Dunhill 1961 Tanshell Sandblasted Prince 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.

Debuting during the interwar years, the “FE” was one of Dunhill’s “Quaint shapes,” a selection of non-standard pipe designs adopted specifically when a block of briar seemed well suited for becoming one of the former, rather than merely one of the latter. In other words, the Quaints were—and still are—uncommon pipe designs chosen as much by the briar itself as by the bowl turner. As one might imagine, a shape as delicate as the prince warrants a little extra care when it comes to construction, especially if it is also destined for the sandblasting cabinet. In the case of this prince, that extra care certainly went a long way. Made all the way back in 1961, during a time when Alfred Dunhill Ltd. not only oil cured its bowls, but used specific regional varieties of briar depending on the intended finish, this “FE” is exemplary in a number of ways. The most obvious is the interplay of its trim figure and its earthy, ring grain relief—one of the many fruits of the dense Sardinian briar used for Dunhill’s high-end Tanshell line at the time.

The condition is good. Some rim darkening and finish fading, and chamber slightly over-reamed.

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.13″ / 28.7mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 30g