Charatan’s Make First Lane Era (c.1961-5) Special Extra Large Smooth Stack 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 (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).

While Charatan remains famous for its straight grain pipes, there was still a place within the make’s grading schemes for other kinds of beautiful briar patterns. The Special was one such grade. Introduced in the first half of the 20th century, during Reuben Charatan’s time at the helm of F. Charatan & Son (known as the “Reuben era,” or “Reuben’s era”), the Special grade was awarded to “Premier quality pipes, cut in ‘cross grain’ or ‘bird’s eye’ graining.” The Special remained a staple in Charatan’s catalog long after Reuben’s passing, with subsequent generations of ownership upholding his idea of what a special pipe should be. This one is a distinctly stacked, pickaxe-Dublin hybrid, for example, distinguished by a symphony of flame grain and bird’s-eye patterns. Based on the nomenclature, it will have been made in the years shortly after Reuben’s passing at the beginning of the 1960s, during the first “Lane era” of F. Charatan & Son. Reuben was certainly a tough act to follow, though it soon became very clear that Herman Lane and Lane Ltd. were up to the task after the latter acquired F. Charatan & Son. Today, these years are considered among Charatan’s very best.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening, minor finish fading, and chamber slightly over-reamed.

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 21.84mm

Bowl Depth: 2.33″ / 59.18mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g