ManufacturerAlfred Dunhill

Alfred Dunhill

The Dunhill business was started by Alfred's father, who ran a saddlery shop in London. By the time Alfred had inherited his father's business in 1893, the automobile was slowly starting to gain popularity among the more affluent of English society. Capitalizing on this new trend, Dunhill closed down the saddlery shop and opened up "Dunhill Motorities", a shop which specialized in accessories for the automobile, including lamps, leather overcoats and goggles, picnic sets, car horns, and dashboard timepieces. The new shop's slogan was "Everything for the car except the motor." Dunhill also began dabbling in tobacco blending and pipe-making, having patented, in 1905, his "Windshield Pipe", created to allow for comfortable smoking by drivers and cyclists.

In 1907, Alfred decided to retire the Motorities store, and instead focussed on his tobacco blending, by opening up a tobacconists at 30 Duke Street, located amongst the gentlemen's clubs in the St. James neighbourhood of London, S.W. 1. As mentioned, Dunhill made a name for himself with his pipe tobacco blends (among them, "My Mixture", "Royal Yacht", and "Durbar"), as well as his selection of cigars, having made distribution deals with a number of Cuban cigar-makers. In 1910, Dunhill went head-long into making his own pipes by opening up a nearby factory; his famous "White Spot" pipes were introduced in 1915.

The 1920s saw a period of expansion for Dunhill, who besides selling tobacco also specialized in men's luxury items, such as timepieces, writing implements, smoking accessories, and fine clothing. A shop in New York opened its doors in 1921, while a branch in Paris opened in 1924. Dunhill's tobaccos were so well renowned that, in 1927, he received a Royal Warrant from Edward, Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VIII); it would be renewed in 1938 by King George VI (a frequent Dunhill customer, along with wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill). The Royal Warrant was an honour that the Alfred Dunhill Ltd. kept until 1995, when it was rescinded due to a lack of demand from the Royal Households.

The Dunhill name was eventually attached to cigarettes, as well. Beginning in 1938,