Over the past ten years or so now I have been picking up older Yello Bole pipes. I find that the briar is not bad – some say they are Kaywoodie’s lower line and I suppose that is probably true. The thing that attracts me to them is the stain and stem combinations, the logo inserts in both the stems and shanks. The five photos below show the variety of logos in my pipes. I have several that have what is known as the propeller inset – the first two photos show that inset. I have only seen the propeller inset in the stems and not in the briar itself. The next three photos show the circle inset. The first is a yellow coloured Bakelite or acrylic that is inset in the shank itself next to the KBB cloverleaf stamping. The last two photos show the inset brass rings that are placed in the stem material.

The next two photos show two of my pipes with the logos visible – the first is a nice little Yello Bole apple with a yellow stem and the propeller stem logo. The stamping on this one says that it is a patent pipe and has the KBB in the cloverleaf stamped on the shank. I really like the colour combination of the stain on the briar and the yellow stem. The second pipe is another Yello Bole apple with the brass O insert on the stem. The combination of colours is once again a winner for me. This one is also stamped with the KBB in the cloverleaf.

The final photo in the lot shows my collection of Yello Bole pipes all together. I have two of the propeller logos on the stem, two of the brass O on the stem and one with the yellow O in the shank. The last two on the right are my Yello Bole Bamboo shank pipes. They are a great looking lot of American pipe history. Does anybody have any idea as to the dates the various logos and stamping were used on Yello Bole Pipes? I would appreciate any information that anyone can add. Thank you.

Since posting this a few moments ago I found this web site that gives some help in dating Yello Bole Pipes http://www.otcpipes.com/ybdating.html  It looks like my pipes have some old dates. The pipes with propeller logos appear to be made in the 1930’s or 1940’s. The pipe with the yellow circle logo imprinted into the shank of the briar was made in the 1930’s. Those with the brass O seem also to have been made in the 1930’s. Looks to me that most of my Yello Boles are old timers!