1954 Dunhill Shell Briar ODA 806 Patent Apple 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.

This particular Dunhill belongs to the rare, “OD” series. As historian John Loring recounts, post-war OD designs, such as this one, were distinct in shape or in size from Dunhill’s standard offerings. The 806 was a little bit of both. It’s an apple shape, but one far stouter than Dunhill’s typical renditions, with a uniquely tall bowl that would almost seem to prefigure the egg shapes of the Danish artisan scene. Aside from this, the pipe is very much in keeping with Dunhill’s mid-century output, including a densely craggy sandblast with a good deal of ring grain.

The condition is good. Some rim darkening and a couple of tooth indentations in the pipe’s stem.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.72 / 18.28mm

Bowl Depth: 1.47″ / 37.33mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g