In 1953 a new, high-quality pipe made its debut in America- first in New
York and gradually throughout the rest of the country. This pipe was very
different from any other pipe of similar quality which was being sold at that
time. It was made completely by hand instead of machine-made and hand
finished. It had a mouthpiece made of Plexiglas rather than vulcanite, and the
briar bowl and shank were carved into a deeply etched finish. This unique pipe
was from Italy.
This new pipe was a radical change from what the
American pipe smoker was used to buying, and the most surprising aspect of the
pipe was its country of origin. Certainly, Italy was not known for producing
excellent briar smoking pipes; that distinction belonged to two other European
nations- France and England. After all, briar pipemaking began in St. Claude,
France where many of today’s traditional shapes were designed. England’s
pipe making industry was well established by the early 20th
century with some of the most prestigious brands in the world- names such as Barling,
Charatan, and Dunhill.
It was with some trepidation that American pipe
smokers tried this new pipe- the Castello. The mouthpiece felt strange
in the mouth, Plexiglas being somewhat harder than vulcanite; however, the
material did not oxidize over a period of time, thus, did not produce that
terrible look and taste so often associated with a pipe. The Castello shapes
were very familiar because at that time they were modeled almost exclusively
after the Dunhill (the most famous briar pipe in the world). The deeply etched
finish, to the uninitiated, looked like the deep sandblast of the more
familiar brands.
As a people, Americans are very utilitarian. Most
demand true value for their money, and will not purchase a product simply
because it is new or different. In America the Castello pipe was expensive,
and the fact that it succeeded here proved that it was indeed a very good
value for the price. The fact that the pipe was made completely by hand and
was the product of one man, as opposed to a large factory, most people did not
learn until much later.
In the following years the Castello became a widely
respected name, and the supply of pipes sent to America was not enough to meet
the growing demand of pipe smokers. In the 1970’s the Castello pipe became
almost legendary as its attributes were widely acclaimed by all- but no one
knew where to buy one. Tobacconists were fortunate to receive two or three per
year, but these were most often in the shop for a day, or just an hour, before
being purchased. Into this void stepped a new Italian handmade pipe- the Caminetto.
Which looke very much like the famous Castello Sea Rock. The Caminetto Business
came to these shores in the early 1970’s. The brand met with almost
immediate success here, and with greater success when importation rights were
assumed by Tinder Box International for sale exclusively through its
franchised shops.
Less expensive and more readily available than the
Castello, the Caminetto won many converts from those who could not find or
could not afford the original Castello; while others, who had first tried the
Caminetto, made all-out attempts to secure at least one Castello in order to
compare.
It was also during this period that new shapes and
carving styles emerged from within both marques. The new models of both
Castello and Caminetto appeared less like traditional English shapes and had
their own unique characteristics (later to be known here as Italian styling),
though the carving styles of these two brands went in different directions. In
the beginning the Castello Sea Rock Briar had a rather chunky carving style,
which over the years changed to a more delicate look. The Caminetto Business
began with an even and delicate carved finish which changed, over time, to a
more deeply-etched uneven look.
In late 1979 the Castello was as popular and
difficult to come by as ever. By this time a Castello “cult” had formed
among some pipe collectors. They would telephone tobacco shops all over the
United States in order to obtain one or more of these elusive pipes. Every now
and again rumors would spread that one shop or another had a Castello Trademark
or a Castello Collection for sale (smooth Castello pipes were as rare
in America as pasta was plentiful in Italy), and that particular shop would be
deluged with telephone calls for days afterward. In the same year (1979)
rumors also circulated concerning the Caminetto marque… “the workshop had
burnt to the ground; one of the partners of the firm had either died or gone
insane; the partners had a disagreement and dissolved the firm.” No one knew
the cause, but everyone knew that the Caminetto pipe was no longer coming into
the United States.
Within three months, however, the Ascorti
pipe appeared looking exactly like the Caminetto, except for an “A” on the
mouthpiece where the moustache logo had been. As with Caminetto, the Ascorti
was imported by Tinder Box International and sold exclusively through the
Tinder Box shops.
The Ascorti has not yet gained the respect previously
held by Caminetto; this will take time. Pipe smokers are most suspicious of
any type of change, and when the Ascorti appeared looking exactly like the
Caminetto many smokers swore that “it was not the same pipe- that a
different type of briar was used; that the quality of craftsmanship was not
the same; that the Ascorti did not taste as good as the Caminetto.”
In late 1981 the Radice entered the United
States marketplace, followed by the Becker in early 1982. Both are sold
on an exclusive basis by a limited number of some of the best pipe and tobacco
shops in the nation. The fact that both have proved to be so successful is
partly due to the outstanding craftsmanship of both marques, and to the superb
reputation the Italian handmade pipes have developed in this country since the
first ones appeared in 1953.
