Dunhill Curiosities: Difference between revisions

In 1938, Dunhill licensed the production of tobacco to a major company in Germany, the "German Tobacco Company Von Eicken ", in a negotiation that evolved slowly, beginning in 1926.

 

We were talking to Mr. Leslie Wood to resolve some controversies about the application of these gold and silver bands. Leslie "Les" John Wood worked for Dunhill in the '60s. He started in 1963 in the Dunhill silver mounting department and left after 19 years. He ran the department with 3 other collaborators. They were given trays of 30 pipes at a time and put silver or gold bands on them (mostly silver). His last position was as master silversmith. Following his tenure with Dunhill, Les formed his own brand, L. & J.S. Briars, together with his wife Dolly, in 1978. Les Wood follows Sasieni, the first ex-Dunhill worker to start their own enterprise, and he was followed by William John "Ashton"-Taylor. After he left his job at the Dunhill factory, he was contracted to make Dunhill bands at his workshop until 2008.<br>

There are some pipes that the bands have been added to over the stamps, evidencing that it was a later addition. Contrary to what we believed, this type of addition was executed in the factory and approved by quality control, as Mr Wood relates. Not only this, it was also applied to new pipes, attending the quality control request as a solution for small flaws in the shank.

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Mr. Wood also said that every band for every pipe was individually made to fit that pipe only, and the band made by him has a crack in the corner of the "AD" diamond frame stamp (he broke the stamp and never got it replaced).

We talked about the existence of bands lacking a date code, but he had no information to offer. The reasons for these anomalies are presently unknown.

<blockquote><q>So don't expect to see Alfred Dunhill pursuing a host of younger smokers by creating novel tv products or by trying to graft on some kind of MTV image to its brand values. Instead, it is attempting to attract more customers - young and old - by emphasising the enduring social qualities associated with pipe smoking. The grandly named Fellowship of the White Spot is at the forefront of its activities. (The white spot was first introduced in 1912 because customers could not tell which side of the vulcanite mouthpiece should point upwards. It has since become a hallmark, indicating that the pipe is fit to bear the Dunhill name). ‘We’ve created a forum where pipe smokers all over the world can communicate with each other,’ explains Philpott. The idea is that smokers join the Fellowship via their local Principal Dealer. Through the Fellowship’s magazine, the company can offer product news and special offers, but it can also receive feedback from smokers and put individuals in touch with one another. Special offers can be made, and a generally closer manufacturer-customer relationship can be forged. ‘Fellowship sums it up. Pipe smokers are fellowship-type people. They are usually easy-going, friendly, easy to get-to-know people. The Fellowship carries that ambience.’<br><br>The Fellowship dovetails neatly with the essential ingredient of Alfred Dunhill’s image - Englishness. This is not the Englishness of football hooligans, fish and chips and political isolation, it is more a nostalgic evocation of more ordered times gone by: ‘Many things happen which tarnish the reputation of England, but the Englishness we are talking about is based on the reputation of craftsmanship, of reliability, of classic-ness,’ says Philpott. ‘It is the English Gentleman image. It’s an established Englishness rather than a contemporary Englishness.</q> The Worldwide Pipe Smoker's Magazine, by Tim Rich. Vol. 2, 2nd Semester 1993. Published by Magazine Partners, The Netherlands. P.42.</blockquote>

[[User:Yang|Yang]] ([[User talk:Yang|talk]]) 09:59, 28 January 2020 (CST)