Dunhill 1978 Root Briar 41011 Smooth Apple Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

To veteran pipe smokers, Dunhill needs no introduction. Beginning in 1907, Alfred Dunhill began selling Dunhill pipes at the tobacconist shop he owned on London’s Duke Street. Very quickly, these pipes gained the reputation of being the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of pipes due to how expertly crafted they were. Today, Dunhill is likely Britain’s most famous pipe manufacturer, and continues to produce some of the most treasured pipes a smoker can buy.

The period between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s saw something of a transition for Dunhill pipes, part of which was the birth of its modern standardized shape system. But rather than today’s four-digit system, the first systemized shapes bore 5-digits, with the last digit indicating certain changes in design that simply weren’t included in the four-digit system. Even when these extra design elements weren’t present, the shapes themselves often strike as quite different to the “same” ones that came after. This group 4 apple, for example, made in 1978, is noticeably wider and more squat than its contemporary 4101 counterpart, with a stature that almost reminds of the old LB shape, but in apple form. Aside from the shape, it’s also one of the nicest examples of a Root Briar finish I’ve come across that wasn’t a Dead Root (DR) variety. Root Briars are, of course, intended to be of superior grain quality, hence the light blonde stain, though how this one didn’t earn that extra DR accolade is a little beyond me.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original (slightly flaked) bowl coating. it also comes with its original box and sleeve. It has a few very minor scratches around the bowl, but nothing major.

 

Details:

Length: 5″ / 127.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.74 / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.2″ / 36.48mm

Weight: 1.2oz / 36g