Oppenheimer Pipe

Oppenheimer Pipe is the name of the industrial group that grew out of an import-export house founded in 1860 by a London-based merchant family, and that formed the backbone of British pipe production in the first half of the twentieth century. It is known less for pipes bearing its own name than for the brands it purchased and the factories it established.

From Trading House to Factory

According to records, the firm was founded in 1860 by the Oppenheimer brothers and their partner Louis Adler; sources differ over which brother stood at the head of the founding, between the names Charles and Adolph. The company at first did not make pipes, but carried the output of continental European workshops to Britain and imperial markets. In subsequent decades, the division of labor among the partners changed and management consolidated into fewer hands; during this period the firm prepared the ground for the shift from trading to manufacturing.

In 1902 the company acquired the French maker Marechal, Ruchon & Cie, and with it the GBD brand. A year later, in 1903, it opened its own pipe factory in London. According to accounts, the plant only reached the capacity envisioned at its founding once the demand generated by the First World War arrived; it stood idle in the pre-war years.