Dunhill: Difference between revisions

'''Alfred Dunhill Pipes''' This is a work in progress. Please feel free to contribute if you are a Dunhill expert or knowledgeable enthusiast.

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<!--[[File:Dunhill144A.jpg|thumb|right|295px|Dunhill A - 144 "Rhodesian" (1950) ©Forcióri]]-->

<!--[[File:Dunhillcoffee.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Dunhill A - Shape 463 "Pot" (1939) ©Forcióri]]-->

== Introduction ==

“I fear” said another mockingly, “that this man has not gained anything by his much-vaunted travels, and that the hardships which they have entailed have made him lose something...” And he tapped his head significantly.  

Lusana Lumunbala smiled. “I have not lost my reason, O elders of Misumba, for this weed of which I have brought you a sample is very precious indeed.”<br><br>

“Is it good to eat? ”<br>

<center><font size="3">[[File:Aspas-copy.png|40px]]'''To buy a Dunhill is to become a part of a club where recognition is achieved through subtle winks of the eye.[[File:Aspas.png|40px]]</font> Richard Dunhill<ref name=rd1>Eliane Georges, Gala (29 mai 2007). La saga Dunhill - les trésors d'une grande maison [PDF version]. France: Prisma Média (G+J Network)[https://pipedia.org/images/9/9c/La_saga_Dunhill_-_les_trésors_d%27une_grande_maison_-_Gala.pdf](Fr) & [https://pipedia.org/images/3/31/The_Dunhill_Saga.pdf](En)</ref>.'''</center>  

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<blockquote>'''''What Alfred Dunhill--son of a leather-harness and canvas-tarpaulin maker--created in 1907 when he opened his first tobacconist shop in Duke Street, London, was something extraordinary: he set a new standard for smoker's products of the finest quality, and he forged a new hallmark for exemplary customer service.'''''</blockquote>

File:Dm14.jpg|Dunhill, Gourd Calabash, 70-90's. Yang Forcióri Collection.

File:IMG 20191007 200729 555.jpg|Dunhill - Shell, Shape 36 (Liverpool), WWII-period, Unsmoked. Yang Forcióri Collection.

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= History =  

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==The Men Behind the Curtains== <!--T:29-->

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'''Duke Street Shop - the '90s & early '00s'''

<blockquote><q>The Desk boasts a cosmopolitan clientele, and obviously, today is no exception. I ask Burrows whether various nationalities have very definite tastes in pipes and tobacco. ‘Absolutely. For example, the Italians are the only people who buy pure Latakia. If they have a mixture, it has a high content of Latakia in it. If they buy a pipe it is normally a smaller bowl. It suggests they like strong tastes and they like to smoke a pipe a little at a time.’ In contrast, Burrows says, most Japanese customers opt for highly aromatic tobaccos. But perhaps the most interesting recent trend is the appearance of younger smokers: ‘We’re seeing a lot younger people in their twenties going onto pipes. They come in with their father or friends and I try to get them onto a pipe. Also, a lot of people who smoke cigars want to try something else because they don’t want to spend so much money on cigars, so I’ve suggested a pipe.’ Do these young smokers go for a certain type of pipe? ‘Yes, they like a straight pipe rather than a bent pipe. Bent pipes tend to look a little ‘old’. They like a small bowl with a straight stem. In terms of tobacco, 1 would have thought they would have liked more aromatic tobacco, but surprisingly not. They prefer the ones that are a very English mixture with Latakia.</q> The Worldwide Pipe Smoker's Magazine (1993).<ref name=psm2>Rich, Tim. Vol. 2 (2nd Semester 1993). The Worldwide Pipe Smoker's Magazine (p. 43) [PDF version]. The Netherlands: Magazine Partners[https://pipedia.org/images/0/0e/Dunhillmagit.pdf].</ref></blockquote>

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In an article named "'''The New Alfred Dunhill Shop'''" for The Worldwide Pipe Smokers Magazine in 1997, Tim Rich give us a glimpse of this new phase and talk a bit about the museum (now closed).

At the beginning of the 2000s, Mr Burrows (a longtime collaborator who supervised the mixtures) related that the book still existed, but it was not in Dunhill's possession. He also said that British American Tobacco (the company that owned the rights to all Dunhill tobaccos for quite some time as “Rothman’s” before they merged) owned the book as well as controlled the production of present Dunhill tobaccos (though Dunhill still makes its pipes). BAT will not release it or its contents to anyone. He has tried several times to convince BAT to release the My Mixture recipes to him while still allowing them to retain ownership of the book, but BAT declined. Mr Burrows was unhappy about the situation.

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<font size="2">'''Addendum:''' In 1989 Richemont acquires Philip Morris' 30 percent interest in Rothmans International<ref name=richemont>Richemont History, including Significant Investments and Divestments Retrieved 06 February 2020 from [https://www.richemont.com/group/history-including-significant-investments-and-divestments.html Richemont]</ref>. Rothmans International Group was formed in October 1993 through the reorganization of the tobacco and luxury goods businesses of Richmont, Rothmans, and Dunhill into two new listed groups, Rothmans International and Vendome. Rothmans International comprises all of Rothman's tobacco businesses and certain tobacco trademarks previously owned by Dunhill and Richmont. International cigarette brands owned and controlled by the group include Rothmans, Peter Stuyvesant, Dunhill, Craven A, and Golden American. Under its constitution, Rothmans International has a

dual holding company structure, in which the shareholders hold units comprising twinned shares in Rothmans International Plc, a British company, and Rothmans International NV a Dutch company. Rothmans International Plc owns the UK-based businesses and Rothmans International NV owns non-UK based businesses. The composition of the boards of both companies is identical. Following the

In 1995 Richemont buyout of Rothmans International minority shareholders. In 1996 Merger of Richemont's tobacco interests with those in South Africa held by Rembrandt Group Limited, Richemont owns 67 percent of the enlarged tobacco group.  In 1999 Merger of Rothmans International with British American Tobacco (Richemont holds 23.3 percent effective interest in the enlarged British American Tobacco)<ref name=richemont>Richemont History, including Significant Investments and Divestments Retrieved 06 February 2020 from [https://www.richemont.com/group/history-including-significant-investments-and-divestments.html Richemont]</ref>. The Dunhill brand as owned by Richemont was organized into two separately controlled entities: Dunhill Manufacturing (The White Spot Smoker's Accessory Division: pipes, lighters, leather goods, etc), and Dunhill luxury goods, which includes the stores, watches, pens (Dunhill bought Mont-Blanc around 1977), clothes etc<ref name=richemont>Richemont History, including Significant Investments and Divestments Retrieved 06 February 2020 from [https://www.richemont.com/group/history-including-significant-investments-and-divestments.html Richemont]</ref> (Richard Dunhill headed the pipe making division). Today, it is not a separate entity. The White Spot (smokers' accessory) division is a product division within Alfred Dunhill Limited (like menswear, leather goods or hard products)<ref name=hener>Hener, K. S. Product Line Director - The White Spot Smoker's Accessory Division and Walthamstow site. (Conversations held between 2019 and 2020).</ref> The stores and other branded items are run separately by people who figure their potential customer base is 95% non-smokers.<ref name=balfour21>Balfour, Michael. (1992). Alfred Dunhill, One Hundred Years and More, Introduction (pp.7-11). London, Weidenfield and Nicolson.</ref></font>

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<font size="2">'''Addendum+:''' In 1976 Dunhill acquired (for U$2,185,000 + 106,000 £ after loan repayments)  Lane Limited which included [[Charatan]] (acquired by Lane in '62), [[Ben Wade]] (acquired in '65 and the Grosvernor Pipe (founded in '62 by Herman Lane). In 1987 Dunhill Sold the control of Lane Ltd to Rothmans (later merged with BAT).<ref name=balfour24>Balfour, Michael. (1992). Alfred Dunhill, One Hundred Years and More (pp. 176-178). London: Weidenfield and Nicolson.</ref><br>Dunhill allowed Preben Holm to use the Ben Wade name until his death, in 1989. Almost a decade passed before John Louis Duncan bought the name from Dunhill and relaunched the brand while still using the [[Dunhill Factory]] at Walthamstow. The [[Ben Wade]] brand was subsequently sold to Mr Peter Wilson, in 1998 (John Duncan, a grandson of the founder John Louis Duncan, sold the firm to his brother-in-law Peter Wilson)<ref name=dgl>Ferrara, Fabio (2000). La datazione delle CHARATAN. Retrieved 08 April 2020 from [https://digilander.libero.it/tempioedonismo/CHARATAN.htmsmokingpipes.com digilander.libero.it]</ref><ref name=pmrs>The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 178 and 225. Ken Barnes on Radio Show. February 9, 2016 and January 3, 2017. Retrieved 08 April 2020 from [https://pipesmagazine.com/blog/category/radio-talk-show/ pipesmagazine.com]</ref>

When J.B. Russell went out of business in 2002 Dunhill reintroduced Charatan and called on Colin Fromm of Invicta Briars and Castleford fame to produce Charatan freehands now. Since Colin Fromm and his foreman Colin Leeson, both belonging to the small number of English pipe artisans skilled in making high-end freehand shapes had already been making exquisite free-hands for Dunhill for a couple of years in Chatham, Kent.<ref name=ctm>Pipedia, Charatan - Milan 2014. Retrieved from [https://pipedia.org/wiki/Charatan_-_Milan_2014]</ref>

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Alfred doesn't mention to anyone, Mary reports, but he was investigating the pipe maker's craft from end to end</q> Mary Dunhill <ref name=mary15>Dunhill, Mary (1979). Our Family Business (p. 39). Great Britain, The Bodley Head.</ref>. Alfred Dunhill enticed Joel Sasieni away from Charatan (including Joe Sasieni who was to form his own distinguished pipe company in 1918. The first five Dunhill pipemakers all came from Charatan) and opened a small pipe workshop of his own at 28 Duke St on 7 March 1910. - 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 lesser quality (the Bruyere finish is first introduced).

Loring also defended, at this time, that Dunhill Bruyere pipes were generally finished from French turned bowls until 1917, when the Calabrian briar started to be used, but not completely<ref name=jcl5>Loring, J. C. (1998) The Dunhill Briar Pipe - The Patent Years and After, The Beginnings (pp. 2-3). Chicago: self-published</ref>. Only in 1920 did Dunhill take the final step in its pipe making operation and began sourcing and cutting all of its own bowls, proudly announcing thereafter that "no French briar was employed".

And after March, with the factory ready to produce, most Dunhill pipes were completely made in-house.

<blockquote><q>The first pipes were made by two men on the upper floor of Nº. 28 Duke Street. By 1912, when the pipe was well and truly on the market, Father had about half a dozen hand-picked craftsmen in a workshop in Mason's Yard, a short distance from the shop. They worked from eight in the morning until seven at night and,  when required to finish pipes the shop would sell next day, later than that. No question of a five-day week or of water to wash with. Like every employee, they received a small commission based on sales and they worked hard because, with the ginger-haired man they called the Guv'nor bounding up the iron staircase several times a day, they were in no doubt about the urgency and importance of their work.</q> Mary Dunhill <ref name=mary22>Dunhill, Mary (1979). Our Family Business (p. 42). Great Britain, The Bodley Head.</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Kshws.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|Hener, K. S. Product Line Director - The White Spot Smoker's Accessory Division.]]   

For some time, rumours have been spread about outsourcing the production of pipes and that they are manufactured in France - even today. Mr Hener assures that production is in-house - this is just unfounded rumours, as we can see in an article By Stephen A. Ross for the Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine.

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= Just One More Thing = <!--T:47-->

== About New and Old Pipes ==

[[File:20200406 151816 098.jpg|thumb|right|200px|About Smoke - 90th Anniversary, Special Edition. ©Forcióri]]

In an article named "The Myth of Brand and Maker in Pipesmoking", Dr Hanna brings to the light of our consideration what might justify this thought.

<blockquote><q>Dunhill is famous for its oil curing techniques and this is believed to be a source of its peculiar and particular taste and flavor characteristics. On the surface this sounds quite neat and tidy. But just a bit of analysis immediately makes such claims quite suspect. Does every Dunhill have that same character? I could find no evidence for this in the tastings that I have done with Dunhills. One vital question concerns when a particular Dunhill pipe was made. Bill Taylor of Ashton pipe fame has remarked that during all the twenty-plus years that he worked for Dunhill, that he never observed any oil applied to a Dunhill bowl. David Field told me on two occasions that he is convinced that oil curing stopped after 1968 and after that Dunhill pipes were quite different. Thus, Dunhills after the mid-1960s do not appear to have been oil cured at all and, on top of that, their bowls seem to have come from different suppliers.</q> Dr Fred Hanna. <ref name=hanna>Hanna, Fred. (2002), The Myth of Brand and Maker in Pipesmoking. Retrieved 19 March 2020 from [http://www.greatnorthernpipeclub.org/Myth.htm The Great Northern Pipe Club].</ref></blockquote>  

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[[file:Thespot.jpg|thumb||right|The White Spot]]

<blockquote>"(...)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 trademark was created.<br>

Usually, we have no problem fitting most standard length group 3 or group 4 pipes into this case (that is why we made this carcass to that size when we developed it). <br>After having selected the pipes, we make a bespoke insert with individual cut-outs so that every single pipe, no matter what shape, gets a perfect and snug fit.</q> The White Spot Division.<ref name=hener>Hener, K. S. Product Line Director - The White Spot Smoker's Accessory Division and Walthamstow site. (Conversations held between 2019 and 2020).</ref></blockquote>

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File:Pcase1.jpg|© Courtesy J. Guss.

<q>Among Alfred Dunhill's greatest contributions to pipe making is classic shaping. For those who appreciate traditional shapes in their most traditional forms, Dunhill's famous White Spot pipes are the gold standard, and rightfully so. For a true Billiard shape, look to the White Spot. For a Lovat, Lumberman, Canadian, Dublin, or virtually any traditional shape, look to the White Spot for correct and accepted proportions, curves, tapers, transitions, rims, and every other element of a shape that can be easily rendered into something else if even one detail is miscalculated.</q> Chuck Stanion<ref name=spd>Chuck Stanion. Smokingpipes, Pipe Line (August 27, 2019). New Old Shapes From Alfred Dunhill. Retrieved 5 April 2020 [https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/new-old-shapes-from-alfred-dunhill from smokingpipes.com]</ref>.

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Currently 35 shapes. Occasionally a piece of briar is just asking to be carved into a different shape:  

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|<center>'''Recent Catalogs'''</center>  

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|<center>'''Somewhere in Time'''</center>  

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== A Tale of Two Briars == <!--T:90-->

Abstract: R.D. Fields writes, "As a pipe collector, a pipe hobbyist, and as a Dunhill principal pipe dealer, I hear comments over and over again about the comparative merits of the older pipes versus the newer models. Most discussion centers on the quality of the briar and the sweetness of the smoke. I hear comments such as "I love my old Dunhill pipes, but these new ones... I don't know."

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<center>'''A Man Looking for a Dunhill Pipe.'''</center>

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= Dunhills Around the World =

DWG1.JPG| Martin Niemann - Norway.

DWG2.jpeg| Daniel Orso - Brazil.

DWG4.jpg| Blackmouth210 - USA.

DWG5.jpg| Markus Alexander Wilfart - Austria.

DWG6.jpeg| Alex Heidl - Germany.

DWG7.jpg| Thiem Nguyen - Vietnam.

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== Gallery == <!--T:112-->

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[[Image:dunhill_smokers.gif|thumb|left|400px|A selection of "Smokers", Derek Green Collection]]