Major Restorations for an Early 20th Century HBB Gourd Calabash

(DadsPipes) The Gourd Calabash pipe, in its current form with gourd body, rubber stem and meerschaum or clay bowl, has been around since the Second Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902). According to this article on smokingpipes.com, the war led to shortages of briar in Cape Town, pushing pipe makers to find an alternative material. Gourds had been used by the indigenous population as smoking instruments since the 1600s, so it was natural for European pipe makers to start experimenting with this local commodity. Continued