Ascot

Ascot is a pipe name whose origins trace back to France's pipemaking capital, Saint-Claude. Today the brand is remembered less as a workshop in its own right than as a name a long-established manufacturer used for different markets in different periods. The fact that the same name was also used outside France is the aspect of this entry that most rewards a collector's caution.

The La Bruyère Period

The earliest records of Ascot point to the La Bruyère structure at Saint-Claude. After the 1929 crash shook the pipe industry of the Jura region, Chapuis-Comoy & Cie merged with another company in 1932 to begin operating under the name La Bruyère. According to the manufacturer's own history, this merger produced the largest pipe concern of its day, with more than four hundred fifty workers. The partnership ended in 1957 as the commercial weight of the Chacom brand became decisive, and the company reverted to its old name. From that point on, Ascot was carried forward not as an independent concern but as a sub-brand of Chacom.

The main obstacle to dating the brand is its stamping: older Ascot pipes carry no mark pointing to a manufacturer, so placing a pipe in the La Bruyère years is usually a matter of reading shape and workmanship. Recent examples are unambiguous, however, bearing Chacom's "CC" mark on the mouthpiece. These later series are recognized by a trio of features: an army-style push-bit joint between shank and mouthpiece with no screw thread, a horn-look acrylic mouthpiece, and a 9 mm filter chamber. This choice of fittings was no accident — these series were made primarily for the German market, which was accustomed to filtered pipes.

Other Pipes Bearing the Same Name

The Ascot name was not confined to France. According to records, H. Perkins & Sons — a long-established London silversmith operating since 1901, incorporated in 1922 as Henry Perkins & Sons Ltd., and later known for elegant silver lighters — marketed pipes under the Ascot name over a period stretching from the 1960s into the 1980s. These pipes are said to have been produced as a private label for Dunhill; the same records also note that the firm later joined Beney Ltd. Neither claim is backed by an independent document, so both should be treated with caution, and a pipe should not be taken as Dunhill-made on this account alone.

A third branch appears in the United States. Here, modestly made, rustic-finished pipes of Italian origin circulated under the Ascot name; some also bear the name "Barracini." Which Italian workshop made this group is not clear from the record. What is certain is that this series has no production connection to the French or English Ascots.

A Note on Telling Them Apart

According to collector records, Royal Ascot, stamped with the addition "Algerian Briar," is also of French origin but is a name distinct from Ascot; since this distinction rests on a single record it should not be treated as certain, but the two names should not be confused with one another. When assessing an Ascot pipe, the full reading of the stamp, the mark on the mouthpiece, and the joint style should all be weighed together — determining origin from the name alone is misleading.