Charatan’s Make (First Lane Era; c.1961-5) Selected Extra Large (Estate)

English pipe companies have played an instrumental role in the development of the industry over the last 200 years, but few can be said to have had quite the same impact on pipe making as F. Charatan and Son, the company behind Charatan pipes. Founded by Prussian-born Frederick Charatan in 1866, the company began as a small meerschaum workshop in London, before expanding to into briar pipes. The company would quickly become one of the nation’s leading briar pipe manufacturers, and even Alfred Dunhill sourced pipes from the former before establishing his own factory.

Charatan was a tightly controlled operation, renowned for the quality of its pipes. 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, hence the iconic “Charatan’s Make” nomenclature. Furthermore, Frederick’s son, Reuben Charatan, was an early champion of the straight grain pipe, and for much of his time at the helm of F. Charatan and Son, he would not permit anyone but himself to turn the bowls that met the standard for the make’s highest grades.

This was only the beginning of Charatan’s legacy, however, as in the 1950s, the Reuben and a select few of his employees began crafting “freehand” pipes, making F. Charatan and Son the first pipe company in England to have a dedicated freehand workshop. In the 1960s, Herman Lane’s Lane Ltd. bought out the company following Reuben’s passing, and while acquisitions are so often the demise of a great make, for Charatan it was quite the opposite; Charatan pipes rose to new heights, garnering international acclaim that would have been unfathomable even to Reuben himself.

In addition to being responsible for some of the finest briars of the 20th century, F. Charatan and Son also launched the careers of many major figures in English pipe making, including 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).

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 half dozen 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.

Based on the block-lettered “MADE BY HAND” nomenclature and Double Comfort mouthpiece, this Selected Extra Large grade was made during the “first Lane era” between approximately 1961 and 1965, back when Herman Lane first took full ownership of Charatan pipes. As one should expect from a high-end pipe from such a venerated period within its make’s history, it is a finely grained specimen, with “angel hair” striations running up the circumference of its tall, Dublinesque bowl.

The condition is good. There are some handling marks and the nomenclature is quite faded (though legible on close inspection), but the inside of the chamber appears to indicate that the pipe was not smoked all that much.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 1.89″ / 48.00mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 48g