“Ceci n'est pas seulement une pipe” Update

New info on the date, origins and maker of the pipe. This comes from Lia Schouten, who is a specialist on pipes from Gouda and a contact of my good friend Daan. He went through all the trouble of contacting her for me, so thanks a lot for that — he has recently quit smoking, so he is still a little bit fixated on tobacco-related artefacts.

The pipe probably comes from the late 19^th or early 20^th century and was made by an — apparently — famous French company by the name of “Gambier.” Gambier was a really big player in the pipe-making business, producing over 26 million pipes of various designs each year. There is still a small chance that the pipe comes from Gouda, though, because Gambier sold their old moulds that had gone out of fashion in France to Gouda pipemakers. It seems like the French are “avant-garde” in everything and the rest of the world gets stuck with yesteryears fashion…