Astleys Smooth Magnum Freehand Dublin Sitter 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 Ashton, Charatan Dunhill, Ferndown, and James Upshall. As a result, Astleys pipes are prized for their quality, and as examples of the very finest British pipes.

Being a historic British make, whose pipes were sourced from other historic British makes, Astleys pipes tend to be quite reserved in terms of design, leaning heavily into the staples of the Anglo-French tradition. When an Astleys deviates from that tradition, as in the case of this one, the question of “Who made that Astleys?” tends to narrow down to two notable answers: Charatan or James Upshall. Based on the stamping, this Astleys could be either, but that’s certainly not a problem. At over 7 inches in length and with a tremendously large chamber, this magnum, plateaux-topped Dublin certainly belongs to that especial lineage linking the birth of the English freehand under Reuben Charatan’s stewardship, its meteoric rise under Herman Lane, and its culmimation in the pipes of Ken Barnes and Barry Jones’ James Upshall pipes.

The condition is good. Some slight finish discoloration and a few, superficial nicks around the bowl.

Details:

Length: 7.4″ / 187.9mm

Bowl Width: 1.11 / 28.19mm

Bowl Depth: 2.17″ / 55.11mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 74g