Charatan’s Make First Lane Era (1961-5) Supreme Smooth Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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 (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).

Charatan’s Supreme grade was introduced during the make’s Reuben era, i.e., the years between approximately 1910 and 1960, when Reuben Charatan owned and operated F. Charatan & Son. Supremes were, per midcentury catalogs, “first quality, perfectly grained specimens” as far was pipes went, to the point where (again, per Charatan), “Nothing finer can possibly be obtained.” The Supreme was the highest-grade a Charatan pipe could receive, and Reuben Charatan was so protective of these pipes that, until around the mid-1950s, he assigned himself the sole responsibility of turning bowls for them.

In the mid-1950s, Reuben loosened the restrictions somewhat as to who was allowed to turn Charatan’s finest straight grain pipes, the Supreme included, though not because his standards had dropped—quite the opposite, in fact. The later 1950s were a time when Charatan’s popularity exploded, due in no small part to Herman Lane becoming the make’s US distributor, and Lane’s approach to marketing did not shy from raising expectations. The later 1950s were also a time when F. Charatan & Son first discovered the advantages of “freehand” briar carving and, simultaneously, that Reuben’s apprentices (such as a young Barry Jones) had the potential to match their master’s art.

As the Lane years went by, Charatan’s grading system expanded considerably, though the Supreme remained within the upper end of the make’s output. Though I did not spot a Lane Ltd. symbol, based on the block-letter “MADE BY HAND” nomenclature, this one will have been made during what is sometimes referred to as the “first Lane era,” which were the years between Lane’s original, circa 1961 acquisition of the make and 1965. These years are considered among Charatan’s best, perhaps only rivaled by the Reuben era (though it tends to depend on the style of pipes one prefers, as Reuben era pipes were more traditionally inclined). Beautifully grained and surprisingly large (especially for a piece not designated as an “Extra Large”), one could consider it an artefact from the meteoric rise of the English freehand pipe, which Charatan, of course, spearheaded.

This pipe is completely unsmoked. It comes with a presentation case, though I’m unsure if this was how the pipe was originally sold, or if a previous owner added that themselves. It’s a nice touch either way.

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.97 / 24.63mm

Bowl Depth: 2.14″ / 54.35mm

Weight: 3.5oz / 102g