The Earliest Dunhill?: Difference between revisions

The Earliest Dunhill? (view source)

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-|'''*When  using this chart it is important to remember that underside bit stamps are easily buffed off and bits may be replaced.'''
+ *When  using this chart it is important to remember that underside bit stamps are easily buffed off and bits may be replaced.'''
 It would also appear that two other early nomenclature variations have no dating significance.  First, on some pipes the INNER TUBE stamp is found without surrounding quotes and on others with such quotes - “INNER TUBE”.  It would appear however,  that this is simply a question of the patent stamp used, specifically “INNER TUBE” for pipes stamped with the 1912 patent and INNER TUBE for pipes stamped with the 1914 or 1915 patent.  Second, it would appear that the alignment of DUNHILL [over] ] DUKE ST S.W. is random.
+<!--T:3-->
+'''The Oldest LB?'''
+In the Winter-Spring 2005 Ephemeris I wrote about the Dunhill LB (“Dunhill Large Billiard Variations” at pp. 37-39) and specifically about the 1920’s Shell ‘thin shank/straight bowl walls’ variation to the standard ‘thick shank / applish bowl’ LB.  A subsequent acquisition however, leads me to view matters a bit differently.
+It is a 2” tall, 5 ¾” long 1917 Dunhill  Bruyere billiard stamped '''H.W DUNHILL''' [over] '''DUKE ST S.W.''' on one side and '''“INNER TUBE”''' [over] '''PAT. No 5681/12 8''' on the other. This is a remarkably large pipe for the “Duke Street” period,  in terms of bowl height  and length it is an LB and like smooth finished LBs of the 1920s it is stamped “H.W” (‘handworked’) and with an “8” inner tube size.  It is not stamped “LB” but then that shape designation was probably not introduced until 1918/1919, so it is probably best viewed as a prototype.
+But most interesting in that regard is that this 1917 ‘prototype’ has straight sided bowl walls and medium rather then thick shank, that is to say it is more properly a prototype of the 1920s Shell LB variation rather then of the ‘standard’ applish bowl / thick shank LB.  All of which leads me to suggest that perhaps the thin shank/straight bowl wall LB must be viewed as the original shape and that the applish bowl/thick shank LB must be viewed as the variation which quickly became the norm first for smooth finishes and by the 1930’s for all finishes.
+[[File:Image003.jpg|350px|center]]
+<!--T:2-->
+'''The Oldest Modern ODA?'''
+The ODA 832 is essentially an LB with an extended shank and a stub saddle bit.  It was one of the first, or as it now appears, the first modern, post WWII, standard shape ODA.  In that early post war period, in distinct contrast to before the war,  briar  was ‘dear’ and in those circumstances the 832 had a particular virtue.  If a costly briar block allowed for an extended shank it could be finished as an 832 to be sold at the premium ODA price, but if an extended shank was not possible then the pipe could still be finished as an LB.
+Until the new century it was uniformly believed that the first modern standard shape ODAs  were introduced in 1950 when the ‘800’ shape number series was inaugurated.   Then around 2001 a couple 832 shapes from 1949 were found stamped only ODA (since the ‘800’ shape number series had not yet been established) so the year of introduction was moved back a year.
+Visually, at least to my eyes, the 832 appears to be an ungainly pipe but in actual use, at least for me,  it is a most comfortable smoke, easily held in the mouth - my ‘if you were stranded on a desert island and allowed to take but one pipe’ pipe.   It is also a very rare shape, so when a Shell 832 appearing to date to the mid 1950s came up on eBay with a serious bowl crack I went after it, figuring that I could repair the crack (an easy and unobtrusive repair for Shells) and have a ‘smoker’ that I could enjoy without fear of a major economic loss if I inadvertently dropped it.  Imagine then  my surprise when upon receiving my eBay ‘smoker’ I discovered that in fact it dates to 1948, making it unquestionably the earliest known  modern standard shape ODA.
+[[File:Image004.jpg|350px|center]]
+----
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 [[Category:Dunhill]]