Dunhill 1977 Tanshell 41032 Sandblasted 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.

After the Bruyere, the Shell Briar, and the Root Briar, the Tanshell was Dunhill’s fourth line of pipes, first introduced all the way back at the beginning of the 1950s. Leveraging the immense success of the Shell Briar, the Tanshell was, as the name suggests, distinguished by its sandblasted finish, though instead of the Shell Briar’s burgundy hues, the Tanshell retained a minimal, and very natural, tan dress. This meant that, over time, a Tanshell’s bowl would color not unlike a meerschaum pipe, with the various residues from the tobacco burned in its chamber seeping into the briar and infusing it with a golden patina. This one comes from 1977, and it is one of those subtly interesting pipes produced in the early phases of Dunhill’s standardization of its shape system. Dunhills today, for example, are, for the most part, made in conformity with a four-digit shape system, with these four digits corresponding to specific aspects of the design (primarily the size, the shape of the bowl, and the cut of the stem). For a few years between the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, the system was a five-digit one, with the very last digit used to designate other variations within the design specified by the first four. Sometimes these were subtle; other times they were more pronounced. In this instance, the “2” appended to the basic “4103” group 4 billiard design appears to have designated longer, slightly taller, and, overall, more slender stature than its sibling shapes, such as the “41031,” as well as a slight forward cant. This is especially evident when compared to the modern “4103” which all but replaced its five-digit forebears, whose stature is much closer to a classic “LB” billiard.

The condition is very good. Some inner rim darkening, chamber slightly over-reamed, and slight handling marks.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.65″ / 41.91mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g