1961 Dunhill Shell 120 Sandblasted Bent Billiard 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.

The “120” is one of Dunhill’s most iconic shapes, not least because its historical associations with another iconic Dunhill shape, the “LC.” Debuting in the early 1920s and being produced until around the mid-century, the 120 is a quintessential, traditional 3/4 bent billiard, with a long, slender appearance reminiscent of a swan neck. While the LC took this basic design and enlarged and exaggerated its features, the 120 tended to remain closer to the more slight proportions of Dunhill’s standard shapes, and by extension English pipes of the time more generally. With that said, this group 4 120 is still a little larger than other shapes within that grouping, with a taller and more generous chamber well suited to contemplative sipping. I must say, this 120 is one of the most remarkable I’ve come across, with a perfectly executed, flowing curvature in its shaping and perfect ring grain. Dunhill didn’t start using separate, Ring Grain grades for their Shells until 1986, but if they had when this one was made, I have no doubts that it would have qualified.

The condition is very good. Some darkening of the rim and minor finish fading. As a side note, this pipe looks to have been stamped with two different, one-digit date codes (both 1960s), rather than the single, two-digit codes used from 1970 to 2000 (e.g., “12”for 1972). This is not unheard of and typically means that the pipe was made in 1961 and, for one reason or another, was not sold until 1962.

 

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.76″ / 44.70mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 48g