Lorenzo Berna 8780 Smooth Billiard Estate Pipe 9mm Filter

BERNA over 8780 on the underside of the shank, and on its side the Lorenzo script that ends in a small pipe outline: this is a Lorenzo billiard in a smooth finish, with a fat shank and an acrylic saddle stem.

The shank runs straight along the bottom and curves along the top. The acrylic saddle stem ends in a fishtail mouthpiece and takes a 9mm filter. All three stamp lines read clearly in the close-ups. It is pre-smoked, in very good condition, with a tiny bite mark on the stem.

The Lorenzo story begins in 1900 in Gallarate, in the province of Varese, where Fratelli Lana opened as the third pipe maker of the district, after Rossi (1886) and Ceresa (1897). From 1922 the firm worked with the Tagliabue family, merchants in Milan, and its exports grew; by 1939 it had 120 workers. In 1946 Tagliabue took the business over as the Manufattura di Pipe Tagliabue.

Around 1950 Lorenzo Tagliabue took charge. He studied the work of Castello and Brebbia, drew models of his own and moved the house upmarket. In 1969 the brand was renamed Lorenzo Pipes, because another Tagliabue firm already existed. When Lorenzo Tagliabue retired in 1983 the name was licensed for a short time to Comoy's of London. In 1988 Riccardo Aliverti and Gabriella bought all rights from the family and production started again; the Aliverti family had been in the trade since Romolo Aliverti joined Lana in 1920. Today the better Lorenzo lines are made in Italy, while some cheaper current lines are made in Albania. The stamps in the photographs do not name a country.

THE MARKS

- BERNA stamped on the underside of the shank
- 8780 stamped under BERNA
- Lorenzo script wordmark with a small pipe outline, stamped on the side of the shank

A billiard is the classic pipe shape: a bowl shaped like a cylinder, set on a shank. On this pipe the shank is thick, flat along its lower line and curved along the upper one. The bowl stands 50 mm high and 39 mm wide around a chamber 20 mm across and 42 mm deep. The acrylic stem steps down from a saddle at the shank end and finishes in a fishtail mouthpiece.

The finish is smooth. Grain lines run along the shank and up the bowl, as the close-ups of the stamps show.

The Lorenzo name went onto the pipes with the 1969 rename; Tagliabue-era pipes before that rarely carry it, so this pipe is most likely from 1969 or later. The meaning of BERNA and of the number 8780 is not recorded.

Condition: pre-smoked, in very good condition, with a tiny bite mark on the stem.

THE MEASUREMENTS

- Length: 150 mm (5.91 in)
- Bowl height: 50 mm (1.97 in)
- Bowl width: 39 mm (1.54 in)
- Chamber diameter: 20 mm (0.79 in)
- Chamber depth: 42 mm (1.65 in)
- Weight: 52 g (1.83 oz)

Ships from the Faridunhill archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe. SKU: 470