Charatan’s Make First Lane Era (1961-5) Selected Extra Large Smooth Freehand Sitter Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

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 (who went on to work at Dunhill, before leaving again to start the Sasieni make), Dan Tennison, Stan Haney (later of Ashby Hall), and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones (later of James Upshall).

During the Reuben era of Charatan pipes—the time when Reuben Charatan owned and operated F. Charatan & Son—the Selected was the penultimate grade achievable by any given pipe, surpassed in quality only by the Supreme. During the Lane era(s)—the time when Herman Lane’s Lane Ltd. took ownership of F. Charatan & Son—the company’s grading system was continually expanded, with new grades inserted within and—in some cases—beyond the modest four that Reuben Charatan had worked by. The Selected remained in the upper echelons of Charatan’s system, however, and, true to their name, these were select pipes, available to the select few who could find and afford one. Those who preferred the make’s famous Straight Grain pipes a little bigger than average had the option of something like a Selected Extra Large, though these were even scarce (not to mention expensive) than a “normal” Selected.

This particular Charatan is an example of the aforementioned Selected Extra Large grade. Based on the nomenclature, it comes from what is often referred to as the “first Lane era,” that being the years between approximately 1961 and 1965, when F. Charatan & Son was propelled into international acclaim, especially for freehand pipes such as this one.

This was a time, of course, when Charatan had to compete with a new wave of artisan pipes coming out of Scandinavia, with Danish handmades being particularly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs. Naturally, the English freehand carvers often looked toward their counterparts across the North Sea for inspiration and, in turn, the Danes and the Swedes picked up a thing or two from English briars. Danish pipe enthusiasts will likely notice something quite striking about this particular Charatan, as it is quite reminiscent of a rather famous shape created by one of the pioneers of the “Danish” style. That shape is the “Walrus” and the pioneer is Sven Knudsen, who carved Walrus renditions under his own name and created versions to be crafted at the W.O. Larsen workshop, of which he was the first foreman. Could the carver of this Charatan have been intentionally creating an homage to Knudsen or W.O. Larsen, or was it simply coincidence? It is hard to gauge, though the mastery that went into making it is undoubtable.

The condition is very good. Minor rim darkening, slight finish fading, and slight handling marks.

Details:

Length: 6.7″ / 170.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 21.84mm

Bowl Depth: 1.83″ / 46.48mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 54g