Stanwell (c.1950s-60s) Hand Made 34 Sandblasted Bulldog (Estate)

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.

To date, there have been two shapes designated by the number “34.” Reusing shape codes was far from unusual in the company’s early decades, which today means that it’s common to come across two completely different Stanwell designs that bear very similar nomenclature. What’s more interesting about the “34”s is that both were quite unconventional interpretations of the traditional bulldog, and that both seemingly had quite short lives, making them scarce in the contemporary.

The “34” we see here was the first Stanwell shape to bear that number. Designed by Sixten Ivarsson in the later 1950s, it was one of several early collaborations between the pioneering artisan and Stanwell that blended elements of the classical Zulu and bulldog staples in not dissimilar ways—elegant curves, lightweight figures, and narrow chambers being among the most notable unifying elements. These were the kinds of pipes that Ivarsson himself was making at the time Stanwell commissioned them and, funnily enough, much the same creative impetus can be seen in certain pipes from Ivarsson’s former colleagues at Suhr’s Pibemageri, including Poul Rasmussen and Emil Chonowitsch. In other words, designs of this kind reflect a whole world of Scandinavian pipe making in its nascent state.

As mentioned, however, the “34” Zulu-bulldog was, it seems, only in production for a relatively short amount of time, appearing in one surviving export catalog from 1960 and another from somewhere within that same decade. This one is a sandblasted rendition and comes from Stanwell’s higher-end Hand Made line from that era.

The condition is good for the pipe’s age. Minor inner rim charring, chamber slightly over-reamed at the lip, and some general finish fading.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.70 / 17.78mm

Bowl Depth: 1.61″ / 40.89mm

Weight: 0.9oz / 28g