Charatan’s Make First Lane Era (c.1961-5) Sandblasted 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 (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).

F. Charatan & Son was rather late to the sandblasting game, all things considered. In fact, when they were introduced during the Reuben Era, the blasting process itself was outsourced to a window glazing company. Ultimately, Charatan brought sandblasting in-house and, soon enough, the company had created one of the most memorable relief finishes of the 20th century. Like the Barling Fossil, Charatan’s sandblasts were especially craggy and decked in ring grain patterns; like the Dunhill Tanshell, many of Charatan’s sandblasted pipes were given a very natural dress, which allowed the pipe to color over time as it was smoked. With the inauguration of its freehand workshop in the 1950s, the Free Hand Relief was born, which combined these aspects of Charatan’s sandblast finishing with the freeform designs of its master carvers.

Though the nomenclature is a little faint, this looks to be from the Free Hand Relief series, given that it is a non-standard, freehand shape, and that it wears the series’ tan sandblast finish. A long Dublin in Charatan’s signature style, it’s a beautifully textured piece, with ring grain running the length of the bowl’s circumference. Based on the nomenclature, specifically the “MADE BY HAND” sans any additional mention of the City of London, this should be an early Lane era make, produced some time between 1961 and 1965.

The condition is very good. Some wear to the rim, minor finish fading, and chamber slightly over-reamed.

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.96 / 24.38mm

Bowl Depth: 1.64″ / 41.65mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g