A Harcourt freehand plateau sitter! It needs a bit of a clean up, a ream, and a bath for the stem but I'm really pleased and only paid $30.
Harcourt is probably best known as the workshop behind Dunhill's freehands of the 1970s. The story goes that Dunhill, seeing market share eroding due to the incredible popularity of the "Danish Invasion" of freehands, chose Harcourt to create a new line of high-grade freehand Dunhills that mimicked the look and feel of those freehands but still possessed the quality and reputation of the Dunhill brand. The actual story - while not that far off - is that Harcourt was formed in a joint venture between Nording and Preben Holm, specifically at the request of Lane Limited, with the pipes destined mainly for the US market. Lane wanted to gain an even larger stranglehold on the Danish freehand craze in the USA and so the brand was born. Of course the close relationship between Lane and Dunhill made the Harcourt relationship almost a no-brainer - in the 1970s, the Dunhill/Harcourt relationship was established and the pipes were made in Preben's workshop. The Dunhill Harcourts were very specific high-grade pieces; the shapes were a bit more restrained than much of Preben's handmade freehands (probably at the request of Lane, who likely hoped for shapes that would appeal to a wider market) but the quality of the workmanship was usually top notch. The brand disappeared sometime in the early 1980s, I believe, as the Danish freehand craze died down a bit and more traditional pipes become popular again.
Anyone got one of these or can give me any more info? Any hints before I steam into a clean-up?! All input gratefully and humbly received.
Thanks,
Andy
Harcourt is probably best known as the workshop behind Dunhill's freehands of the 1970s. The story goes that Dunhill, seeing market share eroding due to the incredible popularity of the "Danish Invasion" of freehands, chose Harcourt to create a new line of high-grade freehand Dunhills that mimicked the look and feel of those freehands but still possessed the quality and reputation of the Dunhill brand. The actual story - while not that far off - is that Harcourt was formed in a joint venture between Nording and Preben Holm, specifically at the request of Lane Limited, with the pipes destined mainly for the US market. Lane wanted to gain an even larger stranglehold on the Danish freehand craze in the USA and so the brand was born. Of course the close relationship between Lane and Dunhill made the Harcourt relationship almost a no-brainer - in the 1970s, the Dunhill/Harcourt relationship was established and the pipes were made in Preben's workshop. The Dunhill Harcourts were very specific high-grade pieces; the shapes were a bit more restrained than much of Preben's handmade freehands (probably at the request of Lane, who likely hoped for shapes that would appeal to a wider market) but the quality of the workmanship was usually top notch. The brand disappeared sometime in the early 1980s, I believe, as the Danish freehand craze died down a bit and more traditional pipes become popular again.
Anyone got one of these or can give me any more info? Any hints before I steam into a clean-up?! All input gratefully and humbly received.
Thanks,
Andy
