English Estates: Dunhill Root Briar Patent (155) (3) (R) (1952) Tobacco Pipe

Dated to 1952, this patent-era "155" Bulldog is a real find for collectors and admirers of Dunhill's early shapes. Like Dunhill's "08," this "155" boasts a rigid silhouette, complete with a firm, upright bowl and a sturdy diamond shank. Said bowl flares from its tight, angular heel to its broad, beadline-wrapped waist before tapering inward to a flat rim. A wide transition follows the bowl and marks the start of the aforementioned shank, which reaches out and joins a gently tapered mouthpiece. In Group 3 size, the entirety of the shape is well-balanced, both visually and in hand, its streamlined build offering plenty of canvas for the stummel's gorgeous Root Briar finish.

The highest honor for a Dunhill pipe is to receive the prestigious Root Briar appellation. Root Briars have been coveted by pipe smokers ever since they first debuted in 1931, due to the fact that each pipe must boast briar completely free of even the most minor of blemishes. Dunhill has the strictest of standards and expectations for quality with all of their pipes, and so any block of briar that comes to bear the Root Briar stamp must indeed be superlative.