1988 Ashton Pebble Grain LX Sandblasted Canadian Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

Ashton is an English pipe brand created by William Ashton Taylor, a former Dunhill pipe-maker who left Dunhill in the 1980s to make pipes under his own name. Along with other pipe-makers such as Ken Barnes and Barry Jones of James Upshall and Les Wood of Ferndown, Ashton emerged as part of a new wave of high end, hand made British pipes in the late 20th century.

The history of Ashton pipes thus far can be divided into two categories: the Bill Taylor years and the Jimmy Craig years. Each has their distinct qualities, and each has their own group of dedicated admirers. This particular Ashton belongs to the former category, the period of 1983-2009 when William Ashton Taylor led the Ashton workshop, prior to his untimely passing. It is a large, quintessentially English Canadian shape, with exactly the kind of deep, craggy sandblast that Bill was renowned for—including a good bit of ring grain on the right flank. It’s a relatively early pipe, from 1988, but as Bill was a Dunhill alum and had worked on some of their highest-grade pipes prior to his departure (including the remarkable Dunhill Space Shuttle pipe), it is very much a mature work.

The condition is good. Some rim darkening and minor finish fading. We suspect the stem may be a replacement and have adjusted the price accordingly.

 

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.93″ / 23.62mm

Bowl Depth: 1.92″ / 48.76mm

Weight: 2.2oz / 64g