Stanwell Reg Era Hand Made 88 Smooth Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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.

While Stanwell is known today for its eccentric Danish designs, the company began with the intention of crafting pipes modeled on the classics of English briars—which was part of the reason Poul Nielsen opted for the “Stanwell” name in the first place. In fact, Stanwell was manufacturing traditional billiards under the Kyringe name all the way back in the 1940s, before the switch to Stanwell was formalized. Catalogs in the early 1950s, for example, featured dozens of billiard renditions, alongside the more “Danish” Hand Cut shapes. By the end of the 1950s, most of Stanwell’s more traditional shapes—what the company originally called the Standard series—had been culled, though other traditional shapes maintained a presence throughout the decades, and indeed some survived all the way into the contemporary. The “88” seen here, appears to have been a 1970s addition, replacing the 1960s “88”/”88R” stack (“R” was simply used as one way to designate oversized pipes). It was essentially a stout billiard rendition, reminiscent of the classic Dunhill LB, or French Maigret shapes. This one belongs to the higher-end Hand Made line, one known for its excellent grain and attention to detail. The Hand Made line was largely populated by Stanwell’s more complex and more “Danish” shapes, but others, like this 88, also received the Hand Made treatment. It is certainly a beautiful pipe and more than earns its lofty designation. As for dating, I would estimate this to be a 1970s make, due to research from extant catalogs and in virtue of it registration number stamp (“REGD. No. 969-48”), which was discontinued around the early 1980s (see our Dating Stanwell Pipes guide for more details on that).

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.60″ / 40.64mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g