1967 Dunhill Shell 659 4S Sandblasted 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.

For some reason, the mid-century “659” is not a shape that pops up often in my experience handling estates. It’s a curious shape, one that seems ordinary at first, but is less so on closer inspection. It is a saddle billiard, after all, but it also has an uncommonly short shank, with the section of the mouthpiece that sits flush with it being almost the exact same length, and the saddle being almost the exact length of the two together. If you’re familiar with more contemporary Dunhills, you’ll know that this ultimately became the standard “203” saddle billiard shape, but in 1967, when this featherweight group 4 example was made, that was far from the case. Perhaps—as we saw with one of the Ser Jacopos listed a few nights ago—this is in fact the divina proportione, or “divine proportion” for a billiard. Given how long Dunhill have been making pipes, they would probably know something about that.

The condition is fair. Some substantial rim darkening, a light tooth mark, and some residual oxidation.

 

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.51″ / 38.35mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g