The Shape 9 bent billiard is one of the oldest models that Alfred Dunhill produced. It reflected his fascination with the French bent billiard shape which he'd presumably encountered in his travels in St. Cloud, and which differed in subtle ways from the traditional English version. Thus we can see the slight bulge near the heel of the bowl and the long, curved "swan's neck" shank. This latter renders the overall shape very elegant, though at the cost of demanding very precise execution and internal engineering. This is a superb example, made before the introduction of the date code, and carrying patents both for the sandblasting process and the innertube. It has an excellent detailed blast, made possible by the porous, wide-grained Algerian briar from which it was cut; rich color, with reddish highlights coming through the dark walnut over-stain; and a substantial yet finely made handcut vulcanite bit with ivory dot and semi-orific mouthpiece. The pipe is very lightly smoked, with the result that the rim is notably clean and crisp, and the bit free of bite marks. In addition, the original registration number on the underside of the stem is still clearly visible. It is interesting to compare this pipe to the LC, as the two are very similar in design, albeit that the 9 is the LC's smaller but terribly charming brother
#1 von
Arno
, 19.01.2010 22:03
