Astleys of London Short Lumberman Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

Astleys was one of London’s most historic pipe and tobacco shops. Like many pipe tobacconists, its owners had pipes made specially to be sold under the shop’s name. Astleys pipes, however, were made by some of the premier pipe manufacturers and artisans in the UK, such as Dunhill, Charatan, Les Wood, and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones of James Upshall. As a result, Astleys pipes are prized for their quality, and as examples of the very finest British pipes.

This is a lumberman, right? I mean, if we’re going by traditional shapes, the closest this would be to is the lumberman. It has a billiard bowl, an oval shank, and a short, saddle stem. That’s a lumberman. Except this one is comparatively quite short for the shape as usually rendered. Proportionally, it actually reminds me of the mid-century French pear. In any case, it’s a beautiful pipe, with excellent grain and a warm, walnut stain. If I had to guess, I would bet on this having been made by Ken and Barry at James Upshall. I’ve held similar shapes from their Upshall make before, and the stain is very much like their ‘P’ grades.

The condition is very good. There’s a slight nick on the left outer rim, and some very minor handling marks, but the pipe is very well preserved. Even the Astleys ‘A’ stamp is intact.

Details:

Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 45.97mm

Bowl Depth: 1.77″ / 44.95mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g