Caminetto 2004 James Norman Caminetto Collection Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Caminetto was, and is to this day, a decisive figure in the history of Italy’s pipe workshop tradition. After spending time developing their skills in the Castello workshop, Guiseppe Ascorti and Luigi Radice left to found their own venture, which they named, “Caminetto.” Here, Ascorti and Radice were able to create their own now-classic shapes and finishes, such as the rusticated “Business,” and the carved, wax-drip “New Dear.” By the early 1980s, Ascorti and Radice had gone their separate ways and founded workshops under their own names, after which what remained of the Caminetto workshop mysteriously burned down and was dissolved. In the mid-1980s, however, the Ascorti family acquired the rights to the Caminetto brand, relaunching it as a separate project alongside Ascorti pipes.

In the 2000s, Caminetto produced a series of limited edition pipes exclusively for their US importer, James Norman Ltd., who also owned a shop in New Jersey. These pipes were the James Norman Caminetto Collection, or J.N.C.C., and were distinct from any of the Caminetto shapes that one might find anywhere else. In fact, those who were reading Pipes and Tobaccos magazine back in the day might recall the large advertisements for these pipes put out by James Norman, alongside other brands the company imported, such as Ferndown. The 2004 Special Model, as it was also called, was this interesting calabash-esque sitter with a push stem (as far as I recall, all of the J.N.C.C. Special Models had smooth “cap”-like rims), dressed in a very Italian, rusticated finish and draped in a two-tone top coat.

The condition is good. Some wear to the inner rim, including slight scratches and finish fading.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.83 / 21.08mm

Bowl Depth: 1.80″ / 45.72mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 54g