Parker: Reading the Date Code of Dunhill's Second Brand

Welcome: a pipe that tells its year

Welcome. If your pipe is stamped Parker, this guide is for you.

Parker has its own date code, like Dunhill, but the numbers work in a different way.

A Parker from 1924 to 1957 can often be dated to one year.

After 1957 there is no code, so later pipes are much harder to date.

Our facts come from Pipedia, which draws on a Dunhill letter and on John Loring's book.

Each rule has a rank: high, medium or low. Read the rank before you trust a window.

1922 to today

The firm in short

In 1922 Alfred Dunhill formed the Parker Pipe Co Limited.

Its first job was to finish and sell Dunhill's seconds, which Dunhill called failings.

Before that, Dunhill sold its own seconds with a large X over the stamp.

The same Pipedia page also says Parker was created in 1923. The first Parker pipes are from 1923.

In 1935 Dunhill opened a new pipe factory next door to Hardcastle. In 1936 it bought 49% of Hardcastle.

In 1946 Dunhill bought the rest of Hardcastle. In 1967 Parker-Hardcastle Limited was formed.

From 1967 Parker is a separate product. Dunhill never sold Parker in its own catalogue or shops.

Parker sold well in the USA in the 1930s up through the 1950s. Then it faded there.

It stayed popular in Britain. It came back to the USA in 1991 and is also sold in Europe.

Is a Parker a Dunhill?

Mostly no. Most Dunhill seconds were sorted out early, right after the bowl was turned.

That was before curing, carving, stem work and finishing.

John Loring has seen some pre-war Parkers, and some from the 1950s, that look like Dunhill seconds.

But Parker also bought briar from other sources. Loring knows no way to tell where the briar came from.

So do not call a Parker a Dunhill pipe without real proof.

The marks to read

Find the round stamp MADE IN LONDON with ENGLAND in a straight line under it.

The date code always comes right after that stamp.

A plain number from 1 to 19 means 1924 to 1942. Add the number to 1923.

Numbers 20 to 24 mean 1945 to 1949. There was no code for most of the war.

From 1950 to 1957 the number is 0 to 7 again, but raised and underlined.

A patent number, 116989/17, is for the inner tube with a flange.

Before the war the name was often PARKER'S, with an apostrophe. Plain PARKER is seen from 1936.

An F after the shape number likely means fantail, as on Dunhill. Pipedia says “we think”.

A number inside a small circle or diamond is the size group, not a shape.

Two shape numbers are known, each from one pipe only: 793 is a billiard and 266 is a Canadian.

Two dated examples

A Super Briar Bark 73/F with patent 116989/17 has code 14. That is 1937.

Another Parker has a raised, underlined 5. That is 1955.

1940 to 1945

The war years

Parker was not on the government list of approved pipe makers. Dunhill and Hardcastle were.

In the war Parker made the Wunup, a pipe of bakelite and clay.

One known briar Parker carries code 19, which is 1942. Its photos come from Jason Lynn.

So some briar pipes may have been made in the war. This rests on that one pipe.

Traps we see often

The biggest trap is the underline. A plain 5 is 1928, but a raised, underlined 5 is 1955.

Look at the digit with a strong light and a lens before you decide.

A missing code does not give a year. The pipe may be from 1923, from after 1957, or the code may be worn.

Pipedia gives two end years for the patent stamp. One sentence says up to 1954, a later one says after 1957.

A pipe stamped only Parker-Hardcastle belongs to the later joint firm. Date it as a Hardcastle.

Windows from the date code and marks

Each row comes from our Parker cabinet. The code always follows MADE IN LONDON over ENGLAND.

Changelog

• 2026-10-14 — First published. Every year comes from our Parker cabinet and its new facts file. We read the saved Pipedia copy again today.