Ascorti Limited Edition Peppino Series 135 New Dear 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.

The Peppino Series was a limited edition, special selection of pipes made by Roberto Ascorti for US pipe shop The Tinder Box. Ascorti has, historically, had a close relationship with The Tinder Box, the latter being the first US distributor to pick up the Guiseppe and Roberto’s pipes after their departure from Caminetto. In 2006, Roberto Ascorti created a selection of limited edition pipes for The Tinder Box, named the “Peppino Series.” The reason for this name was that the pipe shapes used for the series had all been designed by Guiseppe “Peppino” Ascorti back during his days at Caminetto (in fact, even the same Lucite was used for their distinctive mouthpieces, while the stummels were crafted from specially aged briar). These shapes had also been “retired” upon Caminetto’s dissolution in the early 1980s and, though Roberto and Tommaso Ascorti would re-establish the make years later, the make’s eventual rebirth came a significantly different approach to pipe design. Peppino had passed away in 1984, so the Peppino Series was a way of honoring his legacy, as well as his family’s close relationship with The Tinder Box. The Peppino Series continued for several years, with each year bringing with it a small number of new shapes. But, after each, annual run of the series concluded, Roberto Ascorti retired the shapes used for it once again, making such pipes a rare find—whether under the banner of Caminetto or, indeed, Ascorti. This shape “135” billiard sitter, from the original 2006 release, is dressed in the classic finish first developed at the Caminetto workshop: the hand-carved, wax-drip “New Dear.”

The condition is great. Minor inner rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.52″ / 38.60mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 48g