Sasieni Slendaline 59 R Sandblasted Bent 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.

As Hal Roth details in his recent article on Sasieni (see Updating the History of Sasieni Pipes and Their Subsidiary Brands on Pipedia), the Slendaline, also known as the Fantail, was invented and patented by Alfred Sasieni, son of Sasieni founder Joel Sasieni. Originally patented in the UK in 1952 as the “Slendaline,” before being patented in the US the following year under the “Fantail” name, Alfred’s invention was one aimed at reducing the overall weight of a pipe so that it could be more easily clenched. To this end, a unique, slender, fanning ebonite stem was designed, which was paired with several of Sasieni’s smaller, lighter existing bowl shapes (and possibly some wholly new ones, too). Thus, the Slendaline and the Fantail sub-brands were born.

I would estimate this one to have been made during the family era, between 1960 (following the patent for the Ruff Root sandblast) and 1979.

The condition is fair. Some rim darkening, finish fading, and faded nomenclature (though thanks to the efforts of historians like Hal Roth, this is navigable).

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.49″ / 37.84mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g