1965 Dunhill Root Briar ODA 806 Smooth 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 and/or in size from Dunhill’s standard offerings. The 806, seen here, was a little of both, being a larger, fuller rendition of the traditional apple shape than others in Dunhill’s mid-century catalogs. I would imagine that the OD upgrade, along with the choice of finish, was chosen for this pipe very early in its production stages, given the great plane of bird’s-eye grain in the briar, which its final form has captured marvelously.

The condition is very good. Some rim darkening.

 

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.54″ / 39.11mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g