Searching antique shops & malls has always been a hit or miss situation. You go hoping to find something worthwhile and you get nothing. Or, you walk in not looking and you find treasure. Last week was definitely a “finding treasure when not looking” one for me – mostly, anyway.
My wife collects salt & pepper shakers and pie birds, and I while every place we go seem to have them, not all are ones she wants.
https://pappyjoesblog.com/collecting-estates-what-i-look-for/
Bayou Tobacco Savinelli
About two weeks ago, we visited The Pink Elephant in Baton Rouge and I looked at several pipes in a couple of display cases. The rough condition made the asking prices too high for no-name basket pipes. In explaining this to the lady helping me, she mentioned that she had just purchased a number of pipes in an estate sale and but hadn’t put them in her booths yet. I made a note to stop back in on the drive to Texas the following week.
She had added 10 pipes and while most weren’t of interest to me at the prices she was asking, I did find a Savinelli 614 for $34. The stamping – Bayou Tobacco over Savinelli Product – caught my eye though. This made it a house pipe for Bayou Tobacco, a Baton Rouge brick & mortar store that closed down in 2018. Even with the heavy charring on the rim, the pipe was in good condition. A new 614 retails around $100.
The next day, while visiting a sister in Lumberton, Texas, we decided to check out a few antique malls in the area. For a pipe collector, the pickings were slim, but I did find a small Scottie Dog pipe rest. I passed on a six-pipe rack with a ceramic jar because the jar just didn’t seem to fit the rack and there were no markings on the jar.
Texas Yields Results
Remember I said I often find treasures when not expecting too? That was the results on Saturday in the little town of Vidor, Texas where my other three sisters and their families live. A small “antique” shop had opened since our last visit there and we decided to see what they had. Usually finding flea market quality items, the shop had a good mix of antique and vintage items. I found a small Brighton #3 tobacco cutter priced at $99 first. I considered it too high for a reproduction piece.
The cutter looks like one made by Wrightsville Hardware Co. of Wrightsville, PA in the early 1900s and re-issued by John Wright Co. in the 1970s. Originally unpainted cast iron with tobacco leaf designs on the handle, the paint was added in the re-issue.
Tabak Jar
Next, I found a ceramic tobacco jar with a surprising price of $15. I’ve tobacco jars priced in the $50 – $75 range but with cracks. (This doesn’t include porcelain jars I’ve seen priced over $100.) Since this one was in good shape and the word “Tabak” on it, I decided to bring it home with me.
Here’s where I got a good deal. I mentioned the cutter to the shop owner, and he said he would look at it and see if he could reduce the price. He dropped it to $60 and I took it. He also cut the price on the jar to $8. That was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Bayou Tobacco
I mentioned that Bayou Tobacco had closed last summer earlier. A few weeks ago, I received a notification from their Facebook page that the phone number was updated. I sent them a message and found out the owner was in the process of re-opening. Anytime a tobacco shop opens – or, in this case, reopens – is good news. Unfortunately for pipe smokers in Baton Rouge, the shop is being moved to Tylertown, Mississippi, about a two-hour drive.
