Vintage Ben Wade Royal Matt 65 Estate Pipe London England Probably Circa 1970s
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:52093315 | Featured Refinements: Vintage Smoking Pipe |
| Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom | Modified Item: No |
| Brand: BEN WADE |
Looks like this one of John's favorites.
The company was founded by Benjamin Wade in 1860 in Leeds, Yorkshire, where it was located for over a century. Ben Wade started as a pipe trader, but yet in the 1860's he established a workshop to produce briar pipes. The pipes were made in very many standard shapes - always extensively classic and "very British". Many models tended to be of smaller dimensions. Ben Wade offered a very high standard of craftsmanship and quality without any fil...ls. Thus the pipes were considered to be high grade and a major competitor to other famous English brands. The often heard comparison to Charatan seems to be a little bit inadequate because those days' Charatans were entirely handmade.
In the second World War the factory was destroyed by German air raids on Leeds. But the Ben Wade family decided to re-build it immediately after the war and pipe production was re-started soon and successfully linked to the fame from the pre-war years.Before the second war Ben Wade clustered their offerings into three price points: "Ben Wade" included the higher end pipes (eg the Larnix, Super Grain, Selected Grain, etc), "BW" included the mid-level pipes (eg Statesman, Natural Grain, County, etc), and "BWL" were the least expensive (eg Hurlingham, Adelphi, Tense Grain). Champion was in the last group, and in the 1930s at least retailed for 2/6.The Champion disappeared during the War when the Ben Wade line was materially slimmed down, presumably to reflect difficulties of supply. The name continued to appear in brand directories st least through the early sixties, however it's unclear whether production was actually resumed.Lane had the pipe making machines brought from Leeds to London and used the well esteemed name Ben Wade to start the fabrication of entirely machine-made pipes at Charatan's Prescott Street factory. (Some sources say "not earlier than 1973" but proven by cataloges this isn't true.) Alas the "new" Ben Wades were quite usual series pipes, copies of well known standard shapes. The pipes often showed hardly masqued fillings and were processed quite coarsely with hardly polished pre-moulded Ebonite stems. Therewith Ben Wade degenerated definitively to a second brand. The stamping now read "Made in London England" or just "London". Nothing was left from the quality of the pipes once made in Leeds!Quotation of an American pipe dabster: "It's a shame to see how a famous old family name can be dragged into the mud by people who want to capitalize on a good reputation earned by men who are long dead. This sad little story was not one of Charatan's or Lane's proudest moments!"Herman G. Lane's heirs had no special interest in either Charatan or in Ben Wade and sold it to Dunhill Pipes Limited in 1978. Now, Dunhill had no need of machine-made series pipes like the Ben Wade as performed by Charatan / Lane since their own Parker-Hardcastle factory in Walthamstow had abounding capacities to turn out secondary pipes. Thus this was Ben Wade's second end. Charatan's Prescott Street factory was closed by no later than March of 1982 and Charatan was allowed to languish and discontinued in 1988.
The company was founded by Benjamin Wade in 1860 in Leeds, Yorkshire, where it was located for over a century. Ben Wade started as a pipe trader, but yet in the 1860's he established a workshop to produce briar pipes. The pipes were made in very many standard shapes - always extensively classic and "very British". Many models tended to be of smaller dimensions. Ben Wade offered a very high standard of craftsmanship and quality without any fil...ls. Thus the pipes were considered to be high grade and a major competitor to other famous English brands. The often heard comparison to Charatan seems to be a little bit inadequate because those days' Charatans were entirely handmade.
In the second World War the factory was destroyed by German air raids on Leeds. But the Ben Wade family decided to re-build it immediately after the war and pipe production was re-started soon and successfully linked to the fame from the pre-war years.Before the second war Ben Wade clustered their offerings into three price points: "Ben Wade" included the higher end pipes (eg the Larnix, Super Grain, Selected Grain, etc), "BW" included the mid-level pipes (eg Statesman, Natural Grain, County, etc), and "BWL" were the least expensive (eg Hurlingham, Adelphi, Tense Grain). Champion was in the last group, and in the 1930s at least retailed for 2/6.The Champion disappeared during the War when the Ben Wade line was materially slimmed down, presumably to reflect difficulties of supply. The name continued to appear in brand directories st least through the early sixties, however it's unclear whether production was actually resumed.Lane had the pipe making machines brought from Leeds to London and used the well esteemed name Ben Wade to start the fabrication of entirely machine-made pipes at Charatan's Prescott Street factory. (Some sources say "not earlier than 1973" but proven by cataloges this isn't true.) Alas the "new" Ben Wades were quite usual series pipes, copies of well known standard shapes. The pipes often showed hardly masqued fillings and were processed quite coarsely with hardly polished pre-moulded Ebonite stems. Therewith Ben Wade degenerated definitively to a second brand. The stamping now read "Made in London England" or just "London". Nothing was left from the quality of the pipes once made in Leeds!Quotation of an American pipe dabster: "It's a shame to see how a famous old family name can be dragged into the mud by people who want to capitalize on a good reputation earned by men who are long dead. This sad little story was not one of Charatan's or Lane's proudest moments!"Herman G. Lane's heirs had no special interest in either Charatan or in Ben Wade and sold it to Dunhill Pipes Limited in 1978. Now, Dunhill had no need of machine-made series pipes like the Ben Wade as performed by Charatan / Lane since their own Parker-Hardcastle factory in Walthamstow had abounding capacities to turn out secondary pipes. Thus this was Ben Wade's second end. Charatan's Prescott Street factory was closed by no later than March of 1982 and Charatan was allowed to languish and discontinued in 1988.
