Danish Sovereign (by Stanwell; c.1970s-80s) 08 Smooth Apple w/ Vulcanite Mount Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

Stanwell is one of Denmark’s most celebrated and enduring pipe companies, having been founded by Poul Nielsen shortly after the second world war. Over the last six decades, Stanwell has established itself as both a leader in innovative Danish design and for producing well-priced pipes with precision construction and engineering. Many of its designs were created for the company by iconic pipe-makers in the Scandinavian scene, such as Sixten Ivarsson, Anne Julie, Jess Chonowitsch, and Tom Eltang.

Over the course of the last 8 decades, Stanwell has used a number of sub-brands for various purposes. Some were, as sub-brands tend to be, ways of selling Stanwell pipes that didn’t quite make the grade for the company’s main brand, while others appear to have been exclusive to certain markets and/or distributors. The Danish Sovereign was associated with the iconic American retailer The Tinder Box in the 1970s and 1980s, where they were offered alongside Stanwell’s main-brand pipes. As brochures from the time put it, the Danish Sovereign represented “Stanwell quality and bold design, with just a hint of the traditional.” I’d guess that this “traditional” element of the make was in its reserved, reddish brown finishing, as the form this one takes is distinctly Danish. Designed by Sixten Ivarsson for Stanwell in the 1970s, the “08” was an interesting re-imagining of an army mounted bent apple, with a figure not entirely unlike those of the Anglo-French tradition. Unlike the latter, however, the 08’s mount was not turned from silver, but cut from vulcanite, into which slotted a flared, vulcanite mouthpiece. Stanwell introduced a few shapes in this vein in the 1970s, putting a new spin on both classic shapes, and the shapes of the new Scandinavian style. Ultimately, all of Stanwell’s vulcanite-mounted shapes disappeared in the last decades of the 20th century, with most—if not all—being discontinued even before Stanwell abandoned vulcanite wholesale for acrylic.

The condition is very good. Slight rim darkening and minor handling marks.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.51″ / 38.35mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 48g