Weingott: Difference between revisions

Prior to 1883 there was scarcely a single Briar pipe manufactured in England. They were all foreign made goods. Later that year, J. S. Weingott conceiving the possibilities that lay in such a non-competitive field, determined to manufacture pipes in England for English customers. His enterprise, at first was regarded askance by others in the trade, while many prognosticated disaster. Undeterred by these ominous forebodings, Mr. Weingott started his industry (S. Weingott & Son), and although it was an uphill struggle at first, he soon became one of the largest pipe factories in the country with a large colonial export: "''Only sixteen years have elapsed since I started my factory, and yet today the industry has grown to such proportions that the men employed in this trade throughout the country have instituted a Pipemaker's Union''" (from a 1899 interview to an English magazine).  

[[File:Weingott workshop in fleet street.png]]

For most of the XIX and XX century his pipes were some of the best ever made in London, respecting his directives of 1 craftsman per pipe and never a "ford like" assembly line so commonly adopted in many workshops of the time. these pipes are extremely rare and much sought after by pipe collectors worldwide.

        

The family sold the business in the 1930s and since then they have been made by, or used private label pipes, under several different owners. In 1980 Cadogan bought the brand and,according to many pipe smokers, effectively killed it. Initially by lowering the extremely high quality level of this classic brand and later on by finally discontinuing it.