This 1963 Dunhill estate pipe at smokingpipes.com caught my eye because it kind of reminds me of an Arne Jacobsen. They’re holding it for me at the moment. I want to ask the collectors here if they have any opinions on it.
[The listing is here: https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=511193]
It’s SUPER light. The asking price is probably half of what a smooth Arne Jacobsen would fetch. I like the shape, I like the size, it looks super clean, decent grain. Small chamber but I don’t mind that, and SP confirmed it’s "only slightly conical", and looks “spacious for its size.” I’ve never owned a Dunhill, but I understand the early ‘60s to be a good bet for quality. So anyway…
I was curious about the shape, so I googled it, and discovered what’s obviously the same pipe previously sold by smokingpipes.com. Notice anything different?
[https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=340769]
Correct!
The rim has been chamfered, I would assume to remove the inner darkening and make the pipe more marketable. I asked about it and they confirmed it was a previous listing and they don’t know who altered the rim. (Anybody here know?)
It kind of bothered me that there was no mention of the fact the briar had been trimmed, but I’m sure it was an honest oversight. (I’ll state for the record that SP has, in my experience, the best customer service in the universe. Their searchable archive of previous listings is a great resource. Obviously they weren't trying to hide any facts about this listing, because it took me about 2 seconds to find the original.)
The other thing is, I notice the previous listing mentions charring around the airway but the current listing does not. SP could not confirm whether they thought the chamber had been sanded, but the pipe no longer shows signs of charring. I've been led to believe from reading posts on this site that airway charring can be a bit of red flag. Any comments?
Apparently the tooth marks have been buffed out as well.
Questions for you expert estate collectors:
Does this chamfered rim bother you? Would it be a deal breaker? Does it look weird on a Dunhill Bruyere? (I think it looks nice, but “not quite right.” I don’t see this kind of rim tapering on other examples of Bruyeres. Are there any?) Does it negatively affect the value? Would you expect the price to be reduced to reflect the fact that the briar has been altered, or does the "fantastic" restoration—as the SP rep described it—negate those concerns? It seems like estate pipes often have some, or a lot of rim, darkening, charring, tooth marks, etc. etc. I wonder why someone thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and alter a 60 year old piece of briar in order to make it more presentable. Was that a bad idea?
I request people not respond by telling me I should, or shouldn't buy the pipe based on whether or not I think it's worth it to me. That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if, as collectors (which I am not one), you feel the chamfered rim objectively detracts from the value. Anyone willing to estimate a fair asking price?
Another question I have is about the shape (753). I didn’t find any other examples of it, doing a cursory google search and I didn’t see it on any of the shape charts on pipedia.com or anywhere else. Does anyone know if this is a fairly rare shape? Can anyone direct me to a shape chart anywhere that lists a 753? Anyone here own one?
Last question. Anybody know what brand of pipe Arne Jacobsen smoked?
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to this post. Also, thanks to all of you who welcomed me to the site this week. I've never done any blogging or contributed to any online forums before, and I don't use social media. In fact I avoid it like the plague. It took me about 5 years to join this forum since I started reading it. I certainly feel like I know a lot of you already. Anyway, the welcoming committee has done a fantastic job. Cheers to you!
[The listing is here: https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=511193]
It’s SUPER light. The asking price is probably half of what a smooth Arne Jacobsen would fetch. I like the shape, I like the size, it looks super clean, decent grain. Small chamber but I don’t mind that, and SP confirmed it’s "only slightly conical", and looks “spacious for its size.” I’ve never owned a Dunhill, but I understand the early ‘60s to be a good bet for quality. So anyway…
I was curious about the shape, so I googled it, and discovered what’s obviously the same pipe previously sold by smokingpipes.com. Notice anything different?
[https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=340769]
Correct!
The rim has been chamfered, I would assume to remove the inner darkening and make the pipe more marketable. I asked about it and they confirmed it was a previous listing and they don’t know who altered the rim. (Anybody here know?)
It kind of bothered me that there was no mention of the fact the briar had been trimmed, but I’m sure it was an honest oversight. (I’ll state for the record that SP has, in my experience, the best customer service in the universe. Their searchable archive of previous listings is a great resource. Obviously they weren't trying to hide any facts about this listing, because it took me about 2 seconds to find the original.)
The other thing is, I notice the previous listing mentions charring around the airway but the current listing does not. SP could not confirm whether they thought the chamber had been sanded, but the pipe no longer shows signs of charring. I've been led to believe from reading posts on this site that airway charring can be a bit of red flag. Any comments?
Apparently the tooth marks have been buffed out as well.
Questions for you expert estate collectors:
Does this chamfered rim bother you? Would it be a deal breaker? Does it look weird on a Dunhill Bruyere? (I think it looks nice, but “not quite right.” I don’t see this kind of rim tapering on other examples of Bruyeres. Are there any?) Does it negatively affect the value? Would you expect the price to be reduced to reflect the fact that the briar has been altered, or does the "fantastic" restoration—as the SP rep described it—negate those concerns? It seems like estate pipes often have some, or a lot of rim, darkening, charring, tooth marks, etc. etc. I wonder why someone thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and alter a 60 year old piece of briar in order to make it more presentable. Was that a bad idea?
I request people not respond by telling me I should, or shouldn't buy the pipe based on whether or not I think it's worth it to me. That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if, as collectors (which I am not one), you feel the chamfered rim objectively detracts from the value. Anyone willing to estimate a fair asking price?
Another question I have is about the shape (753). I didn’t find any other examples of it, doing a cursory google search and I didn’t see it on any of the shape charts on pipedia.com or anywhere else. Does anyone know if this is a fairly rare shape? Can anyone direct me to a shape chart anywhere that lists a 753? Anyone here own one?
Last question. Anybody know what brand of pipe Arne Jacobsen smoked?
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to this post. Also, thanks to all of you who welcomed me to the site this week. I've never done any blogging or contributed to any online forums before, and I don't use social media. In fact I avoid it like the plague. It took me about 5 years to join this forum since I started reading it. I certainly feel like I know a lot of you already. Anyway, the welcoming committee has done a fantastic job. Cheers to you!
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