The outline of this case predicts an unusual pipe.
Click to enlarge
The extension is made of Albatross bone (Radius).
Ends of shank, mouthpiece and extension are fitted with silver work. The silver on the shank is hallmarked:
EB on WB : Barling
Leopard : London city
M : 1887
(See
Assay Office London)
The use of Albatross wing bone on pipes reaches back to the second half of the 19th century with the famous
"Origine" pipe by Butz Choquin
(1). But the length of the extension proposed here on a pipe by
Barling is striking and surpasses by far the dimensions of the French bone.
Stem and extension have a threaded tenon.
The ambrolite (or bakelite) stem is'nt the original one. The original amber has been replaced by a synthetical material. Nevertheless the initial shape and typical button seem to have been respected.
Dunhill too used to market reading pipes equipped with removal extensions.
In this example the ebonite extension is noticeably shorter and the threaded tenon is replaced with a spigot fitting avoiding thus issues to keep the three parts lined up.