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WWII Phase: Difference between revisions
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[[File:FullSizeRender-2.jpg|thumb|left|Magazine clipping of Alfred H. Dunhill, holding a fragment, courtesy Johnathan Guss]] | [[File:FullSizeRender-2.jpg|thumb|left|Magazine clipping of Alfred H. Dunhill, holding a fragment, courtesy Johnathan Guss]] | ||
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Alfred Henry Dunhill was appointed as president in 1928 by his father, a position he held until 1961. He then decided to leave the company and | Alfred Henry Dunhill was appointed as president in 1928 by his father, a position he held until 1961. He then decided to leave the company and transferred his presidency to his sister, Mary Dunhill. Alfred Henry Dunhill passed away ten years later (in 1971) at age 75. | ||
In another rare image (left), courtesy of our friend Jonathan Guss, we have a clipping of a magazine that says: | In another rare image (left), courtesy of our friend Jonathan Guss, we have a clipping of a magazine that says: | ||
<blockquote><q>Mr. Alfred H. Dunhill holding a fragment from the wreckage of the shop in Duke Street, St. Jame's in London, that was founded by his father. '''''Tobacco''''' in February told the romantic story of the shop which "a spacious, and gracious, place of bright, light woods and | <blockquote><q>Mr. Alfred H. Dunhill holding a fragment from the wreckage of the shop in Duke Street, St. Jame's in London, that was founded by his father. '''''Tobacco''''' in February told the romantic story of the shop which "a spacious, and gracious, place of bright, light woods and beveled glass" was ruined by Hitler's airmen in a night raid.</q></blockquote> | ||
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The Second World War was a difficult time. Rationing due to the war was so drastic that Dunhill suffered from the scarcity of raw material until the beginning of the 1950s, several years into the post-war period. | The Second World War was a difficult time. Rationing due to the war was so drastic that Dunhill suffered from the scarcity of raw material until the beginning of the 1950s, several years into the post-war period. | ||
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Dunhill published | Dunhill published catalogs annually, even during the First World War with each catalog being more elegant than the last. There were no catalogs between 1940 and 1950. however, with the exception of two. These were catalogs of "gifts", distributed in North America circa 1943, and in Great Britain at the end of the 1940s. | ||
According to John Loring, few pipes (and mostly uninteresting) were produced by Dunhill during the 1940s. Italian Briar for smooth pipes was extremely scarce, and Algerian Briar (used in sandblasts) was just slightly more available. Likewise, vulcanite for stems was either rationed or forbidden, so that many, if not most of the pipes produced during the war were equipped with horn stems (horn is a very comfortable material, but is easily cracked). | According to John Loring, few pipes (and mostly uninteresting) were produced by Dunhill during the 1940s. Italian Briar for smooth pipes was extremely scarce, and Algerian Briar (used in sandblasts) was just slightly more available. Likewise, vulcanite for stems was either rationed or forbidden, so that many, if not most of the pipes produced during the war were equipped with horn stems (horn is a very comfortable material, but is easily cracked). | ||
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In this particular case, it looks like the block was from the center of the burl. Maybe this pipe should have been sandblasted instead of being left smooth, but it was a difficult time, and perhaps this was the only way to produce a few good pipes. | In this particular case, it looks like the block was from the center of the burl. Maybe this pipe should have been sandblasted instead of being left smooth, but it was a difficult time, and perhaps this was the only way to produce a few good pipes. | ||
<blockquote>"Few, and for the most part uninteresting, Dunhill pipes were produced during the 1940s. It would appear that during World War II and for a good bit | <blockquote>"Few, and for the most part uninteresting, Dunhill pipes were produced during the 1940s. It would appear that during World War II and for a good bit afterward the Italian briar necessary for Dunhill smooth finished pipes was in extremely short supply while the situation for Algerian briar necessary for the Shell finish was only somewhat better.<br> | ||
For Dunhill, like all English companies, the period from 1939 through 1953 was particularly difficult. During | For Dunhill, like all English companies, the period from 1939 through 1953 was particularly difficult. During World War II itself, Dunhill production suffered from severe shortages of briar, vulcanite, and tooling and least we forget, an overabundance of aerial bombings. And for several years after, while the details changes, the difficulties did not. Until the 1950s Dunhill pipe production appears to have been lower than when it was a fledgling company in World War I and after thirty consecutive years of annual pipe catalogs there wasn’t even one such for the entirety of the 1940s.<br> | ||
Following war’s end the supply of vulcanite and tooling freed up, but briar was not so readily available. Italian briar which Dunhill used for its smooth finished pipes didn’t become available in blocks suitable for larger pipes until 1948 and then initially only at very high prices. The supply of Algerian briar became available sooner but Dunhill used that briar only for its Shell finish pipes. Equally, if not more importantly, there was a dramatic change in Dunhill’s customer base, in short for all practical purposes only Americans could afford to buy Dunhill pipes in any volume. Thus targeting the American market was of utmost importance. And in that latter regard there was a particularly irksome development amongst the competition." '''J. Loring'''</blockquote> | Following war’s end the supply of vulcanite and tooling freed up, but briar was not so readily available. Italian briar which Dunhill used for its smooth finished pipes didn’t become available in blocks suitable for larger pipes until 1948 and then initially only at very high prices. The supply of Algerian briar became available sooner but Dunhill used that briar only for its Shell finish pipes. Equally, if not, more importantly, there was a dramatic change in Dunhill’s customer base, in short for all practical purposes only Americans could afford to buy Dunhill pipes in any volume. Thus targeting the American market was of utmost importance. And in that latter regard, there was a particularly irksome development amongst the competition." '''J. Loring'''</blockquote> | ||
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