Why do I see so many meerschaum pipes with the man with the beard/nightcap as being described as Dunhill? Was this what he looked like later on in life? What is the connection?
Dunhill Meerschaum (Man With Beard)?
- Thread starter bayareabriar
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
I hadn't noticed that. My guess is it's an attempt to screw a few more $$ out of potential buyers.
Posted some. Google Dunhill meerschaum pipe man with beard
One website calls it a Dunhill design. Eh. Maybe one of the meerschaum nuts here may know of the origins. (Other than trying to get more dinero) lol.
Thanks for the pics. The answer’s no. Whatever the inspiration for the carving it’s definitely not Alfred Dunhill or his son Alfred Henry Dunhill, at any stage of their lives. Just conceivably it’s supposed to represent Mary Dunhill, but on balance I doubt it.
Good question, I've wondered the same. Pipe design does not resemble any picture of either of the Dunhills I can find. Google search yields nothing...
My guess is, that it has to do with the cover of Alfred Dunhill's book:
It's like the ads for "Dunhill" pipes that only reveal that they are a Parker after you open them.
As I understand it, Dunhill made some meerschaum pipes themselves but discontinued them after Turkey halted the export of raw meerschaum.
There are also some alleged Dunhill meerschaums that were done, for lack of a better term, as commissions but I haven't seen any documentation to back this up.
Then there a ton of no-name meers marketed as Dunhills in the shape mentioned but I don't know of Dunhill ever authorizing this. (If you see a cheap "Dunhill" meer it likely is not an actual Dunhill brand.)
Hopefully someone with more knowledge than myself can clear things up.
There are also some alleged Dunhill meerschaums that were done, for lack of a better term, as commissions but I haven't seen any documentation to back this up.
Then there a ton of no-name meers marketed as Dunhills in the shape mentioned but I don't know of Dunhill ever authorizing this. (If you see a cheap "Dunhill" meer it likely is not an actual Dunhill brand.)
Hopefully someone with more knowledge than myself can clear things up.
I seriously doubt that Dunhill actually made those meers.
Most likely Dunhill bought Turkish meers and re-branded them as Dunhill
Most likely Dunhill bought Turkish meers and re-branded them as Dunhill
Yeah, I think we are all in agreement that they are not dunhill brand.
I also think they are not being sold (or mislead) as Dunhills; just referencing the style.
the cover of the book is interesting and may have some validity.
I also think they are not being sold (or mislead) as Dunhills; just referencing the style.
the cover of the book is interesting and may have some validity.
Rumor is these are a product of the unacknowledged Fikri Dunhill branch of the family, which originated from the young Alfred's days backpacking around the middle east.
I think you're making that up. Alfred backpacking? highly unlikely.
Burleyboy has it! It's absolutely because of the Dunhill book. It's both the origin of Turkish carvers using that specific subject, and of sellers calling that a "Dunhill." To be a "Dunhill," it really needs that style of soft cap, the tassel hanging to one side, and an old face with a long beard. Modern carvers often have the figure smoking a pipe, sometimes also shaped as a bearded man. A now-gone shop in Seattle had a meer on display (not for sale) which depicted a man smoking a pipe. The pipe's man was smoking a pipe. THAT pipe was smoking another pipe, and that one was smoking another!
- Status