Charatan’s Make Reuben Era (c. 1958-60) Executive Extra Large Smooth Bent Brandy 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 (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 essentially started the English freehand movement, the earliest Charatan freehands were typically quite different to those that came after. The first Charatan pipes that were made “free hand” “by hand” debuted in the 1950s and, as I’ve recounted many times before, they began as a “happy accident” of sorts when the bowl turner Barry Jones was playing around with a stummel from the rejects bin during his lunch break. His attempts to salvage the pit-ridden remains of a shape “44” Giant Bent became the now-iconic “Cup and Saucer,” and Reuben was so impressed by that pipe that he arranged for Jones, himself, and a few other Charatan bowl turners to form a dedicated freehand contingent within Charatan’s factory.

As one might expect, the early Charatan freehands were quite different stylistically from those of the 1960s and 1970s. This was, after all, a group of bowl turners who were just starting to explore the possibilities afforded by freehand shaping techniques, so the pipes that emerged from this period were often not too far from classical shapes, but with a twist here and there. This Extra Large Executive grade, for example, is not wildly different from a Giant Bent itself, but with a slightly raised shank transition, a flattened, protruding base, and a general bulbousness that exceeds even the “chubbier” catalog shapes of Reuben’s time (not to mention a veritable magnum stature). I suppose if it was made today, one might call it a “raindrop,” given its affinities with certain designs by Julius Vesz. But, given that the nomenclature and mouthpiece indicate a 1950s make, I’d also suppose that Reuben and co. were far too busy venturing into that brave new world to worry much about names.

The condition is very good. Some finish fading, very minor rim darkening, and some residual oxidation on the mouthpiece.

Details:

Length: 7.9″ / 200.6mm

Bowl Width: 1.07 / 27.17mm

Bowl Depth: 1.75″ / 44.45mm

Weight: 5.3oz / 152g