Dunhill Estates from Aaron Spelling

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Smoking a Pipe Right Now
Staff member
Nov 16, 2008
8,764
4,932
St. Petersburg, FL
pipesmagazine.com
Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to present my 4 Dunhill pipes acquired directly from the estate of Aaron Spelling.
Aaron Spelling was a Hollywood producer responsible for shows such as: Charlie's Angels, Dynasty, Starsky and Hutch, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Charmed, The Mod Squad, S.W.A.T. and many others. He died in 2006.
You can read more about him here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Spelling
Interestingly, on that Wikipedia page, it does not tell you that he smoked a pipe and that he owned around 600 pipes.
aaron_spelling.jpg

His estate came to me to help sell the collection. I did so, but my contract forbids me to write an article about it.
There were about 200 Dunhills and I personally acquired 4 of them.
The rest of the collection went to http://www.smokingpipes.com/
Here are mine after they were cleaned up by Dave Walker of http://www.walkerbriarworks.com/
dunhill-root-briar-130ft-003-600x383.jpg

dunhill-dress-32121-600x454.jpg

dunhill-dress-41241-600x462.jpg

dunhill-root-briar-21011-600x496.jpg

Bob got a few too. Maybe he will get a chance to post his later.

 

admin

Smoking a Pipe Right Now
Staff member
Nov 16, 2008
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St. Petersburg, FL
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They were all in the low-to-mid-$300's retail, but I got a little better deal being the broker on the sale.
Here are some that are currently available on smokingpipes.com.
$230

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=67049
$230

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=67051
$1,850

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=67026
$310

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=67027
$300

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=67030
$250

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=66828
Here we are sorting them out at the Chicago Show:
2010-chicago-pipe-show-29.jpg


 

dudleydipstick

Can't Leave
Dec 13, 2009
410
2
Mr. Spelling certainly had great taste in briars!
That's pretty neat that you have some pipes from a man known by millions.
What else is great is that the price in no way whatsoever is if affected by it over at smokingpipes.com. I'm sure a lot of other retailers would be more than happy to tack on another $100 for the sake of legacy.
Nice pipes and sweet deals, to be sure!
P.S.,
Out of curiosity, have you noticed any ghosting or smell that gives you a bit of insight into what sorts of tobaccos Spelling enjoyed?

 

surfmac211

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 28, 2009
609
0
Jacksonville, Florida
Is there a legal reason smokingpipes.com did not throw his name on the description? Also other people that bought the pipes did they get any sort of letter of authenticity of it being Aaron Spelling's pipe for collection purposes? Lastly was there any tobacco that was presented for sale? Just wondering.

 

admin

Smoking a Pipe Right Now
Staff member
Nov 16, 2008
8,764
4,932
St. Petersburg, FL
pipesmagazine.com
Surfmac, if you look closely at the pages on smokingpipes.com, near the bottom left, just below the pictures, you will see it says; "From the estate of Aaron Spelling". It is in the "Nomenclature & Condition" section.
Smokingpipes.com decided to be very low key and subtle about these being Aaron Spelling's pipes, I think because I told them of the tight restrictions that my contract put on me, although it does not apply to smokingpipes.com.
The estate desired this to be low-key and out of the public eye. I don't really follow celebrity gossip much, but I think they felt there was already enough talk about town regarding their family.
They wanted the sale to be fast and quiet, and that is what I did. I was restricted from advertising or broadcasting that the pipes were for sale, but they said whomever bought them could then make a big splash once they owned them.
Sykes is a very proper, educated, respectful, well-mannered man, and I think he felt it would be classier to keep this more low key and not a carnival atmosphere. The only way you can find them on their site as far as being Aaron Spelling's pipes is by using the search feature.
There is no "letter of authenticity", but trust me, they were his pipes. A review of the contract would prove it, but I am restricted from showing it.
There was no tobacco for sale, although Bob and I each also got a nice leather Dunhill pipe bag.
My pipes have no ghosting that I can detect, but they smoke beautifully. I think they were made in the 70's.
I don't know which tobacco he smoked, but when Bob and I were smelling the pipes we guessed that he was an aromatic smoker.
He also had a habit of scorching the rims. Some of the pipes looked like he lit them with a torch. Two of mine did, but they cleaned up well.

 

pstlpkr

Lifer
Dec 14, 2009
9,694
31
Birmingham, AL
I really like that Dunhill Dress 41241, Kevin.
I don't normally go for a "black" pipe, although I do like some of the Dr. Graybow colors, especially the Avacado color.
They are all beautiful, congratulations.

 

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,637
Chicago, IL
This is like the mother lode for Dunnie aficionados.

Like Dudley, I too was impressed with the pricing restraint exercised by Wilford, given the provenance of these highly collectible pipes.
One (minor) downside though, the low key approach and lack of publicity attending this release does little to promote and popularize pipe smoking. It would have helped to have such a popular Hollywood family associated with the hobby. But it's nice that their desire for privacy was respected; and that Kevin and Sykes have shown a little lot of integrity by not exploiting the situation.

 

python

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 8, 2009
3,756
7,251
Maryland
pipesmagazine.com
Dave Walker did a great job on cleaning those pipes up! They look almost new!
Here are the 2 pipes that I got from the collection:
1980 Dunhill Root Briar Bulldog

dunhill-root-briar-bulldog-600x192.jpg

1978 Dunhill Root Briar Classic Bent

dunhill-rootbriar-bent-600x379.jpg

I did the restoration on these pipes myself. You can see the before and after shots of the bulldog in this thread:

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/my-dunhill-bulldog-restoration-photos
I did not do the salt & alcohol treatment on these pipes. The classic bent looked to be only smoked a couple of times. The chamber was pretty much still bare wood. The bulldog however was smoked quite a bit and required reaming.
As far as ghosting goes; there was no ghost at all in the rarely smoked bent, but the bulldog had a ghost in it.
So you want to know what he smoked in it?
It was Mixture No. 79.
I can't taste it anymore, but it was very noticeable for the first few smokes.

 

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,637
Chicago, IL
What irony! I'll bet Spelling didn't buy the pipe at the same drugstore where he got his tobacco. (Look who's talking -- Mr. PA, LOL)

But in all fairness, I hear M.79 is an acquired taste: those who love it swear by it; and those who don't swear at it.

 

admin

Smoking a Pipe Right Now
Staff member
Nov 16, 2008
8,764
4,932
St. Petersburg, FL
pipesmagazine.com
The Spelling Estate found me through the web site contact form here.
Then I consulted with Rick Newcombe (prominent collector and author), Frank Burla (former head of the Chicago Show, and owner of the Pipe and Tobacciana Museum in Chicagor), Tad Gage (author, collector, blender). Then I talked to some eBay guys, then around midnight before flying out to the Chicago show, talked to Sykes.
Had dinner with Sykes the next evening, and then next day spent 13 hours sorting through pipes and doing a deal.

 

hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,750
Chicago
Nice, that's a pretty cool side benefit of this site! When I die, I'll have the beneficiaries of the vast HauntedMyst estate contact you about reselling my 3 pipes and a new pair of Speedo's I promised myself I'd lose enough weight to wear but never was able to drop enough to not look like a pork roast being tortured by a rubber band.

 

admin

Smoking a Pipe Right Now
Staff member
Nov 16, 2008
8,764
4,932
St. Petersburg, FL
pipesmagazine.com
Nice one Duke. Congratulations! That one was one of the first batch they put up.
I wonder if smokingpipoes.com is keeping track of who is buying them all? Then we can start our own little club.

 
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