The $50 Dunhill

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It's never really easy to win a low-ball Dunhill auction on fleabay, someone always snipes in the last 5 seconds of the auction. So for this one I played the waiting game till the last 10 minutes were remaninig and conveniently put the $49 starter bid and then decided to top it upto $60 incase someone wanted to be naughty and get spanked by Santa this Christmas. At the last second while I was gloating for my $49 Dunhill the dollar count mysteriously changed to $56.25, but it's still mine !!
The pipe is beat up, rim needs topping, shank has a silver band repaired crack, the nomenclature is weak but readable (can't read it in the photos the seller posted), but overall it's a decent smoker and I couldn't be happier with the acquisition.
Seller's Comments
Dunhill Shell Patent with gorgeous deep redwood color!!! I've never seen briar with this nice of a redness to it, especially for how old it is. Craggy and awesome, this pipe looks to be from 1950-1954. Patent reads 417574/34 and F/T111 for Fishtail mouthpiece/stem. The nomenclature is small and worn but visible. This pipe has been cleaned and restored, but further cleaning may be wanted by seller according to preference but it's ready to smoke and there is very light cake!
This pipe has a small crack in the shank with a repair band with hallmarks, so I assume it is silver but unsure. I researched the hallmarks and am unsure who the maker was but it holds tight. Stem fits tight and has a bit of chatter. Bowl rim has some charring (see pictures) but it can be "topped" if desired and will clean up nicely. Overall a great collector piece at a nice starting bid. A repair shop said the crack can be glued for $8.....Good luck and happy bidding on this piece of Dunhill history!!!
I hope the shank can be fully repaired. This will also be going to George in November for restoration.
Enjoy the pictures.
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Cheers,

Chris :puffpipe:

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,255
108,359
Decent price, had a new Ruby Bark billiard once. Traded it for some tins of Mephisto. For me, Dunhills just don't live up to the hype.

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,088
6,412
Florida
Congratulations! Now you can cross that off your 'must have' list and enjoy the fact that you've got a patent era Dunhill Shell briar! It looks like it's got many more bowls to burn. Enjoy it no matter what!

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
Looks like a replacement stem
No doubt about it.
The band wasn't well fitted, either (which is unfortunately often the case with sandblasts), and, based on the stem no longer being coaxial with the shank, looks to be covering a "puzzle break" where the shank didn't just crack put popped a few pieces out which were then reassembled before banding. (Dunhill was reliably "acceptably good" when it came to mortise alignment, and such an "elbow" bend wouldn't have made it past QA.)

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Good job on the bidding. Hope the pipe can be brought up to your standards and hopes for it. It's a Dunhill, so it has that going for it. If it develops as a beauty, share a picture of it. It's a pipe with a story.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
Love to see some photos that you take- the seller's photos are very poor, dark, out of focus in cases, and too few pixels. And the after ones mentioned by mso. Good luck!

 
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