Mattner

My Name is Robert Mattner,

Willie Mattner was my father, he was born on the Polish/Russian border in 1914. The family endeared very hard times in those days thank's to WW1 and later the Great Depression. As a result my father left home at the age of fourteen to join the merchant navy.

It so happened that when WW11 broke out his ship The Hagen on which he was first ships engineer was in Durban harbor undergoing engine repairs. The ship was impunded because it was Hamburg, German registered. All the crew went to internment camps around Pretoria, mainly Baviaanspoort and Leeuwkop. Where they remained for the entire war.

After the war Germany had nothing to offer and my father found work with the ship builders James Brown and Hammer in durban. It was at a local wedding that he met my mother. After they married my father moved to Johannesburg and joined my Grandfather in the pipe making industry. The Company was called Sameks pipe hospital at that stage.

My Granfather was a very talented artist who had learnt his pipe making skills and carving working for Andreas Bauer Meerschaum pipes in Austria his country of birth. Over the years until his passing he passed on his skills to my father. Later the name of the Company changed to Mattners pipe hospital.

Being of Eastern Prussian extract my father would accept only the best Corsican briar for his pipes. The briar was obtained from France. He would make regular visits to the suppliers and spend a great deal of time choosing his materials. The grain of the briar as well as minimal wood cavaties were of utmost importance.

As a child I had to help in the factory finely tweaking the finished products. My father would only accept the best quality workmanship. His favourite saying was "If you are going to do a job do it properly or do not do it at all." Thus all the products he turned out were only of the finest quality, nothing else was acceptable and therefore the name is to this day associated with the finest quality pipes and to own one is a priveledge.

Due to sanctions briar became harder to comeby and my father was forced to make a change in material fo his pipes. In later years he turned to using calabash which he obtained from a supplier in Ladismith in the Great Karoo. All those pipes were in Sherlock Holmes style. Unfortunately the calabash powder ruined his eyesight and eventually could do pipe repairs only working from home.

It was during this time that my father met Ebenhart and passed his skills on to him. Today Eberhart has progressed to be a fine pipe maker of exceptional skill.

Willi Mattner passed away peasefully in the Johannesburg German old age home at the age of ninety two.