BBB

BBB is the pipe brand of Adolph Frankau & Co, founded in London in 1847. The brand's most familiar mark is three letters set inside a diamond-shaped frame; however, sources disagree on what the letters stand for. One reading holds that the initials belong to Louis Blumfeld, who headed the firm for many years (Blumfeld's Best Briars); in later generations the same mark was read as Britain's Best Briars, and collector sources also give the reading Best British Briar. Because the stamp is thought to date to 1876, when the British trademark registry opened, BBB is referred to in pipe circles as "the first registered pipe brand." Since the registry's first entry belongs to a beer brand, this title is only a claim to priority within the pipe trade specifically; the record numbers themselves have also not been independently confirmed.

Founding and the Blumfeld Era

Adolph Frankau settled in London in 1847 and founded a business importing smoking accessories and meerschaum pipes. Louis Blumfeld, who joined the firm at fourteen, took over its management at just eighteen following Frankau's death in 1856. Under Blumfeld the sales network expanded into British Empire markets such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India; in Europe, Switzerland and Denmark became important buyers, and a branch was also operated in New York.

The need for production of its own in London became apparent at the turn of the century. The firm opened its factory in 1898 and, the following year, was formally registered as a pipe manufacturer and seller. In the same years a separate department was set up producing calabash pipes from gourds imported from South Africa; it is reported that while BBB used meerschaum for the bowl cup of these pipes, some competitors preferred plaster, or even asbestos. The supply of gourds always remained fragile, both because of the difficulty of cultivation and rising demand; interest did not return after the First World War, and the calabash left the catalog before the 1930s.

Quality Grades, Stamps, and Technical Experiments

Products were long offered in two grades. At the top was Own Make, made from briar; this name changed to Best Make in the 1930s. Below it were pipes stamped simply "BBB," and part of this lower line is thought to have been imported from Saint-Claude workshops. Stamp archives show the top grade itself diversified over time: by mid-century the names Rare Grain, Virgin, Walnut, and Thorneycroft appear under Own Make, while Ultonia and the two-star-marked Two Star filled the lower ranks. Names like Chubby, Golfer, Dreadnought, and Cutty were dedicated lines opened for particular shapes or sizes. On early pipes the brand was indicated by a metal diamond badge inlaid into the top of the stem; in the later period the badge was replaced by a stamp struck directly into the surface.

The firm is also remembered for a few technical experiments. The paper-filtered Mackenzie line is, according to records, traced to a longer stem proposed in an 1891 letter by English physician Sir Morell Mackenzie; the line ran until the 1960s as one of the brand's longest-lived products. The Glokar system pipe features a chamber that collects moisture along with a specially shaped stem that seats against the lip; because of these two details the model is often mentioned alongside Peterson system pipes. BBB is also said to be one of the firms that gave its name to the Lovat shape, known for its short saddle stem; other firms used the same name in the same years as well.

The Oppenheimer and Cadogan Era

The 1920s were hard for English pipe manufacturers; Adolph Frankau & Co came under the control of importer A. Oppenheimer & Co in these years. Other established names such as Comoy's of London were gathered under the same umbrella, and Cadogan Investments Limited was founded to run the group's pipe business; the company was entered in the registry in 1928. Cadogan eventually consolidated production at a single factory around Southend-on-Sea on the Essex coast. Cadogan Investments Limited was struck from the registry in 2012; while the BBB name continues to be mentioned among the group's brands, collector interest remains focused mainly on the pre-Cadogan London production.