| Archive for Dr. Grabow Pipes "America's One and Only" |
| ted |
BEYOND WESTBROOK, BERWYCK & BELVEDEREAs I've said, I once had a close relationship with Grabow, and can say a lot about the RJR coupon pipes that Grabow made and sold.I need some help on the coupon pipes from the late 70's till the late 80's. Even though I was still working for Grabow, I was lost as far as several coupon offers that were developed while I was at M/C. Grabow and Mastercraft had coupon offers in Argosy, Amphora, and Borkum Riff. I remember Douwe Egbert "color", and "x-tra. Nothing else. Zark-Paw. Now you'll see what "heimers does to you Can any of y'all fill in the blanks about Argosy, Amphora, or Borkum Riff? |
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| Sir Duke |
I will try. In fact this Rebel Without a Cause will Make it his mission.
Any ideas on a "back door" I might go through at UST to query? (respond Offline - PM or Email) I will query those names in eBay. Douwe Egbert? Explain. Zark-Paw? ditto BTW, my money is on Jim to answer these questions. If I can learn a bit more information, at least so I can pose the questions intelligently, I will gladly write to him. Would anyone in the "Hall of Fame" be able to enlighten us? Did the pic of the BRiff coupon on the back of Dills cleaners ring any bells with you? I'm on it ted, Tom |
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| ted |
Douwe Egbert made Amphora tobacco...and darn good coffee....Sorry
Zark-Paw is our own tamper maker,and wonderer of memory.....Sorry The offers were discontinued pre 91'. I don't think Jim will know, unless he has tried to resurrect them(what an idea). I was "in charge" of the "HOF" for the "NATD" for a while. Probably not, unless you mean another HOF. I've tried everything.....mowed acres.....several of the pipes were copied in the "Luther Marlow Blue Ridge Pipe Smokers Catalogue". I just don't know which went where... An enormous THANK YOU though |
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| Sir Duke |
BRiffsHere is an ad from UST in the 70's. Although not directly the coupon offer, I'd bet bottom dollar the pipe pictured is not dis-similar to the Grabow Freehand:
Third pipe from the top is a "borkum riff". Maybe the stamp will jog some memories. (I hope): 
May Borkum Riff fill your Grabow and or Mastercraft, TM |
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| ted |
Sir Duke...My "Ignorance is bliss", and I sure am blissfull. In all three cases..
Amphora, Argosy, and Borkum Riff, a pipe manufacturer preceded Grabow. There are pipes from all 3 tobaccos that are not Grabow, BUT Grabow made pipes for all three. I remember receiving Nording Freehands in Sparta as a redemption for one of these offers....even smoked one for a while. I "think" the Nording was replaced by the Israeli Freehand. |
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| ted |
Re: BRiffs
Now I am aggrivated. That is a Swedish or Danish pipe....while they owned us? |
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| Sir Duke |
Sorry.. not trying to aggravate ya. The plot might thicken before the mystery unfolds.Bill Taylor's site has a coupon Amphora coupon which reflects the X-tra tp which you speak. Bill collects "Venturi. The Pipe" which also appears on the coupn. Also a freehand available on the offer. http://www.thepipe.info/history/amphora.html?zoom_highlight=amphora the D.E. Logo is on the bottom Left (Douwe Egberts Royal Tobacco Factory) |
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| ted |
That certainly answers one question. Venturi made the color pipe for DE Amphora before Grabow. The coupon is EXACTLY what I should, and do,now,remember. Grabow was next on this one. Thanks SD. That's one...... | ||||
| ted |
Sir Duke...Do you know how to see the back side of the Douwe Egbert coupon? It should have pictures of the Freehand, pouch, racks, and most important the X-tra that Grabow copied.
I'm certain now that Grabow made a Color Viscount to replace the Color Venturi. That explanes the "DE Color" that I remember. Thanks. |
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| Sir Duke |
I'll email Bill Taylor and ask him if he has the original, and if so could he provide a scan..... Good thinking... |
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| LokoMac8 |
Re: coupon offers in Argosy, Amphora, and Borkum Riff
Now I know why I didn't help -- I couldn't. Your mention of these offers was the first I had really heard of them at the time and I haven't run across anything since. There are a few ads from a 1977 RTDA Annual that I scanned that show some of these products together, but none indicate or hint at coupon offers. DRB looks at a lot of stuff outside of Dr. Grabow, but I don't, so I'm not likely to see much about coupon offers for Mastercraft. 
I don't have many RTDA Annuals, unfortunately, but nothing like these ads had appeared in the three years prior. I don't know what ads may have appeared after 1978. RTDA Annuals are hard as heck to find and even harder to buy. They are either highly coveted, or they are considered "top secret" and not shared! --RJ-- |
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| drbridges |
Y'all is wasting time. Them coupons ain't good no more. They've respired. | ||||
| ted |
drb... I'm asking for help, not redemptions! | ||||
| drbridges |
And you may be the foremost expert in the world on DG coupon pipes, TD. I was aware of the RJR pipes, which were stamped as DG. But I didn't know about other coupon pipes before you brought it up.
Besides you, 'bout the only others who might know about coupon pipes during that time would be Luther and Jack. |
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| Editor |
ted,
Were the pipes stamped? |
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| Sir Duke |
I recieved a Response from Mr. Taylor in regards to http://www.thepipe.info/history/amphora.html?zoom_highlight=amphora :
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| ted |
SD...Thanks for that. After seeeing the Douwe Egbert coupon I remember a little more. The color was stamped DE Color, the X-tra was DE X-tra. The pouch was imported by Mastercraft and the racks were originally made by Decatur and later in Sparta by Spartacraft. I still don't know what the X-tra looked like, but am getting closer.
One of the other offers was for Wimbledon. I don't know whether or not it was DG Wimbledon. I think this was for Borkum Riff, but not sure. Argosy still has me completely in the dark. |
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| Mike Leverette |
I thought I had a coupon pipe from Borkum Riff; got up to look and sorry, it was Captain Black; Lane Limited offer. It is a great looking Canadian pipe though. | ||||
| Sir Duke |
THATS what I was thinking of. same exact thing. Told ted it was a canadian. I picked it out but it was too late to order. Captain Black. Three or two days agoI went to me Tobacco Cellar because I swore I had a Borkum Riff Pouch. That too turned out to be Captain Black. BR is the only tobacco I could not smoke. 
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| drbridges |
I went through stacks & stacks of pipe coupons I have ... nothing about Argosy, BR, or Amphora. Tons of PA, Rum&Maple, and a CH coupon. | ||||
| drbridges |
Searching thru eBay auctions, all I can find in Amphora pipes are marked as X-tra, and the Borkum Riff pipes are marked Natural.
The Amphora X-tra pipes don't look like Sparta products. The Borkum Riff Natural pipes do. 
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| Sir Duke |
Thank you Bill TaylorBill Taylor sent along the scans of the rest of the coupon. 1000 Thank you's:
Click to see full size image 
Click to see full size image 
Click to see full size image |
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| drbridges |
Them X-tras on the third page of the Amphora pamphlet sure look like Sparta mades. | ||||
| Sir Duke |
Absolutely. I'll email larger images upon request... |
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| ted |
Thanks for the coupon. I now remember Amphora. The racks were made in Sparta by the woodworking operation, Spartacraft. The pouch was imported by Mastercraft from Japan. The Freehands were Nording, sent to us in bulk just for this offer. The coupon shows "THE PIPE" as the color. Grabow just used a painted pipe and no-one ever re-printed the coupon. X-tra is Grabow.
83,60,81,?,85,47,42,65,69,19,69s,11. No mistaking those. The Borkum Riff is getting clearer. If anyone finds an old bag with pipe shapes printed on the inside cover, I'd REALLY like to see it. THANKS A LOT -ted- |
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| GrabowGuy |
The Amphora pipes were probably the best quality out of the group. | ||||
| robvolume |
I own an old bulldog shape pipe stamped with Borkum Riff. I got it off of Ebay for a few bucks and it is a great smoker. I can't post a picture right now because I am at work. | ||||
| ozark southpaw |
Rob,welcome to the DGCF! Great bunch of guys here! We like pictures! | ||||
| LokoMac8 |
Smokemasters and Union Leader
Speaking of coupons, I found this coupon below in a vintage can of UNION LEADER I recently acquired. May not be of much interest here, but it could be related to DR. Grabow pipe lore as it has an offer for the SMOKEMASTER pipe and has a Sparta address. Say, TED, do you think you could get Robert to "redeem" this for me if I send him a case of old railroad hats from my old cap collection? --RJ-- 
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| ted |
This Smokemaster can insert was placed in Briggs and Union Leader from the mid 70's till the early 80's. At the time these two tobacco brands were sold by US Tobacco.
I had forgotten about this offer. Thanks RJ. Yes, I expect that for you (and maybe a hat) Robert would redeem a RJR coupon for a Westbrook.......ted |
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| LokoMac8 |
Well, just so happens, I have a few of those, too! 
I was more partial to the old smooth BELVEDEREs, though! --RJ-- |
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