Chinese opium pipe

Added by Alan Quirk

Located under Memorabilia

Story behind the treasure: Saturday afternoon, four days befor Christmas 1950, damp and dreary. Young soldier exploring Plymouth@s Barbican stands before scruffy junk shop studying dirty metal item in window. Partof model steam engine or smokers pipe? Enters - asks proprietor. Replies - "opium pipe". "How much"? "Five shillings". "Only have four". "Well it's Christmas - yours for four". Two florins changed hands. Several hours polishing changed the dirty green patterned base. Genuine artical or tourist artifact? I don@t know, but nearly 60 years on I still have my cherished (unused) pipe!