Alfred Dunhill (1872–1959) was an English tobacconist, entrepreneur, and inventor. He is the founder of Alfred Dunhill Ltd, a renowned London-based luxury goods company now owned by the Swiss luxury goods company Richemont, and the Dunhill Tobacco Products Company, which is part of the British American Tobacco group.
Born in Hornsey, Middlesex, Dunhill joined his father’s blinds and shades company when he was 15. He inherited the business at age 24, and intelligently steered the business to cater to the needs of the fledgling motor industry. He established the Dunhill’s Motorities Company to sell luxury accessories to early enthusiasts of motorsports, and later a mail-order business.
In 1902, Dunhill opened his first retail shop in Conduit Street, Mayfair, selling clothing and accessories to both chauffeurs and their employers.
Dunhill also invented a ‘windshield pipe’—it was designed to protect drivers from the dangers of flying sparks and allow motorists to smoke while driving. Based on this invention, he opened his first tobacconist shop in Duke Street, St James’s, London, in 1907. His 1924 monograph, The Pipe Book, reveals an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the tobacco pipe as well as claims to its long-standing appeal. In the 1920s, the tobacconist and luxury goods businesses expanded rapidly, and Dunhill opened branches of his stores in New York, Toronto, and Paris.
Dunhill retired from business in 1929, and married his mistress in 1945, following the death of his wife.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Alfred Dunhill
Give a man a pipe he can smoke,
Give a man a book he can read,
And his home is bright with a calm delight,
Though the room be poor indeed.
—Alfred Dunhill
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