Stanwell 85 Reg Era Hand Made Sandblasted Acorn Estate Briar Pipe, Danish Estates

Description

Stanwell is one of Denmark’s most celebrated and enduring pipe companies, having been founded by Poul Nielsen shortly after the second world war. Over the last six decades, Stanwell has established itself as both a leader in innovative Danish design and for producing well-priced pipes with precision construction and engineering. Many of its designs were created for the company by iconic pipe-makers in the Scandinavian scene, such as Sixten Ivarsson, Anne Julie, Jess Chonowitsch, and Tom Eltang.

At the beginning of the 1950s, Stanwell’s catalog included around a dozen shapes designed in partnership with Sixten Ivarsson, which sounds like a lot, until one takes into account that it also included dozens of other shapes, the latter being far more in line with traditional Anglo-French designs. By 1960, the share of “Sixten shapes” in Stanwell’s catalog had increased dramatically, with most of its earlier, traditional shapes nowhere in sight. Furthermore, the vast number of Sixten Ivarsson designs now offered by Stanwell were far more “Danish” as we today understand the term. While Ivarsson’s early 1950s designs were more “neoclassical” in orientation, his output nearer the end of the decade were decidedly more modern. This Stanwell, the shape 85, was one of those designs. In a style not entirely dissimilar from the Pibe-Dan Dan Shapes, the 85 was a tall, stacked acorn, or egg, of sorts (one could also consider it a Peewit variation), with a shank that extended at a sharp 45 degree angle from just above the base of the bowl. The stem followed suit, though with a very slight bend and a distinctive, stepped saddle that helped keep the overall design incredibly lightweight. In other words, it looked interesting and was perfect for clenching, as doing so would still keep the chamber vertical for an even burn.
By the mid-1970s, however, Stanwell’s and Ivarsson’s style had shifted again, with many of the late 1950s and 1960s shapes discontinued in favor of new designs from Ivarsson (including a litany of bent Dublins) and other new Stanwell collaborators, such as Anne Julie. The 85 as seen here has not been in production since, though one can find homages to it from contemporary artisans made from time to time. After all, good shapes, like good ideas, never truly die.

The condition is fair. Some rim darkening, slightly faded (though legible) nomenclature, and some residual oxidation on the stem where the Stanwell “S” logo has been preserved.

Details:

Length: 6.1″ / 154.9mm

Bowl Width: 0.70 / 17.78mm

Bowl Depth: 1.94″ / 49.27mm

Weight: 0.9oz / 26g