Dunhill 1968 Root Briar LB C Smooth 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.

As with most things Dunill, the historian John Loring is the best source for understanding the make’s LB shapes, so I’d recommend his “Dunhill Large Billiard Variations” article for a more thorough treatment. For brevity’s sake, however: the “LB,” or “Large Billiard,” was a highly significant shape in Dunhill’s catalog for most of the 20th century, before it was discontinued with the advent of the 1975 shape numbering system. Introduced in the interwar years, it soon acquired a dedicated following among pipe smokers. From its slightly round, canted bowl to its generally muscular figure, the design became iconic not only for smokers, but for pipe-makers too, with notable contemporary admirers in the artisan community, such as J.T. Cooke and Michael Parks. This one wears the classic Root Briar finish and was made in 1968, a year that capped off a particularly good decade for Dunhill pipes. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this Dunhill, however, is the extra “C” stamp on its shank. According to Dunhill themselves, this indicates that the pipe was not originally made for sale, but to be gifted to the company’s business partners (“C” standing for “complementary”). I wonder if this one was chosen for that purpose by virtue of its extraordinary bird’s-eye grain.

The condition is very good. Some wear to the rim and a spot of darkening on the outside lip, slightly faded stamping, minor handling marks.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.65″ / 41.91mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g