BBB for Schulte

Subject: BBB for Schulte Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:00 am

I found a pleasant little BBB pipe in an antique store, unsmoked, in its original box and sleeve from D.A. Schulte haberdashers. It's a smallish straight apple with a planed bottom, so it sits flat. I don't think it was ever a high-grade pipe--it might be one of those deals where the maker made the "house brand" for the store--but at $13, the briar was cheaper than a new basket pipe, and it cleaned up pretty well.

Does anyone know roughly how old this pipe might be? It has the BBB diamond logo on the shank, with "STANDARD" and ® underneath. On the flat bottom, "Genuine Imported Briar". No stem markings. Uncoated bowl, but not entirely smooth--a rough pattern in places. The sleeve also carries the BBB logo, and advertises D.A. Schulte as "Famous for Pipes & Smoker's Accessories for Over 50 Years."

Not that knowing the age will make it smoke any better, but I'm just curious about the history of this little find.

Subject: Re: BBB for Schulte Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:55 am

If the stem logo is an inlaid metal one (golden colored for a "first;" silver-colored for a second), it's likely an English-made pipe from before Wally Frank bought the rights to manufacture "BBB"s in New Jersey for sale in the US.

What a Face

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Subject: Re: BBB for Schulte Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:33 am

Unfortunately, no stem logos of any sort, no any sign that a logo was removed by overzealous cleaning. (It does appear to be the original stem, since the "sitter" planing mark extends from the shank to the bottom of the stem and lines up exactly.)

Joined : 04 Apr 2008 Posts : 79

Have you thought to see if Chris Keene (sp?) has any catalogues from the Schulte shop on his site? Or anywhere else I suppose.

Subject: Re: BBB for Schulte Tue Jul 01, 2008 2:20 pm

Afternoon All, A number of years ago I came Across a [b]Poole& Smythe pipe whose stamping looked remarkably like Dunhill's #804 Magnun, I was sure it was a Dunnie, searched everywhere, finally Rich Esserman told me it was a Dunnie second, none of this affects the pipe's smoking, but even on my meager funds i finally have a Dunnie Magnum! Enjoy your pipe! Ken. tongue

Pacem en Puffing! tongue

From The Northeast Kingdom! tongue

Joined : 04 Apr 2008 Posts : 79

Yep. Poole and Smythe are the Redbark seconds. great pipes and I think that they are all stamped Magnum. I've seen three, all in 8## numbered shapes (Forgive me for not being really knowledgable on Dunhills) and all stamped Magnum.

Great pipes!

Subject: Re: BBB for Schulte Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:22 am

Thanks for the help, gents.

Keene's site doesn't have a Schulte catalogue, but it does have some old BBB lists of stockists, including a "SCHULTX" [sic] in Harftord.

A little deeper investigation revealed that D.A. Schulte Cigar was out of business--at least under that name--well before Frank bought the rights to the BBB marque.

My last, best guess, then: the bowl is British-made BBB; no clue if the stem is a replacement or just unbranded. "Over 50 years" for Schulte could mean as early at the 1940s, but conservatively I would peg it c. 1960s, a time when pipe popularity would allow a market for a low-end pipe that someone never got around to smoking.

As for the real important thing: the briar smokes pretty nice. The first bowl tasted like an antique shop, but after that, it was smooth sailing. I think it's going to be a winner for short smokes of English mixtures.

Joined : 07 Apr 2008 Posts : 88 Location : Fort Gratiot, MI

D.A. Schulte Haberdashers was a high-end shop located in the Hotel Astor in Times Square, NYC in the 1920's. As to how long they were around, I have no clue. The pipe may be very old. BBB, GBD, Comoy, Dunhill, Barling, Upshall and others made shop pipes back in the day.
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Subject: Re: BBB for Schulte Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:42 am

I do like the idea that I may have brought the pipe back to its original home in Manhattan!