College Class Pipes: Difference between revisions

Around 1900 and slightly earlier, pipe smoking on college campuses, by faculty and students, seems to have been the tobacco implement of choice.  From the 1890's until at least the early 1940's , the pipe was the "big man on campus". My research indicates that several Eastern colleges in the late 1800's had a single "class pipe" that was smoked  during a school ceremony,  marking the end of a school year. Emulating early western movie scenes, the pipe was passed among faculty and chosen ranking students, not unlike the native american "peace pipe" shown in those same films. Some colleges even had a pipe annually used in a ritual, not  a "class pipe", but literally referred to as "the peace pipe".  This "peace pipe” was smoked by the warring "tribes" of the senior and junior classes, symbolically ending their conflict as the seniors graduated.     

[[File:1915-CornellUniversityStudentPaperPipeShopAd.jpg|thumb|1915 Cornell University Student Paper Pipe Shop Ad, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:LLStoddardAd.jpg|thumb|LL Stoddard Class Pipe ad, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:NewHavenDrugAd.jpg|thumb|New Haven Drug store ad, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:REJollyAd.jpg|thumb|RE Jolly ad, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:StrandAd.jpg|thumb|Strand Class Pipe Ad, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:WhatJoeAd.jpg|thumb|Class Pipe Ad, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:DurhamAd.jpg|thumb|Class Pipe Ad, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:1918PrincetonGlokar.jpg|thumb|1918 Princeton Glokar, captured as it may have looked in the school paper in 1918, courtesy Brian Roberston]][[File:1933ColumbiaUniversityNewspaperAd.jpg|thumb|1933 Columbia University Student Newspaper Ad including options and prices for lettering, numerals, and pipe brands, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:1920ColumbiaUniversityStudentNewspaperClassPipeAd.jpg|thumb|1920 Columbia University Student Newspaper Class Pipe Ad, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:1925CornellSmokerPamphlet.jpg|thumb|1925 Cornell Smoker Pamphlet, featuing a Class Pipe, courtesy Brian Richardson]][[File:1937PrincetonStudentNewspaperPrinceAlbertAd.jpg|thumb|1937 Princeton Student Newspaper Price Albert Ad, with a Class Pipe reference, courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:Broken1920NewYorkUniversityClassPipe.jpg|thumb|Sadly, a broken 1920 New York University [[WDC]] Milano Class Pipe, courtesy Brian Robertson]]There are several clues that can be used to provide a degree of provenance in matching a class pipe with its corresponding college or university.  An excellent method of determining a class pipe’s identity is researching college and university student newspapers.  Many of the eastern college student newspapers have archives that can be viewed.  For instance, if you have a pipe emblazoned with a '''"C"''' and a year, and you guess that it is a "Cornell" pipe, upon visiting newspaper archive you can search "class pipe (plus the year") or "class pipe committee (plus the year) ".  The result in some cases will be an article actually describing the design of the chosen silver letters, and numerals.  The article may even declare the brand of pipe, and its corresponding shape (straight or bent). This method is not always fruitful and oftentimes requires slogging through a long list of articles.  It is heaven for the research geek.  When I purchase a pipe at an estate sale, I simply ask to whom the pipe belongs.  Usually I am told that it was their father's or grandfather's.  I then ask, "did he go  to college and which one?"  I learned the hard way, you ask these questions after you have paid, and the pipe is in your pocket.  Another clue is the source of the pipe. The Owl Shop has supplied, almost exclusively, the "Yale" pipes. The 1917 Brown University pipe was branded by a tobacconist that was practically on the campus.  With others, a lucky google search of the tobacconist name on the pipes will sometimes turn up the store's location.

[[File:1911UofMichiganGlokar.jpg|thumb|1911 University of Michigan Class pipe, a 1909 [[BBB]] Glokar, courtesy Brian Robertson]]

[[File:1930sKaywoodieRockyBriar(m1842)PKE-FratPipe.jpg|thumb|1930s [[Kaywoodie]] Rocky Briar (model 1842) Phi Kappa Epsilon Fraternity Pipe, courtesy Brian Robertson collection]][[File:1919DartmouthFratParty.jpg|thumb|A grainy photo with a 1922 Class Pipe and "1919 Dartmouth Frat Party" written on the back, courtesy Brian Richardson]]

<gallery widths=300 heights=300 caption="Phi Delta Theta Captain Black Fraternity Pipe, courtesy Brian Richardson Collection">

<gallery widths=300 heights=300 caption="PSI Omega Dental Fraternity Pipe, a St. James by [[Comoy]], courtesy Brian Richardson Collection">