1893 was the beginning of a long journey for Alfred Dunhill, when he took over the reins of the family business, a harness and saddelry maker in London's Euston Road, laying the foundations for the Company we know today. Every phase of the Company's development is illustrated by beautiful and individual products, each of which complies with Alfred

Dunhill's maxim that "It must be useful, it must work dependably, it must be beautiful, it must last, it must be the best of it's kind". Alfred's first encounter with pipes was typical of his innovative approach to business.

In the coarse of conversation, a pipe smoking friend expressed his frustration at not being able to keep his pipe alight when driving an open top car - the draught caused the pipe bowl to overheat, generating sparks. This resulted in much wasted tobacco and frequently the bowl would burn through, ruining the pipe. Mr Alfred, always relishing a challenge, soon came up with a solution. The result was the Dunhill Patent Shield Pipe, distinguished by a slight extension on the front lip of the bowl which diverted the wind around the chamber and removed the tendency for the pipe bowl to overheat.

In 1907, he fulfilled an ambition to open a high class tobacconist shop in London's fashionable Duke Street, St. James's. In those days Alfred sold only pipes, cigars and hand blended tobacco, but he soon established a very personal service by blending tobaccos according to the individual customer's tastes. These recipes were recorded in his "My Mixture" book which still exists and is added to by present day customers at his Duke Street store.

Not entirely satisfied with the quality of the pipes he was selling, Alfred recruited two people from another pipe company and opened his own factory in Mason's Yard, London.
In 1910 the first Dunhill pipes were sold, retailing at more than twice the prices of any other pipe sold in London. Few people were convinced that these pipes would sell, but soon the quality of the workmanship was recognised and the pipes became very popular with members of the Gentlemen's Clubs of St. James's and officers of the British Army.

When the first World War started in 1914, many of Alfred's clients were called up to fight in the British Army. Orders continued to come in from the Western Front and Alfred would duly dispatch pipes and tobacco. He often sent extra pipes which could be passed to other officers and would always include in the package a few sheets of lavatory paper - a great luxury in the First World War trenches. Although no payment was requested for the extra pipes, the officers who received them would invariably come into the Duke Street shop and pay for them when they were next home on leave.


When Alfred realised that a certain amount of pilfering was going on and that the pipes were not always reaching his clients, he developed an ingenious way of preventing it. At very little expense he had some labels printed reading simply "Caster Oil", Caster oil, often taken for medicinal purposes at that time had such an objectionable taste that nobody would dream of stealing it. Miraculously the pilfering ceased!

Today the Dunhill Pipe still undergoes no less than ninety separate manufacturing processes before being bestowed the famous Dunhill "White Spot". Alfred Dunhill's standards of excellence in pipe making and his philosophy of craftsmanship remain as true today as they were when he first started making pipes.