Help Identifying 2 Dunhill Patent Era Pipes

[nwohioan]

Hello Folks -

Yesterday I happened to pick up 2 Dunhill pipes from an antique shop (at a seemingly way-too-good-to-be-true price of 85 bucks for both - yes, you read that right). I happen to be a pipe smoker of a number of years myself, and although I always keep an eye out for estate pipes, I never bought any, let alone any splurged on any new (or old) Dunhills. So when I saw the price and condition, I went ahead and bought them.

I used pipedia to attempt to date them, and I landed around 1950-54 for the billiard, and 1930-36 for the bulldog. More details below. Let me know if I'm wrong - I'm fairly under-informed on the Dunhill stamping system. Both pipes look barely used - although I'm not sure if the stems are original due to the color (which are much lighter than examples I've seen online, although not sure if it's just discoloration over time).






The Billiard:
Underside stamping: 59 DUNHILL SHELL MADE IN ENGLAND 0 PATENT No 417574/34 (4)
From looking on Pipedia, I think this puts it made around 1950-54.

















The Bulldog:
Underside stamping: 48 4 DUNHILL SHELL MADE IN ENGLAND 19 U.S. PATENT 1341418/20
From looking on Pipedia, I think this puts it around 1936? I'm not sure what the 4 next to the 48 refers to, and I didn't see 19 as a date code on pipedia for this patent number.











Let me know what you think folks. Cheers.

 

[xrundog]

The stems are just oxidized. They can be made black again.

 

[georged]

Both are original, and both are barely smoked.

The light stem color is from having been stored in direct sunlight for a long time.

How deep the oxidation goes is the question. "Getting back to black" means material removal, and the worse the oxidation the deeper or "farther inside" it is...

 

[ssjones]

Agree with George and great buy! Both should restore nicely. Looks like someone just had them on display.

 

[Choatecav]

This is a fantastic find for you.

I saw on another thread @dd57chevy posted that he had done a search and found "between 1965 to 1991 the percentage went from 14% to 2%" of pipe smokers. Thus many people are coming into these valuable pipes and with no interest in them, they are selling them for a song. There should continue to be great buys out there.

Congratulations to you.

 

[Briarcutter]

Great find! Congratulations. Nothing wrong with the mouthpieces, smoke them. At least the brown color is even. As mentioned, they look like they have been smoked very little.

 

[nwohioan]

This is a fantastic find for you.

I saw on another thread @dd57chevy posted that he had done a search and found "between 1965 to 1991 the percentage went from 14% to 2%" of pipe smokers. Thus many people are coming into these valuable pipes and with no interest in them, they are selling them for a song. There should continue to be great buys out there.

Congratulations to you.

I could see how that statistic would ring true. I was a bit surprised - usually pipes in antique shops around me (NW Ohio) are chewed up Grabows. I was perplexed when I turned them over and they were both clearly stamped Dunhills. Yes, they are still out there floating around.

 

[nwohioan]

Great find! Congratulations. Nothing wrong with the mouthpieces, smoke them. At least the brown color is even. As mentioned, they look like they have been smoked very little.

Thanks! Yes, even smelling them - there is barely any tobacco odor so I reckon they may have been used one time, or were in a cabinet with other pipes.

Proud to be an owner of a couple Dunhills - may save them for special days.

 

[runscott]

When I was younger and not a collector of pipes I remember seeing a pile of Dunhills (eight or so) in great condition, in an antique store. At the time I had three Petersons to smoke so I couldn't see any point in paying the $30 or so they were asking for each pipe. I wish I had that moment back.

Congratulations on that find. Strangely, unless I'm missing something, the Pipedia dating page doesn't show '19' as a valid stamp for that patent.

 

[nwohioan]

When I was younger and not a collector of pipes I remember seeing a pile of Dunhills (eight or so) in great condition, in an antique store. At the time I had three Petersons to smoke so I couldn't see any point in paying the $30 or so they were asking for each pipe. I wish I had that moment back.

Congratulations on that find. Strangely, unless I'm missing something, the Pipedia dating page doesn't show '19' as a valid stamp for that patent.

Thanks - I also didn't see '19' as a date stamp for the patent either. Might do a bit more reaching out for info. Someone did respond in the "show us your dunhills" thread that the bulldog was from 1939, although I couldn't seem to conclusively arrive there based on the pipedia info.

 

[runscott]

Thanks - I also didn't see '19' as a date stamp for the patent either. Might do a bit more reaching out for info. Someone did respond in the "show us your dunhills" thread that the bulldog was from 1939, although I couldn't seem to conclusively arrive there based on the pipedia info.

They might be right - 1920+19. Hopefully that's correct - early WWII Dunhills are hard to find.

 

[Alejo R.]

Hello Folks -

Yesterday I happened to pick up 2 Dunhill pipes from an antique shop (at a seemingly way-too-good-to-be-true price of 85 bucks for both - yes, you read that right). I happen to be a pipe smoker of a number of years myself, and although I always keep an eye out for estate pipes, I never bought any, let alone any splurged on any new (or old) Dunhills. So when I saw the price and condition, I went ahead and bought them.

I used pipedia to attempt to date them, and I landed around 1950-54 for the billiard, and 1930-36 for the bulldog. More details below. Let me know if I'm wrong - I'm fairly under-informed on the Dunhill stamping system. Both pipes look barely used - although I'm not sure if the stems are original due to the color (which are much lighter than examples I've seen online, although not sure if it's just discoloration over time).

View attachment 349475


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The Billiard:
Underside stamping: 59 DUNHILL SHELL MADE IN ENGLAND 0 PATENT No 417574/34 (4)
From looking on Pipedia, I think this puts it made around 1950-54.

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View attachment 349478

View attachment 349479


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The Bulldog:
Underside stamping: 48 4 DUNHILL SHELL MADE IN ENGLAND 19 U.S. PATENT 1341418/20
From looking on Pipedia, I think this puts it around 1936? I'm not sure what the 4 next to the 48 refers to, and I didn't see 19 as a date code on pipedia for this patent number.
View attachment 349486

View attachment 349487

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Let me know what you think folks. Cheers.

First, great find. The original color of the mouthpiece is the color you see on the tenon. Ebonite oxidizes over time and some factors such as exposure to fluorescent light can make it worse. My experience, I repeat my experience, with Dunhill is that the ebonite is of high quality and that oxidation is only a few microns thick. A little toothpaste on a denim rag and patience will easily bring back the black. If you have access to a professional restorer and given the low price you paid, it could be a good option to get those pipes back in mint condition.

 

[nwohioan]

First, great find. The original color of the mouthpiece is the color you see on the tenon. Ebonite oxidizes over time and some factors such as exposure to fluorescent light can make it worse. My experience, I repeat my experience, with Dunhill is that the ebonite is of high quality and that oxidation is only a few microns thick. A little toothpaste on a denim rag and patience will easily bring back the black. If you have access to a professional restorer and given the low price you paid, it could be a good option to get those pipes back in mint condition.

Thanks for the insight - I'll probably have a professional handle restoring them in the future (although I probably could do it, might be most prudent in better hands).

 

[georged]

PS ---

The attached pics mean that the wood has become VERY dry. (When made, the wood and rubber were level with each other)

If you want to burn the chamber walls---probably deeply---go ahead and smoke the pipes normally.

If you want to protect them, smoke very slowly, with frequent "set downs". Do NOT wait until the outside of the bowl feels hot.

 

[jguss]

Thanks - I also didn't see '19' as a date stamp for the patent either. Might do a bit more reaching out for info. Someone did respond in the "show us your dunhills" thread that the bulldog was from 1939, although I couldn't seem to conclusively arrive there based on the pipedia info.

In this respect the Pipedia page is more poorly phrased than the relevant one on pipephil.eu. There you can easily see the framework that leads to a 1939 date:

 

[nwohioan]

PS ---

The attached pics mean that the wood has become VERY dry. (When made, the wood and rubber were level with each other)

If you want to burn the chamber walls---probably deeply---go ahead and smoke the pipes normally.

If you want to protect them, smoke very slowly, with frequent "set downs". Do NOT wait until the outside of the bowl feels hot.


View attachment 350093
View attachment 350094

Thanks for the insights. Yes, I don't think I'm jumping into smoking these like my others anytime soon. More of a special occasion, or will have a restorer being then back to life a little bit

 

[nwohioan]

In this respect the Pipedia page is more poorly phrased than the relevant one on pipephil.eu. There you can easily see the framework that leads to a 1939 date:

View attachment 350131

Thanks! I stumbled across this page yesterday but didn't dive in too deeply. I did see the 20+19 phrasing for the 19 date stamp.

 

[pappymac]

Thanks for the insights. Yes, I don't think I'm jumping into smoking these like my others anytime soon. More of a special occasion, or will have a restorer being then back to life a little bit

I would talk to @georged and send the pipes to him to be restored.
He did an excellent job with my 1926 Dunhill both cleaning it when I first got it and then making me a replacement stem a couple of years ago. The stem he made fits perfectly, has the appropriate white dot and you can't tell that it is a replacement.

As for smoking them, I personally would not until you got the stems de-oxidized. I have tried smoking a pipe with an oxidized stem before and it tasted terrible.

 

[nwohioan]

I would talk to @georged and send the pipes to him to be restored.
He did an excellent job with my 1926 Dunhill both cleaning it when I first got it and then making me a replacement stem a couple of years ago. The stem he made fits perfectly, has the appropriate white dot and you can't tell that it is a replacement.

As for smoking them, I personally would not until you got the stems de-oxidized. I have tried smoking a pipe with an oxidized stem before and it tasted terrible.

Thanks - I appreciate the recommendation! I'll keep @georged in mind for restoration work.