According to the late John Loring, the TanShell (sic) actually entered production in 1951, and was to originally be dubbed the "Root Shell." In his book titled The Dunhill Pipe - The Patent Years and After he states, "Ultimately however the name TanShell was settled upon but the stamp for the TanShell name was not received by Dunhill until the beginning of December. Thus while the TanShell was in production in 1951 it appears that most if not all TanShells made in that year did not enter into retail distribution until 1952 and were given a 1952 date code."