Charatan’s Make Reuben Era Supreme Smooth Billiard 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).

Before Herman Lane entered the picture and began a two-decade shake up the manufacturing and marketing of Charatan pipes, F. Charatan & Son was a rather modest outfit. It was well known in Britain for its superior straight grain pipes but, all things considered, it was a relatively small family business, with a factory that the family owned and operated, as well as an outlet in London’s shopping district. And while Charatan pipes during this time were indeed superior from the standpoint of their grain, they were also very traditional in design, far removed from the increasingly extravagant freehands of the Lane era and after. At its highest highs, the archetypal Charatan pipe was, like this one, a good billiard, or a Dublin, or perhaps one of the make’s many shapes inspired by clay pipes. Instead of the growing list of possible grades introduced by Herman Lane, the Charatan family, for the bulk of its tenure at the helm of F. Charatan & Son, used a only handful of quality designations. Some Charatan historians have stated that these were, in ascending order, Belvedere, Executive, Selected, and Supreme, though midcentury catalogs suggest another four for smooths: De Luxe, Special, Selected, and Supreme. Whichever we wish to go with, the Supreme is agreed to have been at the very top of Charatan’s system, and was subject to exacting standards and protections. For example, during all but the final years of Reuben Charatan’s time running the factory, it has been reported—by ex-Charatan workers—that only he was allowed to turn the bowls for Charatan’s prestigious “Straight Grain” pipes, which took up a great deal of his time due to how in-demand they ultimately became.

Now, onto this pipe: it is a Supreme and, based on the nomenclature, it should be a Supreme made in the early 1950s or earlier. The design is that of a flagship Charatan shape during “Reuben’s era,” the 42, also known as the Giant Billiard. With this taken into account, the pipe was in all likelihood turned first by Reuben Charatan himself, before being fitted and finished by his staff. Needless to say, it is a beauty.

The condition is very good. Some inner rim darkening, finish fading, slight handling marks, and faded (though legible) nomenclature.

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 145.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.68″ / 42.67mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g