Charatan’s Make Lane Era Belvedere 348X Pot Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

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, and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones of James Upshall fame.

While most Charatan pipes during the celebrated “Lane era,” during which the company was owned by Herman Lane, featured Lane’s proprietary “Double Comfort” stems, there were exceptions to this rule. For those unaware, the Double Comfort was a distinct kind of saddle stem, with a second saddle nearer the bit for added comfort. On the uncommon occasions where a Double Comfort was not used, this was marked on the pipe next to its shape code, in the form of an “X.” This Charatan, for example, is one of the make’s classic shapes, the 48 “Large Pot,” in a group 3 rendering, with a more traditional saddle stem in place of the Double Comfort. While it is a Belvedere grade, which was among Charatan’s “entry level” pipes, it also happens to be one of nicest Belvederes I’ve yet seen, with rich bird’s-eye grain patterns that should have bumped it up a couple of grades at least. Then again, it just goes to show why Lane era Charatans are so highly regarded.

The condition is very good. Some slight darkening and minor finish fading on the rim.

 

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 1.42″ / 36.06mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g