Astleys of London Stacked Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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.

These days, unsmoked Astleys are so scarce they might as well be on the WWF endangered species list. And what an Astleys this one is! It’s an interesting hybrid of the cutty and the stack, with a light, slender, slightly curved frame, and marvelous flame grain rising up around its tall bowl. It’s certainly not a Dunhill shape, and not one I’ve seen from Ferndown, either, so I’m inclined to think this must have either been made in Charatan’s freehand workshop, or by Jones and Barnes at James Upshall. Either way, it’s a beaut.

As mentioned, this pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating to help ease in its first smokes.

 

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.40 / 10.16mm

Bowl Depth: 1.63″ / 41.40mm

Weight: 0.9oz / 26g