Dunhill 1961 Shell Briar ODA 835 Large 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.

This particular Dunhill belongs to the rare, “OD” series. As historian John Loring recounts, post-war OD designs were either distinct in shape or in size from Dunhill’s standard offerings. The 835, for example, was what Dunhill referred to as a “semi-giant”—not quite a magnum, but certainly larger than the shapes in Dunhill’s standard production. One might, for example, consider it a bigger, beefier version of the LBS. This one, from 1961, displays all the hallmarks of Dunhill’s patented oil cured sandblasting common to Shell Briar finishes of the period, with the briar’s growth rings brought into a wonderfully tactile relief.

The condition is fair. Rim darkening, some inner rim charring, and finish fading

 

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.95 / 24.13mm

Bowl Depth: 1.91″ / 48.51mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 66g