Charatan’s Make (c.1976-79) Special 4 Smooth Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

While Dunhill may be Britain’s most famous pipe brand, Charatan is not only older, but has the honor of being the first to have made its pipes entirely in-house. “Charatan’s Make” referred to the fact that, at a time when other pipe companies were sourcing stummels and stems carved from other companies before assembling them in their factories and workshops, Charatan made every part of their pipes on the Charatan premises. So began a legacy of high-quality pipe-making under the Charatan name, one whose employees, at one time or another, included Joel Sasieni (later of Dunhill, then Sasieni fame), Stan Haney (later of Ashby Hall), Dennis Marshall (later of Milville), and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones (later of James Upshall).

While Charatan remains famous for its straight grain pipes, there was still a place within the make’s grading schemes for other kinds of beautiful briar patterns. The Special was one such grade. Introduced in the first half of the 20th century, during Reuben Charatan’s time at the helm of F. Charatan & Son (known as the “Reuben era,” or “Reuben’s era”), the Special grade was awarded to “Premier quality pipes, cut in ‘cross grain’ or ‘bird’s eye’ graining.” The Special remained a staple in Charatan’s catalog long after Reuben’s passing, with subsequent generations of ownership upholding his idea of what a special pipe should be.

Based on the nomenclature and stem logo, one looks to have been made around 1976-1979, during the early years of F. Charatan & Son’s acquisition by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. Charatan continued to manufacture the Special during this time, with production remaining largely the same as it had under Lane Ltd.’s ownership in the preceding 15 years. The pipe takes the form of a flaring, freehand English Dublin in Charatan’s typical style, with flame grain lapping around its distinctively wide bowl.

The condition is good. Some darkening and small scratches on the rim, minor finish fading, and chamber slightly over-reamed.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.94 / 23.87mm

Bowl Depth: 1.61″ / 40.89mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g