by Kenneth Lieblich

Sometimes a pipe says, ‘Take me home’. Well, that’s what this GBD Original 9134 medium billiard said to me. This model displays GBD’s usual understated elegance and features a beveled rim, tight grain, and a black vulcanite taper stem – a classic look. I found this pipe in a bag of pipe junk. Real clunkers. I’m not going to name names, but you can imagine some of them. What on earth was this pipe doing along with the dross? I only have finished photos of this pipe for you because I lost all of the photos of the restoration of this pipe – but it was a bog-standard restoration anyway. The ‘Original’ line is not one that is seen too frequently. It is really handsome and it will join my own collection.

First, a quick look at the markings. On the left side of the shank, we see GBD (in an oval) [over] Original. On the right side of the shank, we see London England [over] 9134. It also has the inset brass logo on the stem. All this confirms that it’s an older (id est, pre-merger) pipe, but I wouldn’t want to hazard much of a guess on its age. Perhaps 1960s or 70s? If you know, please let me know.

This GBD Original 9134 medium billiard is a beauty and I have decided to add it to my collection. It was a pleasure to work on. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5¾ in. (146 mm); height 1⅞ in. (46 mm); bowl diameter 1⅓ in. (34 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1 oz. (30 g). If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.