Sasieni Family Era (c.1950-79) Four Dot Natural Pembroke S Smooth Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

Along with names like Barling, Charatan, and Dunhill Sasieni holds a special place in the history of English smoking pipes—one near to its very beginnings. So the story goes, Sasieni himself worked for Dunhill during its early days. But eventually he left Dunhill, having his own ideas about how pipes should be made, and founded Sasieni. This was 1919, and Sasieni has been the closest thing to a household name in English pipes ever since.

After a legal battle with Dunhill prevented Sasieni from using a one dot stem inlay, Joel Sasieni was forced to come up with a new way of marking the company’s most perfect pipes. So, Sasieni started using “Four Dot” inlays instead. Thus was born the Four Dot, which, funnily enough, came to rival even Dunhill’s “White Spot” as a signifier for high-grade, English-made pipes. This one is an example not only of a Four Dot grade, but a Four Dot Natural, which Sasieni itself marketed as the “aristocrat of the pipe world.” Rather than being stained, the very few stummels that were deemed flawless enough to become Naturals were finished merely with layered coatings of wax, before finally being buffed to achieve the line’s signature golden sheen.

This beautifully grained example, with some quite extraordinary bird’s-eye at either flank, looks to be a “family era” make, and more specifically a Sasieni from the “Alfred era” of 1950-79, back when Alfred Sasieni was at the company’s helm. It’s rendered in the classic, saddle billiard “Pembroke S” shape, otherwise known as the “19S.”

The condition is very good. Some rim darkening, slight finish fading, and handling marks.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.64″ / 41.65mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g