Reuben Era Charatan’s Make Special 4402 Canadian 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.

What a peculiar Charatan this is! But that’s exactly how I like them. When this pipe first landed on my desk, I saw the iconic Lane Ltd “L” stamp on the top of the shank and presumed it must be a Lane era Special grade. But then there was the stem, which is original, but which was not a Double Comfort. No matter, I thought, it must be an “X” shape, with an atypical taper instead of Lane’s proprietary saddle. Next, I looked for the shape code, which I’ll admit took me far longer than it should have. It’s there, but it’s nested just before the bowl on the right side of the shank: “4402.” No “DC,” but no “X” either. That’s what really threw me, because I’m so used to the Lane era 4402, which was a lumberman in both its 4402DC and 4402X iterations. So, this is in fact a late-1950s, Reuben era Charatan Special, with Lane simply having imported it from Britain. It is as well as a shape that all but disappeared once Lane fully acquired the make in 1961.

The condition is great. Some minor darkening and finish fading on the rim.

 

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.87″ / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 1.54″ / 39.11mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g