Dunhill by Dunhill for Dunhill

In November 1942, Alfred Dunhill was 70 years old. An industrious and prosperous merchant blessed with a streak of marketing genius, Dunhill pipes and tobaccos were smoked by gentlemen around the world.

One year prior - in 1941 - Dunhill’s Duke Street establishment was destroyed by a land mine  during the London Blitzkrieg, and  Dunhill’s elder son, Alfred Henry, found himself selling pipes and tobacco on  portable tables amidst rubble on the streets until he opened a temporary shop.

During World War I, Dunhill decided to send “Campaign” pipes to British soldiers at a cost of only five pounds sterling for 100 pipes. Aside from the generosity his act demonstrated, Dunhill’s gesture also built tremendous loyalty to the Dunhill brand. When these soldiers returned to their families and homes, they didn’t forget Dunhill’s.

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What tobacciana can tell us

Sometimes, in moments of pipe-smoking reverie, I enjoy imagining myself living in earlier times. Like many pipe-smokers I am drawn to Holmes’ and Dickens’ Victorian London. I am also intrigued by the “Roaring Twenties,” when the Streamliner and Art Deco movements marked industrial design, architecture, and merchandising design.

A recent birthday gift from a pipe-collecting friend who is well-acquainted with my great fondness for pipes from the House of Comoy has piqued my interest in pipes-and tobacco-related tobacciana from these periods, especially retail sales and marketing objects of the time.

Though my wife thinks I have lost my mind - believing that my den is progressively becoming kitchier and tackier by the moment, I love being surrounded by great old tobacciana. These old items convey charm and energy sufficient to bridge decades, if not centuries.

Imagine this: when these retail displays were sent to Comoy pipe dealers in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the House of Comoy had been manufacturing and selling briar pipes for over a century. As the story goes, a woodcarver named Francois Comoy began carving briar pipes in the Jura Mountains in 1825, after learning about the unique properties and great beauty of briar wood.

It would be Francois’ grandson, Henri, however, who would become a prime mover in the London briar pipe trade. Henri Comoy is credited with authoring the phrase, “London Made,” a branding move that led to pipe smokers equating briar pipes with London and Britain. There is no little irony in this twist in perception, given St. Claude’s historical importance and near cartel-like hegemony in the manufacturing of briar pipes.

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Two Great War vintage pipes from BBB: Britain's Best Briars

Several months ago, one of my Arkansan pipe-smoking friends added this 1920s vintage BBB paneled billiard to my collection of old English smoking pipes. As you will see from the photos here, the pipe is in mint condition. The stem and button are as close to factory-fresh as I have ever seen on a pipe of this vintage.

Comoy Old Bruyere, Derek Greene Collection, Image: Derek GreeneOld paneled pipes fascinate me. I have seen precious few of them. The nicer versions seem to have gemlike qualities. One particularly nice piece is from the late Derek Greene’s collection – a pipe dating from the same decade. Derek dated this particular Comoy Old Bruyere at the mid 1920s to 1930. Both Derek’s Comoy and my BBB have the same dark claret-colored finish, shining with the rich brownish depth of a fine garnet.

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A rare, early Bo Nordh pipe surfaces

Updated on Saturday, November 27, 2010 at 5:35AM by Neill Archer Roan

I never know what surprises await me when I check my Passion for Pipes email. Sometimes the letters I encounter awaken me more suddenly than the first cup of coffee I’m usually imbibing in the moment.

I had one such moment last Halloween morning when I encountered the following message: 

My name is Kent! My mother’s cousin was Bo Nordh. I have a pipe signed “NORDH”, which he gave to my father just after the crash. It’s a pity he’s gone, I have so many questions!

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The best of all possible worlds

In what kind of alternate world do we pipe guys live?

When I told a former client – who also is an art collector – that I had a pipe rack with a front panel painted by Memphis artist Tim Crowder, her jaw dropped. “I have a Tim Crowder hanging in the central gallery of my home!” she blurted. “It’s a prominent piece in my collection.”

Crowder’s work is on a number of art collectors’ walls. If you’ve ever seen his work, it’s easy to understand why. Often pastoral and serene, usually whimsical or surreal, Tim Crowder’s critically acclaimed works have been described as exhibiting an “awe-inspiring range of detail, technical achievement and emotional daring.”

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