English Estates: Ashton Old Church Dublin with Silver (XXX) (1989) Tobacco Pipe

William "Bill" Ashton Taylor began working for Dunhill in 1959 at 15 years old, manning one of the legendary English marque's lathes after a lengthy apprenticeship. During his time at the White Spot, Bill absorbed all the secrets of the craft he could from their experienced carvers, coming into his own as a carver and marking the start of a lengthy career. After feeling the need to start his own company, Bill founded Ashton pipes in 1983, going into business for himself and holding his work to extremely strict standards of quality that have earned the Ashton name an excellent reputation. William passed away in 2009, entrusting Ashton's production to Jimmy Craig, his protege, who has maintained the stringent standards of his predecessor, creating pieces with timeless appeal and classic charm. Crafted in 1989, this Dublin was produced by Ashton while William Taylor was still at the helm of the workshop, making it both rare and extremely collectible. Coming in at more than six inches long and maintaining a sleek, slender build through the aft, this pipe is a truly timeless iteration of the archetypal shape. Though the bowl maintains the majority of the visual weight of this pipe, the look stays quite balanced, centering one's attention at the transition and allowing one to appreciate the slimness of the shank and its domed silver military mount. The bowl flares out of a rounded heel and rises to over two inches tall, canting forward and lending the silhouette a dynamic character. Dressed in the crisp sandblast and earthy stain of the Old Church finish, the stummel showcases handsome grain, the black vulcanite stem married to the pipe's military mount keeping the palette classic.