Dunhill c.1920-22 Bruyere (A) 125 Smooth Bent 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.

The “Bruyere” was the very first line of pipes produced by Alfred Dunhill Ltd., debuting all the way back in 1910. Having has been in continuous production for over a century now, the Bruyere is not only the oldest surviving “true” Dunhill line (prior to its introduction, Alfred Dunhill’s pipes were imported from other companies), it is also older than most pipe companies operating today. Thus, if one wants to locate an example of the absolute earliest Dunhill pipes, it is the deep red tones of the Bruyere that one must look for. This is not one of the very first Dunhill Bruyere pipes, but it is likely among the first to have been manufactured in its entirety by Dunhill staff (it would still be a few more years after the debut of the Bruyere before Alfred Dunhill stopped importing bowls to make his Dunhill-brand pipes).

Though some of its nomenclature, including the patent number and date code, has faded, there are, nonetheless, clues to aid in discerning just how old this pipe is. The “DUNHILL” over “LONDON” nomenclature, for example, narrows down its production window to between 1918 and 1951. As the “Dunhill” name is not arched, we can knock a couple of years off that window, giving us a timeframe between 1920 and 1951. But we can narrow it much further, as the nomenclature on this Dunhill features something very specific, which was practiced for a very short amount of time: a circled finish code. Up until the 1950s, the Bruyere finish was designated with an “A” stamp. From the mid-1920s to the 1950s, this was a simple “A” stamp and nothing more. However, between 1920 and 1922, this “A” was sometimes circled, as it is on this one. Those who are somewhat familiar with Dunhill pipes will likely find this strange, as it has long been convention that the group size designation be circled in their nomenclature, rather than the designation for the finish. But, for some reason, between 1920 and 1922, the Bruyere “A” was often stamped within a circle as round as the White Spot itself. As 1920 is accepted as the year that Alfred Dunhill Ltd. stopped importing bowls for Dunhill pipes and began turning them in-house, this circa 1920-1922 Bruyere is, as previously gestured, likely to be one of the very first fully Dunhill-made Dunhill Bruyeres.

The condition is fair, but nevertheless good for a pipe of this age. Some rim darkening, chamber slightly over-reamed, some handling marks, and stem slightly over-buffed at the base.

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.76 / 19.30mm

Bowl Depth: 1.58″ / 40.13mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g