The Early Dunhill OD: Difference between revisions

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'''THE EARLY DUNHILL OD, © JOHN C LORING:''' ''Used by permission'' <br>

''Contributed by Jean-Christophe Bienfait''

Traditionally the “OD” has been the most collectable of Dunhill pipes, yet historically speaking we know little about it.  It’s origins are uncertain. I suspect it dates to the early 1920’s,  priced in line with the straight grained DR and above the letter designated shapes which in turn were initially priced somewhat higher then the ‘standard’ number designated shapes (subsequently, in the 1920’s, the letter and number designated shapes were priced the same).  The meaning of  “OD”, which is sometimes found with a following letter ranging from “A” to “J”, a further price/grade indicator based on overall production costs and quality of the pipe,  is not definitely known but it is consistently said to stand for “Own Design”.   

   

In this paper I will suggest four relatively new, perhaps controversial, thoughts leading to the conclusion that the ‘Modern ODA Line’ began in 1953.  First, that due to economic circumstances there was never an OD retail pipe line as such prior to World War II.  Second, that the post war ‘ODA’ pipe line that we all know wasn’t Dunhill’s initial post war objective, but rather came about in the fluidity of a changing customer base and competition.  Third, that in the post WWII period smooth finished oversized standard shape pipes, ‘semi-giants’, were uniformly stamped ODB rather then ODA only because of the  then high cost of Italian briar.  And fourth, that in 1951 and 1952 ‘semi-giant’ Shell finished pipes were not considered part of the post-war OD line.  Lastly, the reader may perceive a veiled suggestion that Dunhill might be viewed as the pre WWII parent of the high grade ‘Free Hand’ briar pipe – that should raise some hackles.

From inception Dunhill was an innovative pipe maker, not only in terms of mechanics but also in terms of design.  The non standard letter shapes of the 1910s, the “LB” billiard, the “R” pot, the “P” bent bulldog and the “K” apple quickly became important standard shapes of the 1920s and after.  And the quaint shapes of the 1920s likewise found a welcoming audience:

[[File:Loring-TheEarlyOD1.jpg|center]]

That said the pre-war OD is nonetheless almost mythical.  In terms of catalogue references and reported surviving examples we know of less then two dozen pipes, most of which are pictured here.  

[[File:Loring-TheEarlyOD2.jpg|center]]

Further confusing the picture, as shown below we know of three ‘group 6sh’ pipes dating from 1928 to 1931 stamped “DR” but which seemingly could just as easily have been stamped “OD” with a place in the  1928 OD catalog pages:

[[File:Loring-TheEarlyOD3.jpg|center]]

By this I do not mean to suggest that the OD began and ended in 1928, for obviously the 1925 magnum and the 1939 carved head pictured above demonstrate that it did not.  But I do mean to suggest that for most of the pre WWII period the OD existed more as a concept then as a retail line of pipes.  Custom ordered high end pipes at above standard pricing might be referred to as ODs but there was no need to stamp them such since the pipe and invoice went directly out to the ordering customer.  Likewise if an occasional specially carved premium priced pipe was put out for sale in one of Dunhill’s London shops, the experienced staff of those two shops could be trusted to recognize such a pipe and recall or check for the correct price without the need of a special OD stamp.  Essentially then  this meant that the OD stamp was needed for only those few pipes put out in the retail stream beyond London.  

   

Commencing in 1950 Dunhill introduced a line of pipes assigned three digit shape numbers starting with 8, the “800” series, and stamped with an “OD” followed by a letter grade stamp above that shape number.  In contrast to the pre-war ODs these post-war pipes were often considerably smaller and, regardless of size, were ‘production line’ pipes as opposed to the ‘one of a kind’ pre-war ODs.  These “800” series pipes essentially fell into two sub-lines: ‘fancies’ (my term): shape numbers beginning with 80_ and 86_; and ‘semi-giants’ (the Dunhill factory term): shape numbers beginning with 83_  (and later 84_ and 85_).  The fancies (80_and 86_ ) were as a whole  ‘group 4sh’ sized pipes reminiscent of some of the pre-war quaint shapes with the 80_  shapes recalling earlier times and the 86_ shapes looking towards the future.  The semi-giants (83_  and also the 806) were larger,  

‘group 5sh/6sh’, versions of standard shapes.  In fairly short order the fancies fell by the wayside and the semi-giants developed into the pipes we commonly refer to today as “ODA”s.  But to begin to understand and speculate how and why this happened we have to step back a few years.

   

[[File:Loring-TheEarlyOD4.jpg|center]]

But now it is easy to see that in circa 1950 the essential perception at Dunhill, especially given the constraints imposed by a limited supply of Italian briar, was a  line of development from pre-war quaints to the 1928 style ODs to the post war fancy (80_ and 86_) ODs,  and not to the semi-giant (83_) ODs that were the focus of my untutored, late 20th century, perceptions.   

   

[[File:Loring-TheEarlyOD5.jpg|center]]

This strongly suggests that in 1950/1951 when the group size system was considered and implemented it was determined that the larger, semi-giant type Shell shapes, which would be considered “ODB”s if smooth finished, should not part of the OD line and instead priced as Group 4s. This I should add is consistent with the pre-war practice of treating large Shells such as the LC or the 482 as standard price shapes.

   

Thus was born in 1953 the modern Dunhill “ODA” line.

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''While I am not sure that Richard Esserman would agree with all the thoughts expressed in this paper, in important respects this paper is the result of an ongoing dialogue between the two of us over the years.''

Back to Loring's articles [https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#John_C._Loring_Articles '''here''']

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