En souvenir de Richard Dunhill
Publié à l'origine dans Pipes & Tobaccos magazine 2016 et utilisé avec l'aimable autorisation de l'auteur. Cette version est inédite.
Mis à disposition par Yang Forcióri et traduit par Jean-Christophe Bienfait
En souvenir de Richard Dunhill par Ben Rapaport
Richard Dunhill, petit fils du fondateur de la "Alfred Dunhill Ltd" est décédé le 26 août 2016, à l'âge de 89 ans, après y avoir travaillé durant 68 ans. Il est entré dans l'entreprise en 1948, y a travaillé en tant que directeur durant 28 ans puis PDG pendant 27 ans, supervisant ce colosse de taille mondiale, entreprise verticalement intégrée, fournisseur de tout premier ordre d' "articles pour fumeurs" et de produits de luxe depuis plus d'un siècle : ses produits sont disponibles dans 21 pays, dans plus de 100 boutiques de détail, dont 70 sont des boutiques Dunhill. Cette marque est si reconnue à l'international qu'entre 1924 et 2005 sept livres ont été publiés sur son histoire et sur sa production éclectique.
L'information qui suit est du domaine public. Richard fut un ancien maître de la Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers and Tobacco Blenders (Honorable Compagnie des fabricants de pipes et de Tabac), membre honoraire de l'Académie Internationale de la Pipe, et "Fumeur de l'Année 2002" du British Pipesmokers' Council (Conseil des Fumeurs de Pipes Britanniques). C'était un philanthrope, qui subventionnait la Alfred Dunhill Links Foundation, un organisme de charité qui lève des fonds pour de nobles causes, y compris la recherche sur le cancer de la prostate. C'était un innovateur, source d'inspiration pour divers ensembles de pipes tels "companions" ou ""Seven-Day", des évènements spéciaux ou des pièces uniques telle la pipe Tour Eiffel de 3,5 M$, bordée d'or, de diamants, saphirs et rubis. Il a imaginé la Confrérie du White Spot (Fellowship of White Spot) un bulletin d'information gratuit sur l'histoire et le patrimoine de la pipe Dunhill.
But I got to know Richard as a man, not as an industry magnate. My association with the Dunhills began in the late 1960s while in Argentina. I had received an unexpected gift, an autographed copy of the first reprint of The Pipe Book: “To Major Benjamin Rapaport, with sincere regards, Alfred [H.] Dunhill.” While in London in 1982, I sought an audience with Richard to return the favor with a copy of my book, A Complete Guide to Collecting Antique Pipes and, selfishly, to learn more about the vast private collection of antique pipes and tobacco books I had read about. (Ten years later, Richard reciprocated with a copy of Alfred Dunhill, One Hundred Years and More.) The gesture of a gift, and the fact that his wife was Argentine, and I had met my wife in Buenos Aires, broke the ice. He was engaging, self-effacing, and effusive in our informal chat. I still remember his view on smoking: “Tobacco is like salt. Too much will kill you, none at all is bad for you, and the right amount is beneficial.” I learned that his passions were gardening and backgammon, and that he had a deep affection for the history of the pipe in all its forms, what his grandfather had begun in the 1920s: assembling an exceptional collection of antique smoking utensils and an impressive library of early tracts, treatises, and chap books on tobacco. He often attended London auctions to snag the occasional antique pipe to add to the collection.
In January 2000, at Richard’s request, I visited again to conduct a valuation of the tobacco library. When I asked why, he said that the books and pipes were eventually to be deaccessioned, a decision, I believe, of the holding company, Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. This announcement was a slight to Richard who had a personal—and a family—stake in the care and feeding of both collections, to be saved, not salvaged. On May 12, 2004, Christie’s, South Kensington, conducted the auction that dispersed everything excluding company archives.
The third time we met was at the International Academy of the Pipe convention in Windsor, England, in 2001. He seemed a different person, somber, detached, and distracted from the proceedings. Fifteen years have passed since that last encounter as I learned of his death in early September 2016. Through the years we had become occasional pen pals, and I considered myself fortunate to be among his many American associates. After all, I was not an authorized “White Spot” retailer … I was not even affiliated with the tobacco trade.
My personal opinion is that whoever assumes the mantle at Dunhill will have to be more than someone wearing a Saville Row suit and John Lobb brogans. He’ll have to embody Richard’s attributes, characteristics, and personality. Richard Dunhill was too well respected to be forgotten!