Representative case

May 2006

This attractive handmade case was used by the representative of the Gubbels pipe factory in Roermond. It is a wooden case covered with black artificial leather that, when you open the buckles shows six drawers, each with oblique compartments for a dozen briar pipes. At the bottom is another compartment that is higher for storing pipe bags, boxes or other items. What makes the suitcase so ingenious is that when the lid is opened it folds down to the floor and then the whole series of drawers can be pulled out, resting on the lid like a wide fan. This way the entire assortment of six dozen or 72 pipes stored in the case is displayed in one go. With such a case, representatives visited the tobacconists' shops to promote their pipes. Nice enough, not only has the case been preserved, it still retains the selection of the factory that belongs to it. This selection shows the variation of products over a period of more than thirty years and thus forms the memory of the pipe factory of our Royal Gubbels. even more special is that all pipes are still unsmoked, showing how impressive such a representative case looked at the time.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 17.900

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