Calabash Pipe with Meerschaum Bowl Signed BBB.

This is a Calabash type pipe made of a dried gourd in to which a mildly domed meerscaum cup and vulvanite stem have been inserted. This type of pipe has an air chamber beneath the bowl which serves to cool, dry, and mellow the smoke. The vulcanite stem is decorated with an ivory ring and small ivory circles. The stem is marked - BBB Hand Made. Adolph Frankau established Adolph Frankau & Co In 1847 in London, and imported pipes and tobacco related items. The initials BBB once stood for Blumfeld’s Best Briars after Louis Blumfeld, who was Frankau's protege, and took over the management of the Adolph Frankau Company in 1856. Theirs was the first pipe ever to have a registered English trade mark. By the early 20th century, Adolf Frankau & Co had its head office, warehouse and showroom in Queen Victoria Street, and a factory at 154 High Street, Homerton. In the 1920s A Frankau & Co were integrated into "A. Oppenheimer & Co. Ltd ". After Blumfeld's death, the BBB gradually became known as Britain’s Best Briars.