Reg. Era Castello Antiquari 15/C Sandblasted Straight Billiard Estate Briar Pipe [SOLD OUT]

Description

Founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti, Castello quickly became known for producing some of the finest smoking pipes in the world. Over the years, the people involved in making Castello pipes has changed – such as Luigi Radice and Sergio Ascorti, who developed their skills in the Cantu workshop before leaving to start Caminetto, or the handing of the reigns of the company to Francisco ‘Kino’ Coppo after Scotti’s passing – but the superlative quality of Castello pipes has not. It is not without reason that Castello is known as ‘the Italian Dunhill.’

If you know Castello pipes at all, you’re probably familiar with the Old Antiquari line, which are Castello’s sandblasted pipes. This is not an Old Antiquari. Instead, it is simply an Antiquari pipe. Because, in the early days of Castello, Carlo Scotti took a fair few years to decide on the finishes the make would offer, and the names these finishes would have. This was during the very end of the 1940s and the early 1950s; before the encircled ‘k’ grading and sizing system, before the uppercase ‘K’ system, and even before the very early ‘S’ system (SA, SS, etc.). That’s the period in which this pipe was made, which makes it a very unique artifact from the history of Italian pipes.

The condition is very good for the pipe’s age. The rim has some darkening, and the draft hole is slightly over-drilled, but these are small imperfections relative to how singular a specimen of a pipe this Castello Antiquari is.

The stamping, for those interested, reads as follows:

REG. No 66171 No
MADE IN CANTU

CASTELLO
ANTIQUARI

15/C

Details:

Length: 5.5″

Bowl Width: 19.3mm

Bowl Depth: 1.55″

Weight: 0.9oz / 28g