Dunhill 1962 Tanshell O Sandblasted Bulldog 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.

First introduced during the interwar period, the “O” was one of Dunhill’s “Quaint” shapes, i.e., shapes that were somewhat unusual in design and produced in smaller numbers than their standard counterparts. Instead, they were, it seems, made simply when a given block of briar was especially well suited toward a certain shape. Along with shapes like the “LC” and the “LB,” it is one of the most famous examples of Dunhill’s non-standard designs, and one that is a firm favorite not only of collectors and smokers of English pipes, but also many a classically inclined artisan. With its slightly squat and decidedly short stature, it’s thoroughly traditional in form, calling to mind some of the earliest briars to have come out of France and England in the 19th centuries.

This one is dressed in Dunhill’s high-end sandblasted finish, the Tanshell, and comes from 1962, during something of a golden era of Dunhill pipes that included a special oil curing treatment as part of the blasting process.

The condition is fair. The rim looks to have been topped at some point, there’s some rim darkening, some finish fading, and faint nomenclature.

Details: 

Length: 5.4″ / 137.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.07″ / 27.17mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g