Charatan’s Make (First Lane Era; c.1961-5) Distinction De Luxe Smooth Panel Shank Dublin (Estate)

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), Dennis Marshall (previously of Barling, later of Milville), Dan Tennison, Stan Haney (later of Ashby Hall), and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones (later of James Upshall).

The “Distinction” was one of the grades awarded to straight grain pipes from Charatan’s freehand workshop. That is in part why these pipes were awarded such a lofty title. But there is another reason for choosing that word in particular: their finish. “Distinction” grade pipes were dressed in two distinct stains which gave the underlying grain an even more prominent appearance. One might consider it an early iteration of the “golden contrast” motif that features so prominently in artisan pipe making—and yet another instance of Charatan being far ahead of the curve in pipe design.

This particular Distinction is a De Luxe quality, which was originally a mid-range grade in its own right (during the Reuben years), but which came to be, for a time, a supplementary grade used on both natural sandblast pipes and on smooth grades like the Distinction. Judging by the nomenclature, this finely grained, panel shanked Dublin rendition will have been made around 1961-65, during Charatan’s meteoric rise to worldwide acclaim under the stewardship of Herman Lane and Lane Ltd.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening, minor handling marks, and some residual oxidation on the mouthpiece.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.74 / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.47″ / 37.33mm

Weight: 1.2oz / 36g