Dunhill 2008 Ruby Bark 5217 Squat 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.

The successor to Dunhill’s Red Bark series, the Ruby Bark continued Dunhill’s use of a ruby red sandblast finish from the former with some additional design elements, lending it an extra air of distinction. The most obvious of these is the silver collar the Ruby Bark wears, but a more subtle addition is the highly traditional, beveled rim each features, reminiscent of a more classic mid-century style. Speaking of mid-century style, this group 5 Ruby Bark should look quite familiar to fans of Dunhill’s older, classic shapes, given that it is essentially the successor to Dunhill’s iconic “O” squat bulldog (albeit, in this instance, with a saddle, rather than the O’s tapered, stem). Before it was discontinued with the advent of Dunhill’s modern shape code system, the O was one of Dunhill’s most distinctive shapes, winning the hearts of many a collector and being the subject of homages by many an artisan, including J.T. Cooke and Les Wood of Ferndown.

The condition is very good. Some darkening and a couple of small spots of char on the inner rim. This pipe comes with its original box and sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 21.84mm

Bowl Depth: 1.23″ / 31.24mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 56g