Dunhill Curiosities: The Brand's Lesser-Known Records

Dunhill Curiosities is a heading gathering a number of records that do not fit into the known history of the Alfred Dunhill brand. It brings together patent files, workshop practice, a manufacturing license granted abroad, and the fate of the founder's private collection — independent details from one another. The brand's main story is in the entry on Dunhill (White Spot); the items here can be considered marginal notes to that story.

Cartridge Filling and the Vernon Connection

One of the inventions registered under Alfred Dunhill's name is a ready-made tobacco cartridge designed to speed up filling the pipe. The application in the United States was filed on 19 September 1921; the document numbered 1,490,808, titled "Means for Charging Smoking Pipes," was issued on 15 April 1924. The idea was simple: cylindrically compacted tobacco was wrapped in an easily torn paper or similar wrapping, and pulling a strip attached to the wrapping opened the packaging, seating the tobacco mass directly into the chamber. The cartridges were promoted in the tobacco section of the firm's "About Smoke" catalogue.

The second file is registered under Vernon Dunhill and concerns the spring-loaded push (spigot) mechanism connecting the mouthpiece to the shank. A longitudinally split metal tang holds the mouthpiece in place by pressing against the opposing band; it releases when pulled and re-grips when pushed. Two versions of the mechanism are known, one mounted on the shank and the other on the mouthpiece, and both are reported to have been used from the early 1930s to mid-1936. It appears in pipe literature that provisional protection was obtained in Britain in April 1931, and that the patent was finalized under number 363582 at the end of the same year; this has not been confirmed from the official registration record. The American counterpart was granted under number 1,861,910 in 1932. The role of stamps from this period in dating is the subject of the entry on Dunhill Patent Stamps and Dating.

Silver Bands and Factory Repairs

Band-fitting work was carried out in a separate department at the factory, with a small team of just a few people. The silver used was 925 sterling, and the gold was 9, 14, and 18 carat; original bands bear at minimum the "AD" stamp within a diamond-shaped frame, along with a hallmark. Since silver pieces below a certain weight are exempt from the full hallmark requirement under British regulations, a missing set of hallmarks on some bands is an expected occurrence. Leslie "Les" John Wood, a long-serving name in the department, joined in 1963 and rose over time to master silversmith; his departure date varies in sources between the late 1970s and early 1980s. Wood later founded his own brand with his wife Dolly, and for a while continued the work at his own workshop when band production was outsourced. Among former Dunhill employees who founded their own brands are also counted the founders of Sasieni and Ashton.

On the repair side, the firm used a seal certifying that the work had been done at the factory. In structural interventions such as replacing a broken mouthpiece or repairing a cracked shank, the pipe's original stamps were re-worked, without an additional service stamp being applied to separately record the procedure.

The Tobacco License Granted to Germany

It is reported that negotiations beginning in 1926 resulted in a licensing agreement in 1938, and that some Dunhill blends began to be manufactured at the Hamburg-based firm Joh. Wilh. von Eicken; the phrase "Hergestellt in Deutschland" appears on the bottom of these tins. Local production is said to have been aimed at avoiding the import tax burden. According to the firm's own history, Allied bombing in 1943 destroyed first the factory in Mülheim, then, four weeks later, the head office in Hamburg; von Eicken did not regain its license to produce tobacco until 1948. When manufacturing of Dunhill blends in Germany ended entirely is unclear: one account says production closed with the 1943 bombing, another says it continued until sometime before 1976. Details are in the entry on Vintage Dunhill Tobaccos Made in Germany.

The Founder's Collection

The antique pipes, tobacco jars, and tobacco books Alfred Dunhill gathered over the years went to auction at Christie's South Kensington on 12 May 2004. Among the one hundred twenty lots were a meerschaum bowl dated 1880, a pair of Delft tobacco jars from the late 18th century, and a tobacco-book catalogue printed in 1874; the company archive kept a few pieces out of the sale. For the founder's interest in tobacco and pipe literature, see the entry on Alfred Dunhill's The Pipe Book (1924).