England, 1960s
Unlike other competitors Dunhill’s approach to shapes and grades was pedantic and systematic indeed. Pipe smokers want variety. Which variety can we offer when all pipes are with the same white dot? First of all, a size (Group size from 1 till 6). Then a modification of a stem: tapered (0) or saddle stem (1). And certainly a shape – the shapes were listed in shape charts. So if you like to buy a specific pipe you can send e-mail… Or a telegram “I want size 3 straight apple with a tapered stem!”. A kind of an online (or remote) shop, isn’t it.
By the way we’ve got exactly the above mentioned apple for you. It’s a Root Briar pipe, the highest grade. The pipe markings are slightly faded but still we can distinguish “DUNHILL \ ROOT BRIAR”, “107”, “(3)R”. Unfortunately the “MADE IN LONDON \ ENGLAND” with a year suffix is almost invisible but experienced colleagues claim this shape to be listed in the 1969 catalogue for the last time. So we’ve got the same impression about the pipe’s age. The length is 13.6 cm, bowl’s hight is 4.5 cm. External and internal diameters of the bowl are 2.7 cm and 2.0 cm. The depth is 3.5 cm and this pipe weights 41 gr. Briar, vulcanite stem (slightly corrected), no filter. The chamber has been protected with the break in paste.
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