1983 Dunhill Red Bark 41101 Liverpool Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

To veteran pipe smokers, Dunhill needs no introduction. Beginning in 1907, Alfred Dunhill began selling Dunhill pipes at the tobacconist shop he owned on London’s Duke Street. Very quickly, these pipes gained the reputation of being the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of pipes due to how expertly crafted they were. Today, Dunhill is likely Britain’s most famous pipe manufacturer, and continues to produce some of the most treasured pipes a smoker can buy.

I’ve handled a few Red Barks over the years, and I have to say, finding one in a good condition is not common. The finish was only produced for around 15 years, between the early-1970s and late-1980s, so the chances of finding one without a chewed up stem or a charred rim are – as with most rare pipes – quite slim. I was very happy, then, for this one to land on my desk. Having been made in 1983, shortly before Dunhill changed the Red Bark finish to more of a “pink bark” stain, this is also one of the nicer looking ones I’ve come across. It is a traditional Liverpool shape, dressed in sandblast that has turned the briar’s bird’s-eye patterns into an almost granular, craggy texture, and stained with an appropriately ruby-scarlet hue. As Dunhills tend to be, the pipe is also perfectly light, weighing a mere 30 grams, making it a surefire easy clencher.

As noted, the condition of this one is great. There is a touch of rim darkening, and perhaps one or two minor handling marks around the bowl, but the pipe has nonetheless been carefully preserved by its single, previous owner.

 

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.41″ / 35.81mm

Weight: 1.0oz / 30g