Dunhill: Difference between revisions

 

The traveller searched in his bag and produced from it some dried leaves of tobacco and a little packet of seeds.  

 

But one of them, more courageous than the others, asked him to let him try this Wonderful weed, and taking the pipe inhaled a big whiff of smoke. He was taken with a violent fit of choking and fell to the ground gasping for breath. When he recovered he abused the traveller, and threatened him with his fist.  

“You are,” Lusana Lumunbala rebuked him, “like an infant who chokes at the first mouthful of solid food his mother gives him, and yet, as he grows accustomed to it, becomes a brave companion at the trencher. You we‘re too greedy. Little by little one filleth the basket, as the proverb says. You ought to have tried a little; if you do this you will soon enjoy the magic effect of the smoke as much as I do. For this weed, called Makaya (tobacco), is man’s greatest joy. I have learned its use in the land of Pende, whose inhabitants, the Tupende, have learned it from a strange people coming from beyond the saltwater. O Makaya, Makaya, what Wonders you can Work!” And Lusana Lumunbala shut his eyes in ecstasy. “As the fire will soften iron, so Makaya will soften the heart. If one day your brother has wronged you, and the blood rushes to your head in anger, and you reach out for your bow and arrows to slay him - take your pipe and smoke. Your ire will tly leore its fragrance. You will say, ‘Surely I must not slay the son of my mother, him who is of my own blood. I will beat him with a big stick to teach him a lesson.’ But as you rise to fetch your cudgel, take your pipe and drink its smoke. And half-ways you will stop, and smile and say, ‘No, I cannot beat my brother, the companion of my youth. It is more bccmning that I should scold him - lash him with bitter words instead of smiting him with a stick.’ And as you go to do so, smoke, smoke. And with every whiff your heart will become more charitable and forgiving, and as you come up to the trembling culprit you will throw your arms around his neck and say: ‘Brother, brother, let bygones be bygones; come to my hut, and let us drink and eat together and be merry, and love each other.’ ”

<blockquote>'''''Smoking is undoubtedly a pleasure of the senses, primarily of taste and smell, but secondarily of sight and touch. For the highest enjoyment therefore, it is essential to use objects which delight the senses.'''''

'''''Each Dunhill patent has been evolved to meet some expressed or anticipated need, but in the production of the article itself beauty of form and colouring have certainly not been neglected.'''''

As with most any famous persons, articles, or firms, a good deal of lore and myth combine with no little speculation and make it difficult to separate facts from myth. It can also be difficult to separate true quality from the marketing genius behind a famous brand such as Dunhill. In this article we attempt to navigate this, or at least give an indication of the challenges for readers to use their best judgement in discerning the merits of the information.

'''The genesis of the family business''': the Dunhill ancestors were small farmers and shopkeepers in Nottinghamshire, Thomas Dunhill, being the first to make a break from this part of the country. He left Newark-on-Trent early in the last century , at about the time of Waterloo, bringing his young bride to London where, in Oxford Street, on the site now occupied by Debenham's, he opened a dreper's shop. He must have quickly realized that the vast number of horses in the London Streets offered him a better livelihood than the linen trade: possibly, from his country boyhood, horses were something he knew about. At any rate, he transferred his energies to building up a harness-making business in the Euston Road which, before a tablet in Islington Church commemorated his long years enterprise, enable him to support a household of Victorian proportions, including seven sons and five daughters. This was the first Dunhill business of any consequence. Frederick Dunhill inherited it, passing it on to Henry Dunhill.     

'''1910''': First known Dunhill catalogue produced; Alfred Dunhill enticed Joel [[Sasieni]] away from Charatan and opened a small pipe workshop of his own at 28 Duke St. -- two rooms upstairs providing the humble beginning. The focus was to use the finest quality briar, and expert craftsmanship to make pipes that would provide a superior smoke, and last a lifetime. The cost would reflect these principals, which was against the current trend of inexpensive pipes of lessor quality; the Bruyere finish is first introduced.

'''1912''': Alfred Dunhill becames Alfred Dunhill Ltd; Herbert Edward Dunhill (1884-1950) joined his brother in the business; The "White Spot" trademark first appeared on pipes. The famous white spot was introduced so customers would know which way to insert the handmade vulcanite mouthpieces on straight pipes (the spots face up). Pipe-making moved to Mason's Yard, London.

'''1957''': New headquarters and shop opened on Duke Street, St. James, 50 years after the first shop opened; "Bill" Carter completed 50 years of service.

'''1965''': Interest in company acquired by Carreras Ltd; silk ties introduced.

'''1974''': Mary Dunhill celebrated 50 years of service to the company; shop opened in Dallas, TX; Queen's Award for industry received for export achievement; Anthony Greener appointed managing director. | D.R. first stars appeared, but for group size.

'''1978''': Shop opened in Atlanta, GA; temporary controlling interest in Collingwood of Conduit ltd; Mary Dunhill retired from board of Dunhill Toiletries Ltd. | Collector Series was introduced (001 nomenclature) | D.R last year using stars for group size and letters for grade. Dunhill started again to hand-turn (HT) bowls (Collector and D.R sereis only).

'''1993''': Alfred Dunhill celebrated its Centennial worldwide; the Vendôme Luxury Group was created with Alfred Dunhill Ltd and Montblanc-Simplo GmbH as two of its principal subsidiaries; all tobacco interests sold to Rothmans International plc; the centenary watch range was introduced, inspired by Alfred Dunhill's watches of the 1930's; Alfred Dunhill opened its first store in China; the Alfred Dunhill Shooting Season was held in some of Europe's most prestigious locations; Alfred Dunhill Open Golf Championship held in Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium; François Poirel appointed managing director.

'''1995''': New retail outlets were established in Taiwan and distribution strengthened throughout the rest of the Pacific Region; Namiki lacquer writing instruments which originally appeared in the 1920's were reintroduced as a limited edition to considerable interest from collectors. | The pipes logo was changed: "Dunhill" inside an ellipse.

'''1996''': First Alfred Dunhill outlet opened in Russia and a new store opened in the city of London; Alfred Dunhill headquarters relocated to 27 Knightsbridge in London.   

'''2005''': Savile Row tailor Richard James, watch dealer/designer Tom Bolt, casual-wear designer Nick Ashley and leather-smith Bill Amberg are brought on board to help revitalise the brand.

[[User:Yang|Yang]] ([[User talk:Yang|talk]]) 08:13, 25 November 2019 (CST)

Alfred was born on September 30, 1872 in the Haringey neighborhood, part of the suburban district of Hornsey, north of London. Alfred was the third of five children born to Henry Dunhill (1842-1901) and Jane Styles (1843-1922), his first cousin.

<blockquote><q>Grandma always contended that he couldn't go to school until he was about eight because he couldn't talk properly. As she also said that he was too far troublesome a child to be left in anyone care, I conclude that his restless temperament asserted itself at an early age. At any rate, by the time he was fifteen, Father was a tall, thin boy with a quick intelligence, though poor sight (and a late start) prevented him from achieving any distinction at school and from being much of a reader for the rest of his life. Henry spent all his spare money on the education of his younger sons. The truth is that Father, at fifteen, was itching to get down to a practical job of work. The school classroom, he often contended, was simply not for him.</q> Dunhill, Mary, Our Family Business (The Bodley Head - Great Britain, 1979).</blockquote>     

Sadly there is a little information on Alfred's early life predating his entrance to the family business. There is sparse information and no reliable references. One, in particular, quoted a column called  "Mr. A. Dunhill " In the Times, published on January 5, 1959, and mentioning:

With great energy and creativity, Alfred was also involved in building construction in mid-1902, concurrently with the motor business, and in 1905, after he sold his interest in Dunhill's Motorities, he opens a patent office. At the end of 1906 he was forced to leave this project to direct his energies to the growing demands of the tobacconary.  

Alfred was fascinated by architecture and design and submitted his houses (in the city and in the countryside) to frequent changes during his retirement. He also looked into the possibility of investing in the sweets and toys businesses but did not have a chance to pursue them.

<blockquote><q>(...) my father having moved from London in order to build houses in what was then a small Buckinghamshire village. Although he knew little about the building trade, this was one of several commercial ventures he packed into the first thirty years of his life. The point behind this one was that the new railway line from Marylebone to Aylesbury had already passed through the village, its hourly trains making it possible for more prosperous commuters to move into deeper country. As they were likely to need better houses than Great Missenden could provide, my father bought a few acres of land close to the station, made a deal with a local builder to put up half a dozen fairly conventional houses to his design, took the first of them for himself and, over the next couple of years, sold the lot.

<blockquote><q>My eldest and favourite brother - Alfred Henry, as I am calling him to distinguish his name from my father’s - was a thin lad of seventeen when he first went to work at Duke Street, quiet and shy like Father but with a sense of humor and a dry wit that endeared him to his colleagues.</q> Dunhill, Mary. Our Family Business (The Bodley Head - Great Britain, 1979).</blockquote>

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to ' duty on 1st September, 1918, in the attack on Fregicourt. After encountering considerable opposition, he maneuvered his company skilfully in a flank attack, which,

Alfred Henry Dunhill puts me in mind of a young priest in charge of a temple full of things he treasures, and would like you, also, to enjoy. I know he will forgive me for saying this; for this tall slim man with the bushy nearly-black beard has a sense of quiet humor somewhere behind his wide: apart dark eyes. He could, I think, he grand company, if you got him away from “shop,” not in the way of noisy bonhomie, but in the way of stimulating conversation that would be full of thought. The chairman of Dunhills‘ smiles only occasionally, a wide smile that shows between curling mustache and curling beard - not, often when he is talking of the firm, the family, his father and his grandfather.  

His surroundings are extremely different from theirs. You feel when you go into the large low-ceilinged shop in Duke-street (it has two separate floor-levels, with a step down, being on the slope of that brief but aristocratic West End thoroughfare) that if you were to give five minutes, on the average, to examining, appreciatively, all the articles there are in it, it would take you about a fortnight working eight hours a day. It has hosts of glass cases such as jewellers affect; the walls are all glass-cases; and displayed - say rather, disposed - in the cases, and on them, and all about, are what, tobacconists call fancy goods chosen, evidently, with meticulous care. That is small wonder. For wherever Hitler is now, in Europe, there (and, as the Yankees say, many places else) Mr. Dunhill has been, collecting, choosing, for customer - say, rather, clients - such little possessions as men like to have by them all their lives.

I should call the carpet of the shop, a plain carpet, light bronze. The whole effect of the place is light brown. It has delicately-ornate wood-work. How much plate-glass there is in it altogether I hesitate (in these explosive days) to think. The commissionaire at the Jermyn-street door-way is in a dark reddish-brown uniform, gold braided, with a woven gilt “A.D." on his lapels. No one would dare to just pop into Dunhills’. You are ushered in. Let all be done (the shop seems to say) decorously and in a proper manner: there is no hurry; you have come not to buy so much as to select; and of course you have the money to pay. Whereupon you wish you had - to pay for everything you can see.  

I am therefore glad to introduce a revised edition with new illustrations based mainly on pipes in the Dunhill collection. Apart from minor changes the text is as my father wrote it in 1924.</q> , Alfred H. Dunhill, 1969.</blockquote>  

He retires in 1961 (chairmanship taken over by his sister Mary Dunhill) and dies ten years later.

<blockquote><q>My brother, Alfred Henry, who had become President of the Group on my appointment as chairman, died in 1971. Having worked in the firm for almost sixty years, he had been chairman for thirty-three of them and, in my view, had done more to promote the original business, as Father and Uncle Bertie had known it, than any other man in its history. When he joined the staff at the shop in 1912 the profits were £1000 per annum. By the time of his death they were over £1 million. The fact that they had risen to over £4 million by the time my nephew, Richard, succeeded me as chairman in 1976 is an indication of our growth rate in the early ’seventies, especially in the foreign markets I have mentioned. The business today is not only larger than it was during Alfred Henry’s time; it is differently managed and somewhat different in character. I therefore regard the end of my brother’s career as a kind of watershed which, historically, separates the earlier business from what it has become.</q> Dunhill, Mary. Our Family Business (The Bodley Head - Great Britain, 1979).</blockquote>

Alfred did not know much about the tobacco business but was learning as he dealt with his clients. Of keen sensitivity, he soon realized that most of the pipes available on the market were of low quality and that he could market better quality products at twice the price. In the early days Alfred faced some financial problems, like most traders at the beginning of their ventures. His tobacco shop wasn't the only one in the area. There was strong competition, but his competitors lacked quality offerings. Alfred exploited this market deficiency, establishing a new standard of quality and service.

At first, the focus was on tobaccos. As he himself defined in his first catalog, published in 1910, called  "About Smoke ", he was an expert in making blends, which he exhibited prominently in his entry window: "Tobacco specialist". Alfred Dunhill was a born merchant, and when he opened his first tobacco shop, he knew exactly where he wanted it to go.

According to Balfour in: "Alfred Dunhill One Hundred Years And More", initially the Tobaccos were obtained from George Dobie & Sons, a manufacturer of blends located in Paisley, west of the Midland Valley in Scotland and also of some cooperatives producing Tobacco. Creating blends is more than just mixing sheets in different proportions. There are techniques to develop a mixture, for example cooking, roasting, pressing, mattering, etc. and can hardly be made at the shop counter. After five years, in 1912, his youngest brother, Herbert Edward Dunhill (1884-1950), joins the business. He was an insightful merchant and is soon ahead of the company's financial issues (a function he exercises until his death in 1950), allowing Alfred to give his creativity to the development of new products.

And how Bill Carter had to work for those twenty-three pounds a year. All day he was occupied in tidying, polishing, everlastingly putting pipes back in their mahogany cabinets, answering the telephone, sweeping up every shred of tobacco that fell onto the green carpet, dressing the window after closing time, presenting himself punctually every morning with polished shoes and a clean collar. If he was shouted for, he dropped whatever he was doing and ran. Yes, ran, for Bill Carter spent half his life on the run. Something of an athlete in his youth, he would leave his home in Wandsworth in the early hours of the morning and jog-trot the three and a half miles to Duke Street, returning by the same means at night. If there were parcels of cigarettes and cigars for delivery, as there usually were, he would put the penny he was given for the horse-bus into his pocket and start running towards Regent’s Park or Kensington or wherever he had to go. Nor did Father ever ask him for his penny back. He must have thought his delivery service cheap at the price.  

Dunhill Pipes are now prized collector pieces and the most famous pipes in the world. Alfred envisioned the Dunhill Pipe to be something special, a pipe to be coveted for its quality, sophistication, and refinement. Alfred Dunhill’s vision continues today. To Smoke a Dunhill is to experience this tradition, a tradition of excellence that is perhaps the greatest in the world of pipes." Smokingpipes.com[http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/dunhill/history.cfm]  

At the beginning, Dunhill's pipes were limited production straight grains, hand-cut from over century-old briar burls and fitted with hand-cut 'push' vulcanite bits.

<blockquote><q>These pipes were individually priced from ten shillings six pence to over four pounds.· I am not sure how these pipes were stamped but most likely DUNHILL over DUKE ST.  S.W. appeared on the shank with either a "B" or a "DR" near the bowl. A "B" stamping is possible since at that point in time "B" denoted Dunhill’s highest quality pipe. On the other hand I believe "DR" more likely as that stamping was being used to denote straight grained pipes by at least as early as 1915. While these pipes in time became a high end subset to the Dunhill 'Bruyere' (and later the Root) line initially they should be distinguished as these straight grain pipes were hand cut in London from burls as opposed to the Bruyere line which was generally finished from French turned bowls until 1920. (The qualifier 'generally' is used here because any pre 1920 OD, HW or letter shape Bruyeres were most probably also carved from burls in London).</q> '''Loring''', J. C., The Dunhill Briar Pipe, The Patent Years and After (self-published, Chicago, 1998)</blockquote>

Mary also related that Micrometer measurements have established everything that they needed to know about shapes and design of bowls. Every Dunhill pipe should have its own specially designed mouthpiece, hand-cut from the finest block vulcanite.  

Although Alfred Dunhill was brilliant, he certainly did not imagine that this indicative dot would become his trademark. In 1923, Dunhill had to go to the courts to defend his creation, which was being replicated by [[VAUEN]]. Dunhill was successful, while Vauen had to restrict its use to the German and Austrian borders. The White Spot trade mark was first registered in 1923, eleven years after its introduction.

<blockquote><q>(...)One small problem emerged, however, as customers could not tell which way up to insert the hand-cut vulcanite mouthpiece of straight pipes into the stems of the pipes. Alfred Dunhill therefore ordered white spots to be placed on the true upper sides of the mouthpieces, and thus a world-famous trade mark was created.</q> Balfour, Michael, Alfred Dunhill, One Hundred Years and More (Weidenfield and Nicolson, London, 1992).</blockquote>

<blockquote><q>According to Bill Carter, the White Spot was introduced soon after the pipe-making unit was moved in 1912 from 28 Duke Street to 6 Mason’s Yard, about 40 yards down Duke Street on the left. Mason’s Yard is an interesting and ancient enclave. It was originally called St Alban’s Mews, after the Earl of St Albans, whose trustees were granted the freehold of the whole area in 1665 by the Crown. It was probably renamed after Richard Mason who, in the 1730s, was granted a victualler’s licence for the house that became the Mason’s Arms.</q> Balfour, Michael, Alfred Dunhill, One Hundred Years and More (Weidenfield and Nicolson, London, 1992)</blockquote>  

The first setup (see images on the right.) contains 7 pieces for the weekly rotation, where the days of the week related to each of the pipes, and others cases, including the "Book-Case" (with prices from the 1920's).

*'''If you want to see catalogues, click [https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Dunhill_Articles_.26_Catalogs here]'''  

The system of codes and acronyms was introduced in the early 1920's and remains to this day, however modifications have occurred over time.

Dunhill had to diversify its offerings in order to enter the market in France due to a monopoly in the French tobacco industry. Alfred circumvented this challenge very cleverly, by diversifying his offerings (something that was previously practiced back with Dunhill's Motorities). Because the tobacco market was restricted, Dunhill positioned its tobacco offerings in the background of its advertising, while featuring male accessories in the foreground (valise, umbrellas, suits, etc.). Thus begins the new phase of Dunhill accessories, and its success entering the tobacco market in France. Some French Flyers:

*'''Note''': <q>DUNHILL PARIS</q>. During World War II Dunhill London was unable to supply the Paris retail shop. As a consequence it appears that the Paris shop sourced pipes during those war years from French carvers, stamping the bit with a "D" inside a diamond (very much like the Parker bit stamp which is a "P" within a diamond) - Loring.

In 1921, only fourteen years after Alfred Dunhill opened his doors, his firm received its first Royal Warrant, as Tobacconist to Edward, Prince of Wales. To mark the happy and commercially valuable event, Alfred commissioned a new Shell Brair pipe shape, shape 314: it had an apple-shaped bowl and a slightly curved stem. Naturally, he named it the 'Prince'. Balfour, Michael, Alfred Dunhill, One Hundred Years and More (Weidenfield and Nicolson, London, 1992).

<q>It is a highly unusual shape for a Dunhill, of course. It is graded 3 Amber Flames. This was one of 4 prototypes made for a set of pipes that were made for the Dunhill Jules Verne Journey to the Center of the Earth 3 pipe cased set that reportedly sold for $96,000 in Paris in the early 2000s. One of the 3 pipes was an extra large volcano similar to my pipe you see here. In other words, my pipe was one of the “loser" pipes. In the Dunhill volcano pipe that was finally chosen for the set, 24 karat gold “lava” was running down the sides of the bowl to represent lava erupting from the volcano (pipe) as in the novel.</q> Fred J. Hanna.

Ladies pipe with interchangable bowls, circa 1918. All 4 bowls are cut out of single briar root. It was the best-quality line (A).

Only 1 bowl (picture 2) has been very lightly smoked - there are traces of charring at the rim but original Bruyere finish is still visible inside the bowl. Other 3 bowls are unsmoked.

<q>Kevin writes that "the late Mr. John Loring and I were in his room discussing the cataloging of various stampings on pre-WWII Dunhill mouthpieces when the discussion turned towards the peculiar year of 1924. John and I had several bruyere pipes in our collection that had the even-width DUNHILL over LONDON stampings that are normally dated to 1918. However, four of these pipes were all date-coded to 1924. I remarked that I had only seen one Dunhill pipe that was a definitively-stamped 1918, and this is that pipe. What is more, the <AD> factory hallmarked sterling silver on this pipe is also hallmarked to 1918 (leopard's head, lion passant, date letter of c).</q>

The Bent-Rhodesian in Root finish was made in 1984 and of course it shows the white dot on the Vulcanite stem. It's 7 millimeters (!) long and weighs 0.005 Gramm (!) but theoretically it is absolutely functional. On display in Dunhill's London showroom. - Space Shuttle was inspired by the space shuttles riding atop a Boing 747 en route back to Florida from Edwards airbase. - Cologne Cathedral was a special order made for Cologne pipe-trader [http://www.pfeife.de/ Peter Heinrichs] in 2005. It is a rare Dunhill Freehand Straight Grain 4 stars pipe in oversize (XL). The lid is worked – like the Cologne cathedral itself – out of 925 sterling silver. The smoke can escape through several holes in the lid as well as through the head portal of the cathedral. The pipe is therefore fully operable, but will hardly ever be smoked. The pipe (value: Euro 10,000) was blessed by the Cologne Cardinal Meißner (!!!) and received a display place in the Cologne City Museum.

* '''Note:''' <q>The first pipe stamped with “Alfred dunhill’s THE WHITE SPOT” (instead of the dunhill longtail logo in elliptical circle) was the now famous Eiffel Tower pipe (with the 3 lines all horizontal and parallel). For subsequent pipes, we made a new stamp, whereby “Alfred” and “dunhill’s” are arched and the “THE WHITE SPOT” stayed straight for other pipes. This stamp is in continuous use since March 2012.</q> Hener, K. S., Product Line Director - The White Spot Smoker's Accessory Division and Walthamstow site.  

<blockquote><q>Then there are the straight grain designations, perhaps the ne plus ultra of pipe collecting. With Alfred Dunhill, this category takes on a whole new aura of exclusitivity. The rarest straight grains are stamped DR (which stands for “Dead Root,” referring to the underground burl of the heath tree from which the oldest and usually best-figured briar is cut). Currently, the DR series ranges from one to six stars; the more stars, the tighter and more uniform the grain. Beyond that, the DR designation ventures into the stratosphere of rarity with alphabetical letters, starting with DRG, and the even scarcer DRH.</q> Richard Carleton Hacker - SMOKE - Spring 2002</blockquote>

The Dead Root idea was conceived at the end of the 1920's and then realized in the early 1930 years. The Dead-Root brought a stronger grain feature to the the already well established "Bruyère" (from 1932 on it received the same finish). The D.R. models are perfect. Made with the best Briar available and that is – compulsorily – "Straight Grain". They are rare models of considerable value, which vary according to the graduation of the grain.<br><br>

In 2000, a new D.R. series was launched with amber contrast finish and stronger grains, called "Amber Flame". It's also a limited edition and they follow the same criteria, but classified with "flames" instead of stars. Like his brother, only the best grains are selected to make the Amber Flame which is finished with an amber coloured stain and a black vulcanite mouthpiece.

A deep craggy sandblast with a black stain finish (usually made using Algerian briar) - the color of stain used has varied over the years. Although there is some doubt as to them being the first to sandblast pipes, Dunhill's Shell pipes, and the sandblasting techniques developed to create them are considered one of Dunhill's greatest and most lasting contributions to the art of pipe making.<br>

The documented history of Dunhill's inception of the Shell is largely limited to patent applications — there are no catalogue pages or advertisements promoting blasted pipes at the time. The preliminary work on the English patent (No. 1484/17) was submitted on October 13, 1917. The patent submission was completed half a year later, on April 12, 1918, followed by the granting of the English patent on October 14, 1918. This was less than a month before the end of The Great War on November 11th.<br>

In 1986 Dunhill released a line of premium Shell finish pipes - "RING GRAIN". These are high-quality straight grain pipes which are sandblasted. Initially only Ring Grain, but now in two different finishes. In 1995 the "Shilling" was introduced with Cumberland finish - is an extremely rare serie. These pipes exhibit a deeper blast characteristic of that of the 1930's - mid 1960's (and the limited 'deep blast' pipes of the early 1980's) and show a fine graining pattern. These are considered the best new Dunhills by many enthusiasts today, and are very rare. The finish is sometimes described as tasting like vanilla at first, with the taste becoming more normal or good as the pipe breaks in.

Introduced in 1931 and highly prized because the grain is more pronounced in this finish (usually made using Corsican briar). The Root Briar finish requires a perfectly clean bowl with excellent graining. Therefore, it is the most expensive of the Dunhill pipes. Corsican briar was most often used for the Root finish, since it was generally more finely grained. This is a rare finish, due to the scarcity of briar suitable to achieve it. These pipes are normally only available at Company stores, or at Principle Pipe Dealers. Straight grained pipes were formerly graded A through H, but are now only "Dr's" and graded with one to six stars, with the letters G and H still used for the very finest pieces.

<blockquote><q>Dunhill introduced it's third major finish, the Root finish, in 1931. Corsican mountain briar is characteristically beautifully grained and the Root was made exclusively from that briar into the 1960s. The pipe was finished with a light natural stain to allow the beauty of the graining to show through. Although always available with a traditional black vulcanite bit, the Root was introduced in either 1930 or more likely 1931 and fitted with a marble brown dark and light grained vulcanite bit that has since become known as the 'bowling ball' bit because of the similarity in appearance between the bit's finish and that of some bowling balls of the time. With the war however, the bowling ball bit was dropped from production. Through 1954 (and after) the Root pipe nomenclature (including shape numbers) was identical to that of the Bruyere except that instead of the "A" of the Bruyere, the Root was stamped with an "R". In 1952 when the finish rather then LONDON was placed under DUNHILL, ROOT BRIAR rather then BRUYERE was used for the Root.</q> Loring, J. C., The Dunhill Briar Pipe, The Patent Years and After (self-published, Chicago, 1998).</blockquote>

<blockquote><q>The TanShell was Dunhill's fourth finish and its first major post war line addition. Introduced in 1951/1952 the TanShell was a naturally stained sandblasted pipe made exclusively from Sardinian briar through the 1960s. The TanShell apparently was not simply a light stained Shell but rather was also the product of "certain processes [unrevealed] not previously employed." Initially, it appears that the pipe was to be named the Root Shell and a stamp to that effect was ordered and received by Dunhill in May 1951. Ultimately however, the name TanShell was settled upon but the stamp for the TanShell name was not received by Dunhill until the beginning of December. Thus while the TanShell was in production in 1951 it appears that most if not all TanShells made in that year did not enter into retail distribution until 1952 and were given a 1952 date code.</q> Loring, J. C., The Dunhill Briar Pipe, The Patent Years and After (self-published, Chicago, 1998).</blockquote>

Introduced in 1972, the Redbark is a reddish stained sandblast, and is the most famous of Dunhill’s retired finishes. Originally, the stain was a medium red. A couple years later the stain was changed to a brighter red, almost pinkish in color. The almost pink color caused pipe sales to plummet. In 1976, the stain was changed back to the original darker medium red finish. The Redbark finish was officially retired in 1987. The County and Russet finishes have also been retired.  

The Ruby bark pipe is stained a deep red colour to enhance the sandbalsted finish. The finish disappeared, but was re-introduced a few years ago and is now one of the most popular finishes. Each pipe is adorned with a silver 6mm band for which there is no extra charge. The mouthpieces is a hand-cut black vulcanite stem.

Introduced in 1973, the Dress is a black smooth finish designed to look elegant with a tux or other formal ware--refined and sophisticated. A smooth jet-black stain with black bit gives this line of pipes the distinctive elegance that has come to be associated with the Dunhill name.

Introduced in 1979. Cumberland is another sandblast with a brown stain and a brindle stem (the material is more commonly called ‘cumberland’ these days, thanks to Dunhill’s influence and the success of the finish over the past quarter-century). Originally, the Cumberland always featured a smooth brown rim, but in the current production the rim is sometimes smooth, sometimes sandblasted. Occasionally, a straight grain blast is finished with a Cumberland stain and a “Shilling Grain,” similar to the “Ring Grain,” resulting in a new variation on the traditional sandblast. The Shilling series is named for the British coin: the sandblast looks like a stack of shillings.  Named after the warehouse on Cumberland Road. The old pipes that inspired this finish were found there.

A rich, deep walnut colour complemented by the Cumberland mouthpiece – it was introduced in 1983 to to commemorate the closing of the Cumberland Road warehouse. The same stain and stem material as used on the Cumberland, but on a smooth bowl. Like the Bruyere, the finish is smooth to the feel and will lighten in time to show off the grain, which is usually cross-grain top and bottom with birds-eye on the sides of the bowl. Irrespective of shape, size or finish, all Dunhill pipes are of one quality only – the finest.

We are working on an unique guide, joining of the best guides available. Still under construction, but very soon will be ready. It's our [[Dunhill Dating Guide]].  

Dunhill is the only factory made pipe that can be accurately dated. This contributes to it's popularity with collectors, but it can be difficult to accurately date any given pipe. We have imported R.D. Fields [[A Dunhill Pipe Dating Guide]] to Pipedia, by permission of the author.  

*'''Note''': This guide is very helpful, but there are discrepancies in both the literature regarding the nomenclature, and anomalies in the nomenclature itself.  

*'''Note''': Unfortunately, John passed away several years ago, and his website has disappeared. Fortunately, the all articles was saved here: [[John C. Loring]] with contributions by: Jean-Christophe Bienfait, Yang Forcióri and Doug Valitchka.