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Dunhill: Difference between revisions
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Loring also defended that Dunhill pipes were generally finished from French turned bowls until 1917, when the Calabrian briar started to be used, but not completely. Only in 1920 Dunhill took the final step in its pipe making operation and began sourcing and cutting all of its own bowls, proudly announcing thereafter that "no French briar was employed". | Loring also defended that Dunhill pipes were generally finished from French turned bowls until 1917, when the Calabrian briar started to be used, but not completely. Only in 1920 Dunhill took the final step in its pipe making operation and began sourcing and cutting all of its own bowls, proudly announcing thereafter that "no French briar was employed". | ||
Hener, however, believes that in the beginning the pipes were obtained from English wholesalers. | Hener, however, believes that in the beginning the pipes were obtained from English wholesalers. | ||
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<blockquote><q>With the opening of its own manufacture, most pipes were completely made in-house. Some of the bowls selected and graded in the first of the manufacturing processes in 1920 possibly came from St. Claude in France. However, as perhaps those were of lessening quality or becoming too expensive, Alfred Dunhill established a bowl-turning unit at 20 St. Pancras Road near King’s Cross station.</q> Hener, K. S., Product Line Director - The White Spot Smoker's Accessory Division and Walthamstow site.</blockquote> | <blockquote><q>With the opening of its own manufacture, most pipes were completely made in-house. Some of the bowls selected and graded in the first of the manufacturing processes in 1920 possibly came from St. Claude in France. However, as perhaps those were of lessening quality or becoming too expensive, Alfred Dunhill established a bowl-turning unit at 20 St. Pancras Road near King’s Cross station.</q> Hener, K. S., Product Line Director - The White Spot Smoker's Accessory Division and Walthamstow site.</blockquote> | ||
At the beginning Dunhill's pipes was a limited production straight grain, hand-cut from over century-old briar burls and fitted with hand-cut 'push' vulcanite bits. | |||
<blockquote><q>These pipes were individually priced from ten shillings six pence to over four pounds.· I am not sure how these pipes were stamped but most likely DUNHILL over DUKE ST. S.W. appeared on the shank with either a "B" or a "DR" near the bowl. A "B" stamping is possible since at that point in time "B" denoted Dunhill’s highest quality pipe. On the other hand I believe "DR" more likely as that stamping was being used to denote straight grained pipes by at least as early as 1915. While these pipes in time became a high end subset to the Dunhill 'Bruyere' (and later the Root) line initially they should be distinguished as these straight grain pipes were hand cut in London from burls as opposed to the Bruyere line which was generally finished from French turned bowls until 1920. (The qualifier 'generally' is used here because any pre 1920 OD, HW or letter shape Bruyeres were most probably also carved from burls in London).</q> Loring, J. C., The Dunhill Briar Pipe, The Patent Years and After (self-published, Chicago, 1998)</blockquote> | |||
In this sense, Hener complements and brings interesting information about the Motorities pipe produce. | |||
<blockquote><q>If we talk about the earliest Dunhill pipes during the Motorities period (1904 – 1907), there were 3 qualities: A Quality (“First quality Briar, with finest vulcanite hand-finished mouthpiece”), B Quality (“specially selected Briars, hand-made”) and a Popular quality, which was lower grade and price. <br>Later, once his own production started, the nomenclature was similar: A Quality, the more expensive B Quality and tye much more expensive limited production Straight Grain pipes.</q> Hener, K. S., Product Line Director - The White Spot Smoker's Accessory Division and Walthamstow site.</blockquote> | |||
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