Supremes, They've available as collectibles, but pricey. “the next grade, the Charatan Supreme, hhas.a rather schizophrenic roe in the hizexy ‘of Charatan, Cneil 1957, Sopreme was the op grade, reserved foe the finest straight- grain examples of the pipemaker's art. ‘Charatan, at the suggestion of Lane, ine ‘uaduced the Supreme Sin £957. the top- line pipe, In 1944, she company introduces! the freehand Supeeme S-100. “The $-100 supplanted the Supreme Sas the opine pipe, followed by the Supreme 0 anal che S-300. In 1967, the Supeeme S was dropped and the S=150 and $-250 ‘were added. In 1971, a inflation, the price ‘of wood and manufacturing ensts made it impossible to create a top-grade pipe far $100 or $150, the Supreme 8-100 and S= 150 were deappedand the Supreme § reine stated. Alshough noe ised in Charatan cat- alogs, [learned that a few Supeemes exist that are stumped "S-500,” ‘They're some- where out there, hope. Supreme ~ "Top of the Charaun line un sil 1957, when che Supreme $ was intro duced. Supreme § ~"Top of the Charatan line from 1957 until 1964, when the Supreme S- 100 was introduced. Discontinued in 1967, fewas reinstated in 1971 Supreme 8-100 ~"Top of the line unsit the Supreme $-208 was introduced in lave 1967. Priced at S100. Supreme S-150 ~ Supremes priced at 8150. Supreme $-200 ~ Supremes priced at S200 Supremw $-250 ~ Supremes priced at $250, Supreme $-300 — Priced ae $300, this ‘vas the top of the line until the Coronation ‘vas inwoduced in 1968, » Winter 2003(COLLECTIBLE CHARATAN GRADE GUIDE continued Supremes made before 1957 were the top of the Charatan line. Those nade be= fore 1955 will noe necessarily feature the cursive “1.” stamped on them. European market pipes (same of which have made their way ta North America) never fea tured the cursive "1" designating a prode tue distribued in the US. by Lane Lud, ‘Anil assome collectors remember, dhe eur sive" was probably inzoduew on apd off between 1950) and 1955, as Lane be come more heavily involved with distrib uting the beand. Pre-1955 Supremes will probably tend toward standard shapes (xe opposed 10 frechanlsjandsmallersizes and will su ally feature the thin, tight straightegeain charaetsistc of pipes before hheadvent of freehands. Frechand Supremes made hetween 1955 and 1983 are often difficule wo dace, Collectors can use stampings such as SPH “Batra Large” or the *S* series {get an approximation of when the pipe vas made, bat exact dating ie futile en deswor. ‘The following Charatan pipes are ranked according to their pricing in the late 1970s, hue pricing doesn’t always de= ‘noe enlleewr preferences. Far example, most collectrs tay prize Distinetioas and Specials oner After Hours. Ye, when new, After Flour pipes sold for mee be= cause the howls weee primarily straight= iurained, even though the shanks were share duet flaws in the briar, In pre-1955 pipes, the Belvedere” stamping carried considerably more ‘weight than it did by the 1970s, when it vwas downgraded to a smonedh pipe with {great smoking properties and undistin= fuished graining, ‘The size group designations of the Special, Belvedere and Relied Grain pipes are similar to Dunhill bowl gradings, but ‘Charatan pipes were generally larger than similarlysized Dunhills, However, group sizestampings were not putan the pipes. Selected Extra Large} Selected Executive (Fxtra Large) Executive ‘After Hours Superba ~ Higherepriced with a wellgrained bowl, bur never pare ticularly popular. Distinction Deluxe After Haves Walnut [Distinction (Fxera Large) Freehand Relief (Extra Large) After Hours Relief Alhough priced hhigher than Specials, tis is decidedly ine ferioe wm a good Special in many collee= tors’ mind Special (Rxxra Large) Freehand Relief Special (Group 4) ~ ‘The Special was usually smooth, but eould also be an une usually sized or shaped pipe and might be fully carved/andblasted or part smooth and partearved/eandhlasend, Why waste a wtly good! bowl iFit had a flaw? Carve and market it as something Special. Special (Group 3) Perfectian Special (Group 2) Belvedere (Group) Special (Group 1) Belvedere (Group 3) Relief Grain (Grewp 2) Relief Grain (Grewp 1) Belvedere (Group 1) Rarity ~ This was usually a welle agrained pipe with a bow! flaw, and so was carved tneaver the flaw. "Thereane three grades that defy stance ant Charatan lisings. The BeLuxe (not to be confused with the Distinction Deluxe) was a marking used on welle grained pipes before and shoraly after World War II. ven more unusual is the Charatan Underboar, which was produced well he= foce World War IL. Although the selection. ofshapesliste inthe ol Underboar cat alog is quite extensive, either few were made, or few have survived. This san ex uemely rare pipe. Starting in the 1970s, Charatan also produced the Crown model, which is very different from the Crown Achieve= mene. The Crown model was somewhat like the After Hours, in that pipes wich good bors buc unaccepray shoreshanks were given new life. A blacevuleanite mil jiney mount ferrule was aded 10 extend the shank and two hive were always peo vidled. Crown models eame in a variety of grades, depending om the quality of the howls grain, fram Supreme down wo Belvedere. Por