Dunhill 1961 Root Briar ODA 839 Smooth Bent Bulldog 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 and coveted “OD” series. As historian John Loring recounts, post-war OD designs were distinct in either shape or in size from Dunhill’s typical offerings. The ODA 83_, shapes for example, were what Dunhill referred to as a “semi-giant”—not quite a magnum, but certainly larger than pipes in the make’s standard production. This “839” is certainly uncommonly large compared to other shapes of its kind in Dunill’s historic catalog. Even among the OD shapes—again per Loring— it is a rare one, which would in part explain why, in my experience, it is highly coveted. I would have to imagine part of that came down to the design and how labor-intensive bulldogs like this one are to manufacture. Nevertheless, it is a design that has endured not only in the minds of Dunhill collectors, but in the works of Dunhill-inspired artisans, such as Les Wood, Michael Parks, and J.T. Cooke.

The condition is very good. Some slight inner rim charring.

 

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.89 / 22.60mm

Bowl Depth: 1.25″ / 31.75mm

Weight: 2.2oz / 64g