What we have here is a failure to communicate. We know the pipe is an Ashton, because it says so, stamped clearly on the bottom of the shank. What we don’t know is the official finish, because that information is not provided. It does look like an Old Church, though, doesn’t it? Probably made before that designation came into creation. Nor is there a date, after the “England.” Again, I think that is the case before it hadn’t yet been decided to date the pipes. Finally, the little brown dot, the stem logo for all of Ashton’s years of production, is a little raised. Normally, that dot is flush with the stem. I think that either the form the logo was to finally take was not finalized, or Bill finished the pipe after lunch and his trip to the pub, and he simply forgot to fully sand down the dot. My final surmise is that this is a very early production number. It has a terrific blast and is in very good condition, with just the slightest touch of wear on the inner chamber rim. There are no tooth marks on the stem. It’s a Grp. 5 in size.
5.25” long, bowl 1.75” tall. Weight: 1 oz., 29 grams.