Dunhill 475 (cherrywood) 1956 Tanshell with 360-degree ring grain (super rare for the period)

[georged]

Dunhill was never a "grain centric" outfit, and except for the DR line (yawn), and the much-later "Shilling" designation (because the bowls reminded one of the shop managers of a stack of coins), if something came off the line that was special, it was simply chance.

Well. It seems that I sent of some sort of brainwave message in 1956 when I was 2 point something years old (smelled my first pipesmoke? Held my first pipe?) and the PipeGods set things into motion on my behalf.

Namely, created what was one day going to become my favorite shape, in my favorite finish, in my favorite year, and sent it into the world to be well-smoked/broken in for sixty-odd years, and then land in the hands of Dave Neeb (one of the PipeWorld's nicest guys), with a meh replacement stem on it which kept the price down.

So, things in general were cleaned up (Dave offered, but I was gonna do it anyway), a new stem was made for it---with a walrus ivory dot to mimic the lovely color tone of aged celluloid ---and it was introduced to the other pipes in my collection. (475's always get a warm welcome since they don't take up rack space.)

His name? Tanny Boy (get it? har har)

 

[georged]

 

[cossackjack]

Gorgeous pipe. Incredible ring-blast, birds-eye base, & perfect replacement stem.

I have a preference for "sitter" pipes like pokers, cherrywoods, & 'sitter' Hungarians, which facilitate smoking while working in the garage or outside.

Were you born in '53 (or '54), like this fellow geezer?

 

[craig61a]

Stunning ring grain.

 

[georged]

Were you born in '53 (or '54), like this fellow geezer?

The official due date was Jan 8th of '54, but I couldn't wait (something my mom said was a sign of things to come ), so escaped into the world on Dec 27th of '53.

In PipeWorld terms it means I needed BOTH a '53 and a '54 to cover the "birthyear" thing, so I considered it a win. (any excuse to buy another pipe, right?)

 

[jguss]

What George is too modest to say, but which is implicit in his post, is that he has revolutionized the way collectors should think about birth year pipes. Like most revolutions it's based on a deceptively simple premise: while it's often difficult to find a Dunhill of a given year it's easy to change how you think about your age. Pipes are objective facts; birthdays are a fiction freely changeable at the whim of the person involved (I used to do this frequently when I was single and in the dating scene). A little thought will show how liberating this approach to pipe collecting can be. Thanks to George I now have any number of birth year Dunhills ranging from the early 1920s to the late 1960s. Each is precious to me as a memento of the year I was born, and each gets a turn depending on how I feel at the time. Some days my a** is dragging and I feel a hundred years old; others I'm filled with the energy and enthusiasm of a mere boy still in his fifties.

 

[mikethompson]

A beautiful looking pipe, as I expected when clicking on this thread.

How does one get a piece of walrus ivory and trim it down to fit that spot on the stem?

 

[ssjones]

That is a fantastic grain for a Dunhill. Great collaboration with Dave and stem work, as always. As my old HS woodshop teacher used to say "it looked like it growed that way".

 

[beefeater33]

That's a Beauty!! One of my favorite Dunhill shapes as well. I'll bet it smokes as good as it looks!

 

[guylesss]

Dazzling, George! And an absolutely impeccable restoration.

 

[mkelaw]

Beautiful work, George! And thanks for your kind comments.

 

[georged]

How does one get a piece of walrus ivory and trim it down to fit that spot on the stem?

It's already been cued (no need to fast forward):

 

[georged]

What George is too modest to say, but which is implicit in his post, is that he has revolutionized the way collectors should think about birth year pipes. Like most revolutions it's based on a deceptively simple premise: while it's often difficult to find a Dunhill of a given year it's easy to change how you think about your age. Pipes are objective facts; birthdays are a fiction freely changeable at the whim of the person involved (I used to do this frequently when I was single and in the dating scene). A little thought will show how liberating this approach to pipe collecting can be. Thanks to George I now have any number of birth year Dunhills ranging from the early 1920s to the late 1960s. Each is precious to me as a memento of the year I was born, and each gets a turn depending on how I feel at the time. Some days my a** is dragging and I feel a hundred years old; others I'm filled with the energy and enthusiasm of a mere boy still in his fifties.

Now THAT ^^^^ is a textbook example of the sort of thinking the PipeWorld needs more of.

It's quite reasonable (anything to do with pipe acquisition always is, regardless), and LITERALLY TRUE.

"You're only as old as you feel", isn't just an aphorism, it's fact. Some days you feel old and some days you feel young again, right? And, by definition, every one of those moments falls SOMEWHERE on your Zero-to-Today personal timeline.

So. Everyone needs a birthyear pipe for every year they've been alive.

You must be prepared.

Speaking of which, it wouldn't hurt to have TWO pipes for each of those years, in case of loss or unrepairable damage.

 

[jguss]

Speaking of which, it wouldn't hurt to have TWO pipes for each of those years, in case of loss or unrepairable damage.

Err on the side of caution and get a rotation.

 

[kcghost]

You boys are taking us into an uncharted sea of birth year pipes. Great work, George.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Pokers/cherrywoods were never a favorite of mine - but I wouldn't throw this one out of bed.

 

[OzPiper]

I have never been a fan of the cherrywood shape.
Strangely having had one in the 1970s, I do like "real" cherry wood pipes.
Quite irrational, I do admit.

But every now and again you see a pipe that changes your perception off the genre.
This is one such.

Thanks @georged for posting.

 

[mortonbriar]

Oh Tanny boy is calling alright, look at that rim!!!

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Great work, George. Nice video too, letting us in trade secrets!

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

What George is too modest to say, but which is implicit in his post, is that he has revolutionized the way collectors should think about birth year pipes. Like most revolutions it's based on a deceptively simple premise: while it's often difficult to find a Dunhill of a given year it's easy to change how you think about your age. Pipes are objective facts; birthdays are a fiction freely changeable at the whim of the person involved (I used to do this frequently when I was single and in the dating scene). A little thought will show how liberating this approach to pipe collecting can be. Thanks to George I now have any number of birth year Dunhills ranging from the early 1920s to the late 1960s. Each is precious to me as a memento of the year I was born, and each gets a turn depending on how I feel at the time. Some days my a** is dragging and I feel a hundred years old; others I'm filled with the energy and enthusiasm of a mere boy still in his fifties.

Haha, a few minutes away from lighting up my only Dunhill - a pot which would be my birth year had my mom managed to hang on just another 3 1/2 months, lol! I mean if my birth year was the whole year before I turned one . . . .