Dunhill Additional Stamps

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Nomenclatures

About the Star

In the following image we will see an interesting example. We have a Thanshell, confectioned in briar extracted in the west of the Italian Peninsula, southern Corsica, Sardinia; Shape 34 with F/T (fishtail) stem; manufactured in mid-66 (ENGLAND6); Group/size (2); T-Tanshell, first cousin of the Shell, but clearer. The first batch was manufactured in 1952. The prototype was called "Root Shell ", produced in 1951.

Notice that beneath of the bowl, just above the "34 ", we have a star. It's the kind of detail that makes us crazy. As they were markings for internal control, we have no external registers, which makes our understanding difficult. In these cases, we count on records made by curious people who had contact with someone from the production figure or when they were visiting at the factory.

pic by Daniel Orso

After research and conversations with several people, we find a common place for this issue. It is pacified among the most experienced that it is the same marking used in the line D.R. (Dead Root), i.e, it is about qualification of the grain. At first we was sceptical, because we did not see a plausible reason to rusticate a briar of a beautiful grain like those used in the series D.R. even because it would have another market value. But in conversation with Jesse Silver (respected member of the community), came to light a question:

Stamps are sometimes added after staining and before the final polish. And once in a while, that final polish reveals a flaw just below the surface. If the flaw is big enough, the stummel gets sandblasted.

It seems quite reasonable and plausible. We can conclude that: the star, it seems to us, comes to point out that the pipe has the grain differentiating. But if it's a sand-blasting rusticate, what difference does it make? With proper polishing, the grain comes to light printing an odd configuration to the work-piece.



About the C

Here we have many variables, we need to observe the whole scenario, because it depends on where it is graphed. For example, the "C " can indicate the model, in this case, a "Churchwarden" - if it is aligned with the pipe style. It also can be the "C" for classification of the series "OD" or the series "D.R". It can be a courtesy used in cases of replacements covered by the warranty period or complimentary, used as retirement gifts. In other cases, because it was a courtesy, they were not dated not to delimit the warranty period. There is also, the "C" of "Greetings" (with compliments) destined to British royalty. Let's see some examples:




About the Little Square

Another atypical marking, a small square that denotes that the pipe was manufactured on demand, with details and proportions defined by the customer. At the beginning of the 20s there was a marking with that same purpose, which was recycled years later in the post-war, was the "O.D", that means "Own Design", which turned into "Oversized Dunhill" decades later, during the WWII. Let's see example:

pic by ©Nate Allen




About H.Wo

From the beginning of the 20s (perhaps 1923, when - according to some, Dunhill began to fully fabricate its pieces) by the end of the 30s, some pipes were completely manufactured, i.e, without any kind of automation. These pieces received the following marking on the shank: "H.Wo", referring to Hand Worked. The Carved Heads and D.Rs, which were also hand-crafted, however, were within another classification and did not receive this marking. In Carved Heads case, they were "OD " from pre-WWII.

©About Smoke - Dunhill




Contributed by Yang Forcióri Yang (talk) 07:29, 17 October 2019 (CDT)