In the Peterson collector market, the term "pre-Republic" is often thrown about. For those of us that are not quite up on our Irish political history, what this means is that this pipe was made prior to the creation of the Republic of Ireland in 1949. There are really two main types of Pre-Republic pieces. The first would be those pipes stamped "Irish Free State", indicating that the pipe was made between 1922 and 1937, and the second, stating the pipe was "Made In Ireland", denoting that the pipe was made between 1937 and 1949.
This particular piece is of the latter "Made in Ireland" category. It’s a Peterson's "PREMIER SELECTION" which was, if I recall, one step below the Supreme. It's a light stained pipe with fantastic graining. The shape is a classic bulldog. The stem is a replacement but it's free from toothmarks and overall the pipe is in good to very good condition.
To see closeup photos of the grain, please click this link.
Markings read: PETERSON'S, PREMIER SELECTION, MADE IN IRELAND, 155. Measurements: 5 3/4" long, bowl is 1 1/2" wide and 1 7/8" tall. The pipe weighs 32 grams. This one is about a Dunhill group 4 in capacity.
Condition:
7.75 out of 10. Issues: Well for starters, there's one full point off for the replacement stem, although the stem has no toothmarks and is in decent shape. Beyond that, the nomenclature is buffed quite a bit. It's all there, and fully readable, it's just nowhere near deep anymore. The rim has some moderate darkening and mild rounding. Finally, there are some handling marks and a couple shallow dings here and there on the bowl and shank. Still, for a Pre-Republic piece - especially one of this caliber - you can't go wrong for under $200.
