Stanwell (c.1980s) Golden Contrast 130 Smooth Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked, 9mm

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.

Stanwell’s Golden Contrast line debuted in 1982 and was one of the make’s higher end lines for a few years—though not nearly as many as some would hope. It is notable for a number of reasons. For one, the bowls used for the line were typically cross-cut, with an emphasis on high-contrast bird’s-eye grain. It was also especially labor intensive, which is purportedly why it was so short-lived. Perhaps the most interesting part about it, however, is that it was the result of a rather unique collaboration with one of Denmark’s legendary artisan pipe makers. Stanwell, of course, collaborated with numerous artisans over the decades, from Sixten Ivarsson to Per & Ulf from S. Bang. But, in just about every instance of such, the collaboration resulted in a shape that was licensed to Stanwell. The Golden Contrast, however, was an example of an artisan-developed finish, with the artisan in question being Tom Eltang. Eltang is rather unique when it comes to Stanwell’s collaborators, as while he was commissioned extensively as a designer by Stanwell over the decades (including for this shape “130” Dublin calabash hybrid) be, he also worked for Stanwell in the late 1970s (the only other similar example of this I can think of was Poul Winslow around the 1990s). After Eltang left Stanwell to continue his solo career, he continued to offer his services as an independent designer for the company, which is presumably the context in which the Golden Contrast was created. Funnily enough, the type of contrast finish developed by Eltang for Stanwell was also one he used on his own pipes but, by a stroke of ill fortune, he later developed an acute allergy to the oils used in its manufacture. Thus, there are fewer Stanwell Golden Contrast pipes in existence than some would hope, and even fewer Tom Eltang pipes in that finish. Are we to infer that the Golden Contrast is cursed? Probably not, and even if it was, that hasn’t stopped it being a firm favorite among collectors of Danish pipes.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. There are potentially some handling marks toward the top of the bowl, though those could also simply be from a slight over-application of the darker stain used for the Golden Contrast during its manufacture. This pipe is chambered to allow for the use of 9mm filters if desired.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.59″ / 40.38mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g