Dunhill 1963 Root Briar 114 Smooth Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

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 14 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 one comes from something of a golden age of Dunhill pipes, the first post-patent decade of the 1960s, and shows off a wealth of beautiful bird’s-eye patterns even despite its slender stature. The shape is a classic billiard rendition, the “114,” one that, today, we might refer to as a “Bing,” given its distinctive length and featherweight proportions. I’d imagine back then, they simply called it a “jolly good smoker.”

The condition is very good. Minor rim darkening, chamber slightly over-reamed, and minor handling marks.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.38″ / 35.05mm

Weight: 0.7oz / 22g