Orlik

Orlik is the brand founded in London in 1899 by Louis Orlik, one of the familiar names in British pipe production for much of the twentieth century. The firm's address is recorded as Old Bond Street, a street that in those same years was also one of the centers of London's pipe and tobacco trade. Orlik followed a path somewhat different from the luxury Mayfair brands of its day: rather than a high price, it aimed to combine good craftsmanship with a reasonable price and solid after-sales service.

Development of the Company

Shortly after founding, the business became a family firm. Around 1907 the company's name took the form L & A Orlik; this change is explained by the joining of Louis's brother Alfred to the firm. In the first quarter of the century, a second base was established in Birmingham; this base's existence can be traced not only through records in industrial archives such as Grace's Guide but also through the stamps on silver rings. Archive records give the London address as 17-18 Old Bond Street. Looking at the catalogs, the company made not only briar pipes but also tobacco pouches, cigarette holders, cases, and lighters.

The brand's most enduring visual mark is the bewigged judge portrait used in its promotions. The accompanying slogan carries the same joke further, implying that those who choose the pipe are sensible, knowledgeable people.

The company was purchased by the Cadogan group, which brought London pipe firms together under one roof; most records give the year 1980 for this takeover, while some industrial archives note only the 1980s in general. In the same period, production moved along with other group brands such as Comoy's to the new factory established at Southend-on-Sea. From then on the brand name continued not as an independent workshop but as a branch of group production.

Stamps and Series

When dating an Orlik, the first place to look is the mouthpiece: on early pipes a round brass "O" inlay is set into it. On the shank stamp, the name is struck in capital letters, ORLIK, on a straight line; the origin mark likewise sits in the same arrangement, MADE IN ENGLAND. Examples stamped in serif letters are also known, though the years to which this variant belongs have not been determined. After the group's acquisition, this arrangement was dropped in favor of the group's shared Cadogan-brand stamp: MADE IN LONDON in a circle, with ENGLAND below on a straight line.

Early-period qualities were distinguished by letter codes. Pipes without a letter belonged to the Virgin series; the code A corresponded to Old Bond Street, T to Supreme, C to Corona, R to Old Root, L to De Luxe, and P to Prince Regent. An X appended at the end indicated the sandblasted version of the same series. Pipes coded M were meerschaum-lined; the code W belonged to the double-bore Double Bore model. Some lines, such as Clubman and Black Prince, carry number codes rather than letters.

The Name's Continuation in Denmark

From the mid-twentieth century onward, the Orlik name also began to be used on the tobacco side, and this branch moved to Denmark. The Orlik Tobacco Company, which today produces in Assens, is part of the Scandinavian Tobacco Group; the brand's best-known product is Golden Sliced, a Virginia-based flake. The judge portrait continues to appear on these tins as well.