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Collector's Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes: Difference between revisions
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''This is an ongoing effort to adapt information from the Collector's Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes into Pipedia articles. The Guide was first compiled by Chris Keene for his pipe pages at [http://chriskeene.com/ ChrisKeene.com]. Chris used source material from Robert W. Stokes, Ph.D and additional support materials from Bill Feuerbach III, of the [[S.M. Frank]] Co.. Many thanks to these dedicated pipemen for their work in compiling this material.'' | ''This is an ongoing effort to adapt information from the Collector's Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes into Pipedia articles. The Guide was first compiled by Chris Keene for his pipe pages at [http://chriskeene.com/ ChrisKeene.com]. Chris used source material from Robert W. Stokes, Ph.D and additional support materials from Bill Feuerbach III, of the [[S.M. Frank]] Co.. Many thanks to these dedicated pipemen for their work in compiling this material.'' | ||
'''''by Robert W. Stokes, Ph.D''''' | |||
= Introduction = | |||
[[File:Kwg-introimage.jpg|thumb|400px|"on the town . . on the campus . . for leisure and pleasure, smoking a Kaywoodie Pipe is, more than ever, the badge of the modern masculine male" (Kaywoodie ad, circa 1960), courtesy [http://chriskeene.com/kwg-5 ChrisKeene.com]]]Pipesmokers who were born before 1950 have probably, at one time or another, smoked a Kaywoodie Pipe. As recently as the early 1970's, many local drugstores had extensive Kaywoodie Pipe displays. These later Kaywoodies, however, were generally lacquered "hand-burners" that probably did more to discourage pipesmoking than any recent anti-smoking campaigns. Unfortunately, it is this image of later Kaywoodies that is most prevalent with the majority of pipesmokers/collectors today. Contrary to this perception of all Kaywoodies as "drugstore pipes", many of the early Kaywoodie Pipes were quality briars that were available in an extensive range of shapes. | |||
In recent years, many collectors have "re-discovered" Kaywoodie Pipes. Ads for Kaywoodies, and/or requests for information concerning these pipes, have appeared in pipesmoking and related journals with increasing frequency in recent years. Readily available and reliable information on Kaywoodie Pipes, however, is virtually non-existent. It is unfortunate that with the increasing popularity of pipe collecting in this country, U.S. pipe smoking history has largely been ignored. In its heyday, Kaywoodie Pipes was the world's largest consumer of briar and, contrary to popular belief, produced some extremely high quality smoking pipes, many incorporating innovative design features. | |||
This monograph is an initial attempt at documenting the Kaywoodie story. This should be viewed as an "initial attempt" in that it is based on information extracted from only a few catalogs and correspondence with a limited number of Kaywoodie collectors. The catalogs reviewed in this research span the period from 1936 to 1969 in roughly ten-year increments. Because of the gaps in catalogs, it is highly likely that there are many "holes" in the information presented here. The information available on pre-1936 Kaywoodies, for example, is particularly vague and is largely speculative in nature. It is hoped that this initial attempt will provide a useful point of departure for future, more exhaustive research on this important, interesting, but neglected era in American pipesmoking history. | |||
== A BRIEF HISTORY OF KAYWOODIE PIPES == | |||
[[File:Kwg-2.0.image1(DrinklessFilter).jpg|thumb|Kaywoodie Synchro-Stem and Drinkless Filter, courtesy [http://chriskeene.com/kwg-6 ChrisKeene.com]][[File:Kwg-6 (28pipeSet).jpg|thumb|28 pipe set, courtesy [http://chriskeene.com/kwg-6 ChrisKeene.com]]]According to Hacker (1), the firm of Kaufmann Brothers and Bondy (KB&B) began producing the Kaywoodie (2) Pipe in 1915. Hacker notes that: | |||
:''"The company was originally started in 1851 in New York by two brothers named Kaufman[n], who sold meerschaums and clays that a third :brother sent them from Vienna. Business thrived and in 1854 the Kaufman[n]s took in a partner named Bondy. ... The three partners retired :in 1898, but their relatives continued on with the firm, which had begun to manufacture their own briar pipes under the KB&B trademark. :In 1915 the Kaywoodie brand was created as a marketing umbrella for a new briar pipe which the KB&B company introduced. ..."''' | |||
The "marketing umbrella" mentioned by Hacker included lower grade Kaywoodies that were later marketed under the "Yello-Bole" name. (According to a 1948 Yello-Bole catalog, "Yello-Boles have been on the market since 1933. About 25 millions of these pipes have been sold"). Hacker concludes his history of Kaywoodie Pipes by noting that: | |||
:''"The KB&B briar pipe brand existed from 1900 until just after World War I (with some overlapping with the Kaywoodie from 1915 -- 1917), :and collectors refer to the KB&B as a Kaywoodie transition pipe. During the early years of the 20th century a number of filter systems :were designed by the KB&B firm and incorporated into their Kaywoodie Pipes under the names of Synchro-Stem and Kaywoodie Drinkless3 :filters. During the late 1920's and throughout the 30's the Kaywoodie became a highly respected pipe in spite of its filter system (which :was popular among many smokers of the era) primarily due to the fine quality of the straight grain and the flame grain models. :Unfortunately, the hard-to-get-briar years of World War II marked the decline of the Kaywoodie Pipe, a plummet from which it has never :recovered as far as collectors are concerned...."'' | |||
The pre-Kaywoodie KB&B pipes were marked on the shank with a cloverleaf around KB&B. Some early Kaywoodies had this same marking on the shank, but the practice was dropped sometime prior to 1936. Yello-Boles also had KBB in the leaf on the shanks, but did not have the ampersand found on Kaywoodies. | |||
Early (pre-1936) Kaywoodies had an "elongated" white cloverleaf on the bit, a large fitment, and four-digit shape numbers. The 1936 catalog shows a larger, "fuller" leaf, but lists two-digit shape numbers. Sometime between 1936 and 1947, the better pipes were marked on the bits with a black cloverleaf in a white circle. The white cloverleaf continued on the lesser pipes. However, this was not a consistent convention, as pipes of the same grade could have either type of leaf. | |||
The S.M. Frank Co. now owns the Kaywoodie name, but no longer makes pipes. However, Italian made "drugstore" grade Kaywoodies are still being marketed in this country. These Italian-made Kaywoodies have a "whiteoutline" cloverleaf logo. | |||
'''Pipedia Editor's Note:''' Thankfully, Kaywoodies are again being made in the U.S. [https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie#Recent_History] | |||
== ANNOTATED CHRONOLOGY OF KAYWOODIE PIPES (1936-1969) == | |||
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: | |||
#Drinkless | |||
#Hand-made Super Grain | |||
#Super Grain | |||
#Relief Grain | |||
#Flame Grain | |||
#Silhouette | |||
#Oversize Kaywoodies | |||
#Meerschaum Inlaid Kaywoodies | |||
#Connoisseur | |||
#Ninety-fiver | |||
#Centennial | |||
This Chapter presents a description of the grades that appeared in the Kaywoodie line of pipes for the period from 1936 through 1969. The information comes from Kaywoodie catalogs from 1936, 1947, 1955, and 1968-69. Four "undated" catalogs were also consulted as an aid in establishing the hierarchy of pipes in the frequently changing Kaywoodie line-up. Based on a comparison of prices in the 1955 and 1968-69 catalogs, these four undated catalogs appear to span the period from "after 1955" to "before 1968". | |||
<center><gallery widths=450px heights=600px caption="The Kaywoodie familty of pipes, 1947"> | |||
File:Kaywoodie 47fam2.jpg|Courtesy [http://chriskeene.com/kwg-6 ChrisKeene.com] | |||
File:Kaywoodie 47fam1.jpg|Courtesy [http://chriskeene.com/kwg-6 ChrisKeene.com] | |||
</gallery></center> | |||
== THE 1936 KAYWOODIE LINE OF PIPES == | |||
== A Partial Chronology of Kaywoodie Grades, Shapes and Prices (1936 - 1969) == | == A Partial Chronology of Kaywoodie Grades, Shapes and Prices (1936 - 1969) == | ||
=== 1936 Kaywoodie Shape Numbers and Descriptions === | === 1936 Kaywoodie Shape Numbers and Descriptions === | ||