Charatan’s Make 101DC Lane Era Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

While Dunhill may be Britain’s most famous pipe brand, Charatan is not only older, but has the honor of being the first to have made its pipes entirely in-house. ‘Charatan’s Make’ referred to the fact that, at a time when other pipe companies were sourcing stummels and stems carved from other companies before assembling them in their factories and workshops, Charatan made every part of their pipes on the Charatan premises. So began a legacy of high-quality pipe-making under the Charatan name, one whose employees, at one time or another, included Joel Sasieni, and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones of James Upshall fame.

Charatan’s “101” shape is one of my favorites from the make, but it’s not an especially common one. You could call it a lumberman, or you could call it a long billiard, but its ambiguous length isn’t the most interesting part. Instead, what sets it apart from either shape is its faceted, squat diamond shank, which continues right up to the edge of the pipe’s saddle stem. This one is also uncommonly lightweight, coming in at just 30 grams despite being over 6 and a half inches in length. On a last note, this particular 101 comes from Charatan’s first Lane Era (1961-65), which collectors are especially fond of. Being from that era, it has Lane’s proprietary Double Comfort vulcanite stem.

The condition is very good for a pipe of this age. There’s some minor rim darkening, some small tooth marks, and some fading to the nomenclature, but the pipe has nonetheless been preserved very well.

 

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.87 / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 1.48″ / 37.59mm

Weight: 1.0oz / 30g