However, customers had difficulty in replacing the mouthpiece correctly so Alfred decided to place a white spot on the top as a guide, this soon became a hallmark of Dunhill excellence. In the 1912 an aluminum tube was introduced which could be inserted into a pipe to facilitate hygiene and maintenance. The “Dunhill’s” shop on Duke Street gained a reputation for custom tobacco recipes and by 1910 Alfred had developed a quality pipe at a price twice that of any other on the market. James’s and Pall Mall helped to ensure instant success and a loyal and distinguished customer base.
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The launch of the Dunhill pipe was a logical step from Motorities as in 1904 Alfred had already patented a “Windshield Pipe” to help a driver combat the effects of wind and weather in his open top car.Īlfred’s first tobacconist and pipe shop opened in 1906 on Duke Street. He supplied everything from fishing rods and reels, cricket and golfing gear and even from about 1910 “Avorities”- accessories and outfittings for the “aeroplanist”. He is also credited with having invented the articulation of the rear view mirror in 1907. Other patents were filed for such unusual items as a “New or Improved Means for Excluding the Air from Tins, Bottles, and other Receptacles”. Alfred Dunhill is regarded as an innovator and his first patent was registered for fishing rods in 1895. “Everything but the Motor” was not only the Dunhill’s Motorities boast but also a company rule he broke only once with the inventive and rather curious “Dunhill Tweenie” motorcar in 1912. The advertisement claimed “Dunhill’s Bobby Finders will spot a policeman at half a mile even if disguised as a respectable man.”ĭunhill’s Motorities became such an integral part of the motoring scene that in 1904, the company won a gold medal for automobilist’s clothing at Crystal Palace. His reaction was to produce field glasses that looked like motoring goggles which could be worn in order to spot speed traps on the road ahead before they spotted you. In 1903 Alfred was caught and fined £1 for speeding at 22 ½ miles per hour. By this time “Dunhill’s” had become known not only for practical and reliable motoring accessories but also for fashionable motoring attire, with the Dunhill’s Motorities catalogue featuring over 1300 items illustrating all that was available.Īn infamous Dunhill product at the time was the Bobby Finder Goggles an amusing name based on the slang for a policeman. In accordance with the etiquette of the time one store was exclusive to ladies and the other exclusive to gentlemen. Within a few years the business moved up-market, with the opening of two Dunhill’s Motorities stores in Mayfair. Mechanical accessories were also an important part of the Dunhill’s Motorities range - car horns, dashboard clocks, motoring lamps and trunks.
Dunhill’s Motorities ranged from heavy leather coats to helmets and goggles and all that was needed for protection in an open motorcar. “Dunhill’s Motorities”, as their store on the Euston Road was now known, housed a showroom, workshops and offices and supplied accessories to the manufacturers, chauffeurs and mechanics of the motorcar trade.
Alfred saw this as an opportunity and converted his father’s business, from horse carriage accessories to motor accessories. In the early days motorcars arrived from the manufacturer with a chassis and body, but without the accessories that are now taken for granted. The beginning of Alfred’s stewardship coincided with the dawn of the motorcar. Capitalizing on the number of horses in London, they soon built up a successful harness business in the Euston Road that Alfred took over in 1893 at the age of 21. Originally farmers and shopkeepers in Nottinghamshire, Alfred Dunhill’s direct ancestors had moved to London to set up as linen drapers in Oxford Street. Howard * Ebel * Eberhard & Co * Elgin * Franck Muller * FRED * George Brasseur * Gianni Versace * Girard-Perregaux * Glashutte Original * Glycine * Gruen * Hamilton * Hampden * Hans Wilsdorf * Harrods * Harwood * Hebdomas * Illinois Watch Brand Histories A to Do ~ Watch Brand Histories Du to I ~ Watch Brand Histories J to Rog ~ Watch Brand Histories Rolex to Zĭunhill * E. Home ~ Buyers Guide ~ Bidding ~ Shipping ~ Payments ~ Returns ~ FAQ ~ About Us ~ Contact Us ~ Watch Buyers Guide ~ Rolex Instructions