Collector's Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes: Difference between revisions

'''Pipedia Editor's Note:''' Thankfully, Kaywoodies are again being made in the U.S. [https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie#Recent_History]

Throughout much of the 1940's, 50's and 60's, the Kaywoodie family of pipes consisted of 11 basic grades of briar pipes; though new grades were frequently added to the line and some older grades were discontinued or downgraded. These 11 basic grades of pipes, listed in ascending order of quality, were:

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The 1936 Kaywoodie catalog lists only four grades of pipes (Table 1). These four grades, however, were available in 140 shapes (see Appendix). These 140 shapes included many that differed only in size (small, medium, large). For example, the "In-Between", "Colt" and "Freshman" shapes listed in the Appendix were merely smaller versions of the standard shapes, and the "E-Z-Set" shapes were "flat-bottom" versions of the standard shapes.

The workingman's pipe in the 1936 catalog was the Drinkless Kaywoodie. The Drinkless Kaywoodie sold for $3.50 and came in the following four finishes: 1) Thorn (sandblast); 2) Walnut ("rich, warm brown that blends perfectly with brown suits, tweeds and brown hats"); 3) Suntan ("light summer-pipe color to go with light-color fabrics"); and 4) Dark ("rich cherry red").

[[File:Kaywoodie kwg-3.3.oversize2.jpg|thumb|1947 Kaywoodie Oversize Pipes, courtesy, [http://chriskeene.com/kwg-8 ChrisKeene.com]]]

[[File:Kaywoodie kwg-3.3.oversize3.jpg|thumb|1947 Kaywoodie Oversize Pipes, courtesy, [http://chriskeene.com/kwg-8 ChrisKeene.com]]]The 1947 Kaywoodie catalog shows 12 grades of briar pipes and introduces the Kaywoodie Block Meerschaum (Table 2). The briar pipes were available in 69 shapes (See Appendix). In addition to these individual pipes, the 1947 catalog shows two- and seven-pipe matched grain sets(5).

The line-up of pipes in the 1955 catalog (Table 3) was more extensive than in previous years. The catalog presented an expanded line of meerschaum pipes and introduced a 4-pipe set of Matched Grain Pipes, as well as several pipes with "special features". The number of shapes available (see Appendix), however, was not substantially different from the number offered in the 1947 catalog.

The "star" of the 1955 catalog was the Meerschaum Character Pipe. According to the catalog, "A very limited number of these [block] meerschaum character pipes are carved by Kaywoodie sculptors . . . each a true-life reproduction of a famous man." The famous men honored on these pipes included: George Washington; Abraham Lincoln; Thomas Jefferson; Andrew Jackson; Stonewall Jackson; Daniel Boone; Theodore Roosevelt; Sir Walter Raleigh; and Mephisto.

*'''Matched Grain Set (7-Pipes)''': $125.00

The 1968-69 catalog offered an interesting assortment of traditional and free-hand styles (Table 4). The traditional pipes were available in over 50 shapes (see Appendix). The Birdseye and Straight Grain pipes were the top-of-the-line, selling for $100 each. Every Birdseye and Straight Grain pipe was registered and, according to the catalog, would "be serviced for life".

**'''7 Pipesa''': $250.00

The material presented in this monograph is extracted from 1936, 1947, 1955, 1968-69, and four undated Kaywoodie catalogs. Based on a comparison of prices in the 1955 and 1968-69 catalogs, the four undated catalogs appear to span the period from the late 1950's to the late 1960's (i.e., after 1955 but before 1968). This section presents a brief summary of the Kaywoodie Pipes that appeared in these undated catalogs, but did not appear in either the 1955 or 1968-69 catalogs. Table 5 lists Kaywoodie shape numbers that were introduced between 1955 and 1968

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[[File:Kaywoodie OtherPipes kwg-26i.jpg|thumb|400px|Kaywoodie Stembiter and Chinrester, courtesy [http://chriskeene.com/kwg-12 ChrisKeene.bom]]]The previous sections of this Chapter summarize information taken from eight Kaywoodie Catalogs from the period 1936 to 1969. Because of the gaps in the catalogs, it is highly likely that many "holes" exist in the material presented in this monograph. This section presents a brief overview of some Kaywoodie Pipes that did not appear in any of the catalogs consulted in this research. The information on these pipes was provided by W.R. "Bill" Lowndes (a well-known Kaywoodie Collector from California).