The History of Caminetto (shapes, stamping, articles, etc.): Difference between revisions

''This article originally appeared as a post by user joshoowah on: [http://www.brothersofbriar.com/t26564-the-history-of-caminetto-shapes-stamping-articles-etc Brothersofbriar.com]. It would be wonderful to combine and reconcile this with the main [[Caminetto]] article at some point. Meanwhile we have placed it here as a separate article.'' --[[User:Sethile|sethile]] ([[User talk:Sethile|talk]]) 10:05, 18 December 2016 (CST)

== Introduction ==

Some of you remember me better than most, as I have been on a hiatus from the forum for some months now. In any case, I used to be an exclusive Caminetto collector, that is, I only bought Caminetto's for a time. I was so for about two years, amassing around 16-17 Caminettos, stretching from the "Business Series" to the "Prestige Series." After finally finding a birth year pipe from the Caminetto line, not an easy task mind you, my love affair with the illusive Caminetto came to an end. The one glee and simplicity that came from such love dissipated and my tastes expanded beyond what Caminetto could provide.  My pipe collection dwindled from 50-60 pipes to 8 and counting.  The only Caminetto left in my collection is the birth year (1986), but it will always remind me of the fond adventure I had in trying to track down Caminetto's left and right, though now the search is much easier as the popularity of Caminetto is back afresh.  

Ironically enough, the increasing demand soon drove Ascorti and Radice to the limits of their production. The brand had been introduced successfully in Germany, and in Italy to some extent. By the end of 1970 more hands were needed. Even Ascorti's elder son, Roberto (born 1958; and the current owner) helped with stamping and shipping the pipes when he was yet a schoolboy. The most important employee is Cesare Vigano, who has worked for Caminetto / Ascorti for more than thirty years. To bring about more stability and higher production, Davoli invested a considerable amount of money in modern pipemaking machinery, and in doing so went from distributor to co-owner of Caminetto. By 1973, he held the vast majority of the company's capital. This would eventually bring about the friction between the "three chimneys."

In addition to Caminetto, Davoli sold a private label brand by Ascorti / Radice named Gianni for a couple of years in Italy. Caminetto prospered throughout the 70s. Everyone was hard at work, sales continued to increase, but soon there after, disagreements occurred among the three principles, marking the beginning of the end.

In addition to the above stampings, there was always the trademark mustache on the stem.  The earlier models (1968/69-1974/75) had the iconic gold, sometimes white, "bird-in-flight" mustache and the later models (1975-1979/80/81) had a gold, or white, "double comma" mustache. Tinder Box often stamped their shield on the pipes as well.  

There is also another factor in stamping, that is, which series the pipe falls in.  The majority of Caminetto's one sees are those of the "Business" series, which are stamped such with their collective shape (see photo of shapes below). Another stamp that sometimes follows the "Business" one is "KS," which from what I know means "King-size" (this could be wrong, as there are pipes stamped with KS1, KS2, and KS3).  

File:CaminettoArticle1b.jpg|Another example

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=== Conclusion ===