Charatan

Frederick Charatan began producing meerschaum pipes in 1863 and enjoyed immediate success. This led him to start producing briar pipes, which brought him worldwide fame. Charatan was the first to create pipes entirely by hand from a block of briar, including the mouthpiece. This distinguished it from all the others, which turned the bowl and used pre-moulded mouthpieces. As the leading English manufacturer, from 1908 to 1910, Dunhill bought its pipes at an exorbitant price to resell them in its own shop. This was because Charatan was considered the undisputed number one. Ruben Charatan succeeded his father in 1910 and later, in 1963 or 64, the company passed to Herman G. Lane, with whom he had collaborated for years as a distributor for the United States. In 1978, Charatan finally came under the control of Dunhill, which closed the Prescot Street factory four years later. This marked the beginning of the brand's decline in fame and prestige.