1-2-3 Sold! Recent Pipe-Auction Action: Difference between revisions

I wrote “Where’s The Real Pipe Action? I Say It’s At The Auction Block!” for ''Pipes and Tobaccos''’ Web Extras (now defunct) that can now be read at pipedia.org. Although I gave up collecting pipes a handful of years ago, I still follow the auction scene, so this, another tobacco tell-all, is what’s been happening these past few years.  

What follows is a series of pipes at public auctions held within the last five to ten years. For a balanced report, I present an amalgam of pipes from today and yesterday. Some may be worthy of their realized prices … depending on your perspective. I can judge whether the realized prices for the antique pipes were reasonable, but I will not comment on the prudence of spending this kind of money on any of the briar pipes I have included.  As to the sequence, I wanted to present the pipes in chronological order and by medium, but I was not always successful.   

First, Michael Parks’ rendition of the ancient Pyramid, Chichén Itzá, at the Maya ruins, in the April 2021 auction? The estimate was $600–$800; the winning bidder paid $3,000.

[[File:Rapaport-Pipe-Auctions-23-Ford.jpg|thumb|center|600px]]

[[File:Rapaport-Pipe-Auctions-24-Einstein.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, Christie’s, London]]

Six years later, on October 7, 2017, a Profiles in History auction (Calabasas, California) sold Lot 52, “Edward G. Robinson personal Benson and Hedges humidor” that “…contained (10+) tobacco pipes.” The estimate was $3,000–$5,000, and the lucky buyer won it for $4,500. But it’s a bit confusing. On the same day, Heritage Auctions sponsored an Entertainment & Multimedia/Profiles in Courage: The Personal Property Auction of Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds auction that contained Lot 1052, the same humidor with 14 pipes and a realized price of $5,400. It’s dyslexic, but the difference is just $900!

File:Rapaport-Pipe-Auctions-30-Robinson-BensonHedgesHumidor.jpg

File:Rapaport-Pipe-Auctions-30-Robinson-Pipes.jpg

Burt Reynolds. On June 15–16, 2019, Julien’s Auction hosted the sale of the property of the Burt Reynolds estate. Burt smoked cigars, so the catalog included many cigar cases and humidors, but he also owned an assortment of tobacco pipes, most of which were unremarkable. Lot 612: “Inlaid Pipe Stand and [5] Pipes, $1,000–$1,500”; Lot 613: “Pipe Stand and [9] Pipes, $1,000–$1,500”; Lot 615: “Pipe Stand and [3] Pipes, $800–$,1200”; Lot 616: “Pipe Stand and [5] Pipes, $500–$700; Lot 618: “Pipe Stand and [3] Pipes, $300–$500; and Lot 621: “[2] Tobacco Pipes,” in their pipe stands, $200–$300. These two lots were the highest bids.  

File:Rapaport-Pipe-Auctions-34-BurtReynolds.jpg|Lot 612, courtesy, julienslive.com

[[File:Rapaport-Pipe-Auctions-36-Stallone.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Courtesy, worthpoint.com]]

Admittedly, this meerschaum pipe was auctioned more than a decade ago, but I include it to prove a point, why its realized price far exceeded what I would have considered it, then, to have had a current-market value of only $400–$500. It was its provenance. It appeared in Freeman’s “Fine American Furniture & Decorative Art,” on November 14, 2009. It was probably carved in the late 1800s, and it’s not a meerschaum collector’s dream accession, if graded only by its carving, rarity of motif, or size. It was the attribution that dictated the frenetic bidding. The bowl is carved with two Native Americans, one holding a horse and an amber mouthpiece. On the fitted case is a metal plaque: “To Col. W. F. Cody/Buffalo Bill/from/George O. Starr.” Mr. Starr held many roles with the Barnum and Bailey Circus, including as press agent, foreign representative, and managing director. He oversaw Mr. Bailey’s interest in Europe, including the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show during its 1902–1906 tour. It is probable that Mr. Starr presented this pipe to Buffalo Bill Cody during this tour. The estimate was a whopping $6,000–$8,000, and it sold for $9,375.

File:Rapaport-Pipe-Auctions-46-Starr-BuffaloBull.jpg|Courtesy, freemansauction.com

File:Rapaport-Pipe-Auctions-46-Starr-BuffaloBull-2.jpg|Courtesy, freemansauction.com

In closing, I am reminded of A. B. MacAttammany’s “How to Push Sales of Pipes” (''Drug Trade Weekly'', July 10, 1920). He advised the retailer to use certain phrases to attract attention: “Don’t overlook this special sale on pipes”; “Do you want to buy a real briar at a right price?”; and “You won’t get another chance like this to buy a best briar.” They are applicable to the auction scene in this century. So, to all those who have the financial ability to purchase rare and unusual pipes at auction, ''carpe diem''!

[[Category:Ben Rapaport]]