College Class Pipes: Difference between revisions

[[File:1935YalePipeCeremony.jpg|thumb|left|This photo dated June 17th, 1935 shows Yale graduates smoking clay pipes, which were afterward broken and ground into the dirt to symbolize their passage from their "Bright" college days. Other Eastern Colleges had similar traditions. Courtesy Brian Robertson]][[File:1935PrincetonPipesSmashedAgainstCannon.jpg|thumb|left|Princeton Class Day, June 17, 1935, showing the tradition of seniors smashing clay pipes against the school's cannon. Courtesy Brian Robertson]]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:1998YaleClassDayClay.jpg|thumb|Rare 1898 Yale Class Day Ceremonial Clay Pipe, courtesy Brian Robertson]]Although not a class pipe, the pipe to the right and below is a thick branch of the family tree.  The class day pipe ceremony began at Yale in 1859.  The purpose of the rite was to have senior students gather, smoke a single bowl of tobacco, and afterwards smash  the pipe on the ground.  This was intended to signify the students' end of  days at Yale.  This tradition was performed for over 100 years and revived in 2018.  The rarity of this pipe cannot be overstated.  The combination of fragility, age, and that its purpose was to be destroyed upon a single use, should have created a "perfect storm" of destruction.  Regarding the pipe itself, the Yale insignia , appears to have been hand painted, and the numerals are "raised".  Although the pipe has not been smoked, the exterior has not been cleaned.  The display stand is a deserved recent addition.

<gallery widths=300 heights=300 caption="Rare 1898 Yale Class Day Ceremonial Clay Pipe, courtesy Brian Robertson">

1998YaleClassDayClay2.jpg

1998YaleClassDayClay3.jpg

<gallery widths=300 heights=300 caption="1906 [[WDC]] Cornell Class pipe w/case, courtesy Brian Roberston collection">

<gallery widths=300 heights=300 caption="1909 [[BBB]] Glokar, Emory University Class pipe, courtesy Brian Roberston collection">

<gallery widths=300 heights=300 caption="1925 Harvard University [[WDC]] Stratford, courtesy Brian Roberston collection">

<gallery widths=300 heights=300 caption="1906 [[WDC]] Columbia Class pipe, courtesy Brian Roberston collection">

<gallery widths=300 heights=300 caption="1949 [[Briarcraft]] William & Mary Class pipe, courtesy Brian Roberston collection">

[[File:SaracusseUniversityComoyRoyalFalconClassPipe.jpg|thumb|Syracuse University [[Comoy]] Royal Falcon Class Pipe, Courtesy Brian Robertson collection]]

<gallery widths=300 heights=200 caption="Syracuse University [[Comoy]] Royal Falcon Class Pipe, courtesy Brian Roberston collection">

[[File:BBBGlokarATOmega6.jpg|thumb|500px|1910 [[BBB]] Glokar Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity pipe and information, courtesy Brian Robertson collection]]<gallery widths=250 heights=250 caption="In addition to Class Pipes, there also came to be Fraternity pipes, as can be seen by this Alpha Tau Omega example, courtesy Brian Robertson collection">

[[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 Robertson]]

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