Stanwell Royal Briar 178 Made in Denmark Straight Billiard Paneled Shank Pipe

STANWELL in block capitals, Royal Briar in flowing script beneath it, and the shape number 178 over MADE IN DENMARK: this is a Stanwell Royal Briar 178, a straight billiard with a slightly conical bowl, a paneled oval shank and a tapered vulcanite stem that carries the crowned S.

It is pre-smoked, in excellent mint condition, with no filter, and the stem ends in a fishtail mouthpiece. STANWELL, Royal Briar and 178 read clearly in the close-ups; in MADE IN DENMARK the M is soft and the rest is legible.

The Stanwell story begins in wartime Denmark. In 1942 Poul Nielsen set up a pipe production, at first in beech, in a country where - by the maker's own catalogue of about 1982 - six factories were then making beech pipes, five of which closed once the war was over. Six years later, in 1948, the name Stanwell was registered as a trademark, number 969-48.

From 1952 new equipment and exports to Europe and the USA carried the name abroad. The works moved to a new factory in Borup in 1965 by the catalogue's own date (other sources give 1969), and around 1982 the firm put its share of Danish pipe exports at about 35 percent, sold in about 40 countries. Stanwell pipes were made in Denmark until the end of 2009; since 2010 Barontini in Italy has made them, limited editions excepted.

THE MARKS

- STANWELL / Royal Briar (script) stamped on the shank
- 178 / MADE IN DENMARK stamped on the shank
- Crowned S on the stem

The Stanwell shape-number list compiled by Bas Stevens and McNally describes 178 as a billiard with a conical bowl and an oval stem with panels, and names Bang as its designer; its twin, 179, is the same pipe slightly bent. This one is the straight version. A billiard sets a round bowl at a right angle to a straight shank, and here the bowl widens a little toward the rim, which gives the conical line the list describes. The oval shank is cut with flat panels. The tapered stem narrows from the shank toward the bit, and the fishtail at the tip spreads the draw across the tongue instead of sending it in one narrow stream.

The finish is smooth. Long, flowing lines of grain run up the sides of the bowl and along the shank, and birdseye shows on the front of the bowl. Birdseye shows where the growth rings of the wood are cut end-on.

For dating, MADE IN DENMARK places the pipe in Stanwell's Danish production, before the end of 2009. No year is known for the Royal Briar line, so no narrower date is given.

Condition: pre-smoked, in excellent mint condition.

THE MEASUREMENTS

- Length: 135 mm (5.31 in)
- Bowl height: 39 mm (1.54 in)
- Bowl width: 41 mm (1.61 in)
- Chamber diameter: 20 mm (0.79 in)
- Chamber depth: 36 mm (1.42 in)
- Weight: 39 g (1.38 oz)

Ships from the Faridunhill archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe. SKU: 493