Ascorti 2006 Christmas Partially Rusticated Bulldog Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Ascorti belongs to a historic lineage in Italian artisan pipe-making. Guiseppe “Peppino” Ascorti was first employed as a pipe-maker in the 1950s, in Carlo Scotti’s Castello workshop in Cantu. There he met Luigi Radice, and in the 1960s the two decided to leave Castello to create their own pipe-making workshop, under the name ‘Caminetto.’ At the end of the 1970s, Guiseppe Ascorti and Luigi Radice left Caminetto and once more decided to start new ventures. Luigi Radice founded the Radice pipe workshop, and Guiseppe’s son Roberto Ascorti, who had also worked in the Caminetto workshop since he was a child, decided to create a workshop under his own name. Roberto was joined not only by his father, but also many of the talented craftsmen who had formerly worked for Caminetto. In 1980, the Ascorti workshop was born.

While Savinelli is arguably the best-known Italian make for annual, limited edition pipes, some of the great artisan workshops have also engaged in such traditions at different points in time, whether through a “pipe of the year” or, indeed, a Christmas pipe. Like Il Ceppo, Radice, and Ardor, the Ascorti family made a small number of special Christmas pipes for a time, which were sold through their long-time distributor (going all the way back to the early Caminetto days), The Tinder Box. For the 2006 edition, just 60 such pipes were made, taking the form of a relatively traditional, army mount bulldog, with the mount and mouthpiece having been cut from the family’s favored swirling Lucite.

The condition is very good. Minor rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.72″ / 43.68mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g