Dunhill Shell Briar ODA 843 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.

Around the mid-century, Dunhill formalized their “OD” series into a set of distinct shapes, each with a three-digit shape code. There were pipes that were, with the Anglo-French tradition, of unconventional design; there were pipes that were, for the time, of unconventionally large size; and there were shapes that could be considered a little of both. These shapes have historically been produced in much smaller quantities than most of Dunhill’s other shapes, making them rare and highly sought after. The 843 was a rather uncommon OD shape, despite ostensibly being a large billiard—or an extra large billiard, given that it was ostensibly a bigger brother to the 6LB.

The condition is fair. The stem has been replaced, though with a Dunhill Cumberland one (the OD 843 had a saddle stem), it seems; rim darkening, some finish fading, and faded nomenclature where the date code should be.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.91 / 23.11mm

Bowl Depth: 1.65″ / 41.91mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g