Dunhill 1933 R (Root Briar) 35 Smooth Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

To veteran pipe smokers, Dunhill needs no introduction. Beginning in 1907, Alfred Dunhill began selling Dunhill pipes at the tobacconist shop he owned on London’s Duke Street. Very quickly, these pipes gained the reputation of being the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of pipes due to how expertly crafted they were. Today, Dunhill is likely Britain’s most famous pipe manufacturer, and continues to produce some of the most treasured pipes a smoker can buy.

When Alfred Dunhill first began manufacturing his own pipes, the only line available was the Bruyere, a smooth polished finish with what would soon come to be an iconic, a dark, reddish stain. Around 1917, the Dunhill catalog was expanded to include a new line, the Shell Briar, which wore an even darker, burgundy top-coat over a patented, sandblast relief finish. It would be 1 years until Dunhill unveiled its third line of pipes (provided we count the Dead Root as, originally, a Bruyere variant), the Root Briar. Debuting in Root Briar commanded the highest premium of the three, wearing a minimal, natural finish intended to showcase the superior graining of the Corsican briar briar used. This particular Root Briar comes from 1933, just two years after the first Root Briar pipes were made. The grain is indeed very nice, with plenty of bird’s-eye, though it still strikes as a fittingly reserved, elegant little pipe, one befitting both the name and the era to which it belongs.

The condition is very good for a nearly 100 year old pipe. Slight inner rim charring, some finish fading, handling marks, and a few scratches on the bowl.

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.74 / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.41″ / 35.81mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g