Dunhill 1973 Dead Root C / DRC Root Briar 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.

Dunhill has, since its earliest days, always maintained a reputation for offering pipes that were a cut above the rest—pipes that were, for lack of a better word, special. But even among Dunhills, some pipes are more special than others. Beginning in the 1910s, the centerpiece of Dunhill’s premium output has been the “Dead Root” pipe, a series distinguished from even the Root Briar line by its unmatched straight grain patterns (though Dead Roots would, later, also carry the Root Briar stamp to indicate their use of the same finish). As Dunhill’s standards reached even greater heights, Dead Roots would be graded, first by way of an ascending alphabetical system (e.g., DRA, DRB, etc.). By the mid-1970s, the Dead Root grading system had moved to the “star” system, with a pipe’s grade corresponding to an increasing number of stars, but at the time of this one’s manufacture, the alphabetical system was still in use. Made in 1973, this Dead Root is not simply a Dead Root “A,” or even a Dead Root “B”; it is, instead, another step higher, a Dead Root “C,” corresponding to a three-star Dead Root in today’s system (put otherwise, a DR ***).

As for the design, it’s a classic, lightweight English billiard, with the key distinction being its superior straight grain, just as its designation promised.

The condition is very good. Some rim darkening and a little inner rim charring. This pipe comes with its original box and sleeve.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.36″ / 34.54mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 32g