1980s-Era Royal Comoy Pipe?

[rmbittner]

I don’t have a large pipe collection—around 40-some—but I’ve finally gotten around to photographing them and putting the relevant information on a spreadsheet. (Hey, it keeps me from spending hours tweeking my SmokingPipes Wish List…)

I have a very nice Group 4-ish billiard that I personally purchased new for about $40 around 1988-89 (in the US), and it’s stamped “Royal Comoy.” I haven’t been able to find out anything online about this pipe. It seems that much earlier Comoy’s pipes were graded “Royal,” but that’s not what this is. It does not have an inlaid C, and it does not say “Comoy’s“; it’s just “Royal Comoy.” It is also carries the traditional Comoy’s circle stamping “Made in London England” and a shape number: 332. It has one tiny fill that went completely unnoticed for the last 35 years! I only just discovered it when I took a magnifying glass to the stummel.

I’m assuming it’s a Comoy’s second line, but I’m just wondering if anyone here knows anything more about them.

FWIW, it’s a wonderful smoking pipe.

 

[ssjones]

Once the merger occurred in 1981-ish, Comoys and GBD launched many new lines. In a sense, they were all second-line like.

 

[doctorbob]

It is a grade stamp that was largely maintained from the 1930's on. Originally a very high grade, towards the end... Not so much.

The stamping changed a little over time with ROYAL COMOYS (no apostrophe) initially, then ROYAL COMOY for the bulk of the 50's - 70's, then an apparent reversion back to ROYAL COMOYS at some point late in the pre-Cadogan era