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Stamped \"Dr Perl\" - the name Vauen gave the activated-carbon filter system it introduced in 1934 - yet no filter sits in this stem. That contrast is the first thing worth noting about this shank.
This is a Vauen churchwarden: a sandblast-finished, straight-shanked pipe fitted with a vulcanite saddle stem and a P-lip fishtail mouthpiece, mounted to the shank with a brass band. The shank carries the stamp Vauen Dr Perl 80.
Bowl: briar
Stem: vulcanite
Mouthpiece: P-lip fishtail
Filter: none
Stamped: \"Vauen Dr Perl 80\"
Vauen traces to 1848, when Karl Ellenberger and Carl August Ziener opened the first German pipe factory, in Nuremberg. In 1901 that firm merged with Gebhard Ott\'s works, founded in 1866, to form Vereinigte Pfeifenfabriken Nurnberg, managed under Ernst Eckert of the Ott family. In 1909 Adolf Eckert coined the name VAUEN itself, drawn from the V of Vereinigte and the N of Nurnberg. The firm has remained family-run since; Alexander Eckert, fifth generation, has headed it since 1982.
The Dr Perl name on this shank reaches back to 1934, when Vauen introduced the Dr. Perl junior filter, a 9mm activated-carbon design and, by the firm\'s own account, a world first for the format. It became so standard to the German market that today the great majority of pipes sold there still carry a 9mm filter chamber. This particular pipe, though, is built without one: the seller reports no filter fitted, and the bore runs open through the shank into the chamber.
THE MARKS
- \"Vauen Dr Perl 80\" - stamped on the shank, as read
Churchwardens run long by definition, and the extra length between bowl and lip is the point of the shape: it puts distance, and some cooling, between the smoker\'s face and the burning chamber, and lets the pipe rest across the hand or a table without tipping forward the way a short-shanked pipe can. The bowl here is modest against the 215mm overall length, with a chamber 18mm across and 34mm deep, proportions that keep the weight manageable at the end of a long reach. The brass band at the shank reinforces the joint between wood and vulcanite, a common fitting on pipes where a long stem run puts extra strain on the mortise.
Sandblasting removes the softer growth from the briar\'s surface and leaves the harder grain standing proud, which puts the wood\'s own structure where the hand grips the shank and bowl. It is also a practical finish on a working pipe: the raised texture masks small surface marks that a smooth polish would show plainly. Finish and grain detail beyond what is described here should be read from the photographs.
Condition: the seller describes the pipe as pre-smoked and in good vintage condition. No cracks, chips, or repairs are indicated.
THE MEASUREMENTS
- Length: 215.0mm (8.5\")
- Bowl height: 39.0mm
- Bowl width: 28.0mm
- Chamber diameter: 18.0mm
- Chamber depth: 34.0mm
- Weight: 33.0g
Ships from the Faridunhill / Pipe Collectors Encyclopedia archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe.
SKU: 017
