The Poor Man's Dunhill Mini-Magnum -- The 1976 Jumbo: Difference between revisions

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'''THE POOR MAN’S DUNHILL MINI-MAGNUM – THE 1976 JUMBO 612/622, By John Loring with Richard Esserman (*)''' (12/01) <br>

''Contributed by Jean-Christophe Bienfait''

Dunhill has always prided itself on its consistency, classic English pipe shapes year after year of the finest quality.  Still some years are distinctive.  For instance, for obvious reasons not many pipes were made at all in 1940, yet in my experience the strong odds are that if you find a 1940 Dunhill it will be a LB Shell.

   

   

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While only a handful of these jumbo 1976 ¾ 612/622 bents were made (and not to be confused with the many large but standard group 6 sized 612 and 622 bents made in 1976) after gazing at them in awe, the intriguing question that comes to mind is why in 1976 and only in 1976.

   

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But Dunhill’s stockpile of accumulated briar was far too substantial to be seriously dented by an extra generous production of bent shapes in 1976 and Canadian shapes in 1978 and there were other considerations as well.  First, the 1975 announced end of ODA production had not been well received in America.  So given both American market and MBA/corporate demands a 1978 reintroduction of the entire large classic shape “Giant”/”ODA” line was a natural.  ''(Of course consistent with the end of its individual pipe shape numbering system, these ODAs were initially reintroduced without the traditional “800” pipe shape number stampings.)''

Second, Dunhill was hardly oblivious to the favorable impression Danish freehand pipes had made in America during the 1960s.  Indeed in the early 1970’s it had experimented at its Harcourt factory with plateau topped freehand bowls using preturned but hand finished stems.  (These were marketed as Dunhills with an “S/G” stamp.)  Nor of course was it unfamiliar with the popularity of its newly acquired Charatanline of Danish influenced English style free hands, i.e. the Distinction, Executive, Selected and Supreme.  So again in retrospect it was almost natural for Dunhill to begin Dunhill factory production in 1978 of the Collector line of free hand style pipes.

   

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In life however, we are ultimately measured not so much by the mistakes we make but how we react to them and if I may complete my speculation, it seems to me that early 1980s Dunhill production indicates that indeed Dunhill recognized and reacted to its 1979 circled group 6 Bruyere disaster.  For in the early 1980s together with continued production of the Collector and reintroduced ODA lines we see a number of unusual Dunhill pipes replicating some of its most unusual older limited production shapes,  suggesting to me a continuation of turning an accumulated inventory of briar into sterling but unlike, 1979, and consistent with 1976 and 1978 doing so within a tradition of classic English style shapes of the finest quality.   

   

All and all then for an old fashion, stogy English company, the second half of the 1970s is a remarkable period with an incredible low, peaks of considerable interest and for me, the incredible high point of Dunhill’s 1976 production of a handful of 612 and 622 ¾ bent shapes with bowl heights exceeding 2 ½” up to 3”, the largest standard shape numbered pipes Dunhill has ever produced.

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''(*)(This paper could not have been written save for Richard Esserman.  While most of us began as ‘smokers’ and slowly developed into collectors, Richard merged the two interests almost immediately and coupled them with a phenomenal memory and a discerning eye.  He is in all a remarkable and generous resource.)''