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Dunhill's "DR" stampings

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The "DR" (Dead Root) stamping on the left side of a Dunhill pipe corresponds to a straight grain.
"Dead Root" is a commercial label and doesn't mean the root was extracted when the tree was already dead.
Prior to 1932: All the DR's are Bruyere's.
Early DR

From 1932 to the 1950s: The Root Briar DR pipes were stamped DR R.
DR R 1936 DR R 1950

From 1949 on: The DR are graded with letters (ascending): "A" to "J".
Examples:
DR A Root Briar 1959 DR B Root Briar 1968 DR H Root Briar 1978

The first stars appeared midth 1970's and were a brief attempt to grade the pipe both as to grain (the letter) and to size (the stars).
Example:
DR F Root Briar 2 stars

1979: the DR are graded with 1 to 6 (or 7?) stars.
Examples:

DR 5 stars 1996   DR 2 stars 1992

The shape of the stars has been modified

Former shape
New shape

Stars grading may coexist on the same pipe with letter grading.
Example:
DR E 5 stars 1979

Stars and letter grading equivalency after 1979:
A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J
|   |   |   |   |   |   ?            
*   **   ***   ****   *****   ******   (7*)            

2000: Pipes with the Amber Flame finish are stamped with DR followed by flames playing the same role than the stars.

(Unknown max number of flames)

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