GBD Shape Numbers

GBD shape numbers are the numbers stamped on the shanks of GBD-branded pipes to indicate which mold the bowl came from. Ranging from a single digit up to four digits, these numbers alone give no information about date, quality, or factory. Records show that the firm, founded in Paris in 1850 and passed to the London-based Oppenheimer house at the turn of the century, used the same number sequence across all its production lines, whether made in France or England.

Where the Number Sits in the Stamp

In a typical GBD stamp, one face of the shank carries the line name alongside the GBD logo set in an oval, while the other face, or the underside, carries the place of manufacture and the shape number. Repair records give concrete examples of this: on one Dura Mount pipe, one side of the shank reads "Dura / GBD / Mount" while the other reads "London, England" along with the number 9488; on a French-made Coronet, the line name sits on top of the shank and "St. Claude" with the number 753 sits underneath. Although the layout of the stamp varies by period, the number is almost always on the same face as the country mark. For the naming of shank, bowl, and stem, see the entry on pipe anatomy.

How the Lists Describe a Number

The shape lists collectors rely on describe each number using three criteria: the family the bowl belongs to, the bend of the shank (straight, eighth-bend, quarter-bend, half-bend, full bend), and the cross-section of the shank (round, oval, diamond, square). If the stem has a saddle or a taper, that is added as well. In the lists, a question mark marks numbers with conflicting descriptions, and an asterisk marks bowls that don't quite fit the classic family; the abbreviation "rev" is used for bodies whose bowl leans forward relative to the shank. For the history of the family names themselves, see the entry on the origin of briar pipe shape names.

These lists are not considered complete. Their compilers note that some of the information comes secondhand and that conflicting descriptions have reached them for the same number; the recorded numbers are also only a small fraction of all the molds ever produced.

No Formula Runs from Number to Shape

Small clusters can be picked out within the sequence: numbers 254, 255, and 256 are all oval-shanked Canadians, and every number recorded between 310 and 315 is an apple bowl. But these clusters don't always form around bowl family; the six numbers between 9486 and 9491 share square shank work as their common trait, while their bowls are scattered across panel, apple, pot, and billiard shapes. Neighboring numbers frequently fall into wholly different families, and the available compilations show no rule running from number to shape.

Nor does the number specify which line is being referred to. Shape 753, an author shape, appears both in the French Coronet line and in the Dr. Plumb brand made by GBD; billiard number 9436 shows up in both the Prestige and Super Q lines, and in the compilations it is listed on two separate lines, once with a plain round stem and once with a saddle stem. Stem shape is therefore not a reliable measure: pipes bearing the same number were produced with different stems in different years and on different lines. Nor is it surprising to find a second-grade body carrying the same number as a first-grade GBD.

This number sequence remained in use until 1981, when GBD's production was merged with Comoy's into a single factory. In identifying a GBD, the number only takes on meaning together with the line name, the country stamp, and the body's dimensions.