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Before I proceed, | Before I proceed, let me be clear about the pipe club in this essay. It is not about the Pipe Club at Aston University in Great Britain that encourages entrepreneurial spirit and offers activities to individuals interested in starting a business in a variety of different sectors. It’s not about Pipe Club—No. 1 through No. 5 tobacco blends from Kohlhase, Kopp & Co. It’s not about the Tahoe Pipe Club, because its sole focus is educating the public about water-quality issues in the Lake Tahoe area. It’s not about the club that promotes and teaches uilleann pipes, the Irish version of bagpipes. It’s not about this pipe club: “Before 1876 all attempts to prevent it [intercommunication] had been virtually abandoned, and the political prisoners had formed what they called ‘Water-closet Clubs’ or ‘Pipe Clubs,’ for social intercourse and mutual improvement. Each club consisted of ten or twelve members, and had its own name and rules” (“Russian State Prisoners. ‘Pipe Clubs of Political Prisoners,’” ''The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine'', November 1887 to April 1888). And it’s certainly not about this pipe club: ''Macrotyphula fistulopsa'' (Typhulaceae), a fairly common, widespread fungus. | ||
This narrative is about that place where men (and women) get together to enjoy the pleasures of pipes and tobacco. The pipe club has been a transformative phenomenon in pipe-smoking circles. It is not a recent event, as some newcomers to pipe-smoking might believe. Its appearance was in the 20th century, and its genesis is the smoking-room—the French called it ''le fumoir''—in 18th-century England. Smoking-clubs had the same purpose as pipe clubs today: pipes, tobacco, camaraderie and conversation. | This narrative is about that place where men (and women) get together to enjoy the pleasures of pipes and tobacco. The pipe club has been a transformative phenomenon in pipe-smoking circles. It is not a recent event, as some newcomers to pipe-smoking might believe. Its appearance was in the 20th century, and its genesis is the smoking-room—the French called it ''le fumoir''—in 18th-century England. Smoking-clubs had the same purpose as pipe clubs today: pipes, tobacco, camaraderie and conversation. | ||
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In 1826, “Leigh Hunt [English critic, essayist, and poet] described with nostalgia the clouds of smoke that surrounded the community of pipe smokers in the early coffee houses. Yet Hunt associated pipes with drunkards, whilst cigars were the ‘mildest as well as the most fashionable form of tobacco-taking.’ For Hunt, cigar smoking was a private habit associated with the drawing-room. Otherwise, more genteel smokers gathered in male ‘smoking clubs’ or had to restrict their smoking to the alehouse. By 1800 it was noted with surprise how early eighteenth-century coffee houses had allowed smoking to be ‘permitted in the publick room’” (William Tullett, ''Smell in Eighteenth-Century England. A Social Sense'', 2019). | In 1826, “Leigh Hunt [English critic, essayist, and poet] described with nostalgia the clouds of smoke that surrounded the community of pipe smokers in the early coffee houses. Yet Hunt associated pipes with drunkards, whilst cigars were the ‘mildest as well as the most fashionable form of tobacco-taking.’ For Hunt, cigar smoking was a private habit associated with the drawing-room. Otherwise, more genteel smokers gathered in male ‘smoking clubs’ or had to restrict their smoking to the alehouse. By 1800 it was noted with surprise how early eighteenth-century coffee houses had allowed smoking to be ‘permitted in the publick room’” (William Tullett, ''Smell in Eighteenth-Century England. A Social Sense'', 2019). | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote>The object of clubs is often asserted to be, the promotion of trade, human conversation, and the communication of curious and scientific matter; but, according to an old writer, he gives this opinion, that ‘most considerate men who have ever been engaged in such sort of compotations, have found, by experience, that the general end thereof is a promiscuous encouragement of vice, faction, and folly. …There have been clubs so designated is most certain; but the practice of smoking is too universal to misapply the term when speaking of clubs in general (''Tavern Anecdotes, and Reminiscences of the Origin of Signs, Clubs, Coffee-Houses, Streets, City Companies, Wards, &c.'', 1825). </blockquote> | ||
The Reverend George Crabbe penned a lengthy poem, “Clubs and Social Meetings” in 1845. I quote one segment: | The Reverend George Crabbe penned a lengthy poem, “Clubs and Social Meetings” in 1845. I quote one segment: | ||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
A Club there is of Smokers—Dare you come<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
To that close crowded, hot, narcotic room?<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
When midnight past, the very candles seem<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
Dying for air, and give a ghastly gleam;<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
When curling fumes in lazy wreaths arise,<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
When the long tale, renew’d when they last met,<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
Is spliced anew, and is unfinish’d yet;<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
When but a few are left the house to tire,<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
And they half sleeping by the sleepy fire;<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
Ev’n the poor ventilating Vane that flew<br> | |||
<p style="text-indent: 60px"> | |||
Of late, so fast, is now grown drowsy too.</p> | |||
<blockquote>O think, of that den of abomination, which, I am told, has been established in some clubs, called the Smoking Room,—think of the debauchees who congregate there, the quantities of reeking whiskey-punch or more dangerous sherry-cobbler which they consume; —think of them coming home at cock-crow and letting themselves into the quiet house with the Chubb key… (“The Snobs of England,” ''Punch, or The London Charivari'', Volume The Twelfth, January to June 1847). | |||
And then you have the advantage of hearing such delightful and instructive conversation in a Club smoking-room, between the hours of 12 and 3! Men who frequent that place at that hour are commonly men of studious habits and philosophical and reflective minds, to those opinion it is pleasant and profitable to listen. They are full, of anecdotes, which are always moral and well-chosen; their talk is never free, or on light subjects. I have one or two old smoking-room pillars in my eye now, who would be perfect models for any young gentleman entering life, and to whom a father could not be better that intrust [sic]the education of his son. …But as for a Club smoking-room after midnight, I vow again that you are better out of it: that you will waste your money and your precious hours and health there; and you may frequent this Polyanthus room for a year, and not carry away from the place one single idea or story that can do you the least good in life. …Will you like to have that gentleman [Mr. Tippleton] for a friend? He has elected himself our smoking-room king at the Polyanthus, and midnight monarch (“Mr. Brown’s Letters to A Young Man About Town,” ''Punch, or The London Charivari'', Vol. Sixteenth, 1849). | |||
And then you have the advantage of hearing such delightful and instructive conversation in a Club smoking-room, between the hours of 12 and 3! Men who frequent that place at that hour are commonly men of studious habits and philosophical and reflective minds, to those opinion it is pleasant and profitable to listen. They are full, of anecdotes, which are always moral and well-chosen; their talk is never free, or on light subjects. I have one or two old smoking-room pillars in my eye now, who would be perfect models for any young gentleman entering life, and to whom a father could not be better that intrust [sic]the education of his son. …But as for a Club smoking-room after midnight, I vow again that you are better out of it: that you will waste your money and your precious hours and health there; and you may frequent this Polyanthus room for a year, and not carry away from the place one single idea or story that can do you the least good in life. …Will you like to have that gentleman [Mr. Tippleton] for a friend? He has elected himself our smoking-room king at the Polyanthus, and midnight | |||
This is an observable Parliamentary maxim—when a Government is safe, the smoking-room fills; when a Budget has only to be puffed, its details are gone into over a cigar. The influence of the House of Commons’ smoking-room upon British history, has never been sufficiently recognised, and must be discussed some day (Edward Michael Whitty, ''The Derbyites and the Coalition. Parliamentary Sketches'', 1854). | This is an observable Parliamentary maxim—when a Government is safe, the smoking-room fills; when a Budget has only to be puffed, its details are gone into over a cigar. The influence of the House of Commons’ smoking-room upon British history, has never been sufficiently recognised, and must be discussed some day (Edward Michael Whitty, ''The Derbyites and the Coalition. Parliamentary Sketches'', 1854). | ||
Thanks, however, to the changes time has wrought, moderation is now invariable amongst gentleman and they now take but a brief interval for tobacco, talk and coffee in the smoking or billiards room before they rejoin the ladies (Mrs. Isabella Beeton, ''Beeton’s Book of Household Management'', 1861). | |||
Nothing can be more singular to an English eye than one of those smoking companies; and never did we see a more curious one than here [Worms, Germany]. At the long table sat two rows of men, many of a remarkably heavy, shaggy, uncouth appearance, with rough heads of hair, and coarse pent-houses of bristly moustaches to their mouths. Each was armed with a long pipe, many of them so long that their heads reached down under the table. Along the stood small square decanters of wine, each holding about a choppin, or pint, and glasses with spills in them. Most solemn and heavy were the visages facing each other, yet loud was the clamour of voices, and stupendous the volumes of | Nothing can be more singular to an English eye than one of those smoking companies; and never did we see a more curious one than here [Worms, Germany]. At the long table sat two rows of men, many of a remarkably heavy, shaggy, uncouth appearance, with rough heads of hair, and coarse pent-houses of bristly moustaches to their mouths. Each was armed with a long pipe, many of them so long that their heads reached down under the table. Along the stood small square decanters of wine, each holding about a choppin, or pint, and glasses with spills in them. Most solemn and heavy were the visages facing each other, yet loud was the clamour of voices, and stupendous the volumes of smoke (William Howitt, ''A Country Book'', 1863).</blockquote> | ||
The earliest description of a smoking-room is from the Victorian novelist Marie Louise de la Ramée (pen name Ouida) who idealized it in fiction: “…that chamber of liberty, that sanctuary of the persecuted, that temple of refuge, thrice blessed in all its forms throughout the land, that consecrated Mecca of every true believer in the divinity of the meerschaum, and the paradise of the narghille,—the smoking-room” (''Under Two Flags. A Story of The Household and The Desert'', 1867). | The earliest description of a smoking-room is from the Victorian novelist Marie Louise de la Ramée (pen name Ouida) who idealized it in fiction: “…that chamber of liberty, that sanctuary of the persecuted, that temple of refuge, thrice blessed in all its forms throughout the land, that consecrated Mecca of every true believer in the divinity of the meerschaum, and the paradise of the narghille,—the smoking-room” (''Under Two Flags. A Story of The Household and The Desert'', 1867). | ||
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<blockquote>At any rate every one had left the drawing-room; one by one, smokers of every variety and every colour of smoking-jacket and of dressing-gown, had dropped into the before-mentioned sanctuary of tobacco, where, under sporting pictures and one or two foxes’ brushes, and shut off from the rest of the house by double baize doors, we formed a party of about half a dozen, round the cheerful fire which the chilly days of early October rendered quite acceptable. After all the members of the social community were supplied with cigars and large glasses, which contained various compounds of effervescing waters, and had settled into their chairs, we chatted… (Anon., ''An Arm-Chair in The Smoking-Room: Or Fiction, Anecdote, Humour, and Fancy for Dreamy Half-hours With Notes On Cigars, Meerschaums, and Smoking, From Various Pens'', 1870). | <blockquote>At any rate every one had left the drawing-room; one by one, smokers of every variety and every colour of smoking-jacket and of dressing-gown, had dropped into the before-mentioned sanctuary of tobacco, where, under sporting pictures and one or two foxes’ brushes, and shut off from the rest of the house by double baize doors, we formed a party of about half a dozen, round the cheerful fire which the chilly days of early October rendered quite acceptable. After all the members of the social community were supplied with cigars and large glasses, which contained various compounds of effervescing waters, and had settled into their chairs, we chatted… (Anon., ''An Arm-Chair in The Smoking-Room: Or Fiction, Anecdote, Humour, and Fancy for Dreamy Half-hours With Notes On Cigars, Meerschaums, and Smoking, From Various Pens'', 1870). | ||
Nor should we omit to make mention of the fact that a man who relishes his after-dinner cigar or pipe will find no more comfortable smoking-room in which to indulge his fancy than that of this excellent old hostelry [The Tavistock in London], whose history goes back as far as the first decade of the century. …Bed-rooms four and five storeys up, spacious drawing-rooms, where everyone speaks to his neighbour in a whisper, coffee-rooms with stout Corinthian pillars, smoking-rooms as empty and as dreary as the waiting-rooms of a railway terminus— these are the leading characteristics of some of the modern London hotels, and truth to say, they do not betoken comfort (Charles Eyre Pascoe, ''London of To-Day'', 1885). | |||
By the way, the pictures by Stanfield and Roberts were the means of the smoking-room being established at the club [The Garrick Club], when it was first founded in King Street, in 1830. For a long time smoking was not permitted in the house. Members who wanted a cigar either had to go into the street or wander in a strip of garden behind the house. Then they smoked in a shed in the corner of the garden, which was subsequently converted into a species of smoking-room (“London Notes,” ''The Book Buyer'', May 1886). | By the way, the pictures by Stanfield and Roberts were the means of the smoking-room being established at the club [The Garrick Club], when it was first founded in King Street, in 1830. For a long time smoking was not permitted in the house. Members who wanted a cigar either had to go into the street or wander in a strip of garden behind the house. Then they smoked in a shed in the corner of the garden, which was subsequently converted into a species of smoking-room (“London Notes,” ''The Book Buyer'', May 1886). | ||
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<blockquote>The president then delivers an address, and each member is called to say something, either by way of a quotation or an original sentiment, in praise of the virtues of nicotine. The ceremony—facetiously known as ‘hitting the pipe’—being thus concluded, the membership pipes are carefully cleaned out and replaced in the club racks” (Abraham Chapman [ed.], ''Black Voices. An Anthology of African-American Literature'', 2001). | <blockquote>The president then delivers an address, and each member is called to say something, either by way of a quotation or an original sentiment, in praise of the virtues of nicotine. The ceremony—facetiously known as ‘hitting the pipe’—being thus concluded, the membership pipes are carefully cleaned out and replaced in the club racks” (Abraham Chapman [ed.], ''Black Voices. An Anthology of African-American Literature'', 2001). | ||
[W]hen Thackeray wrote the story [Fitz-Boodle] smoking had not become the general habit it is to-day. No gentleman in those days was seen smoking even a ‘weed’ in the streets. Cigarettes were practically unheard of in England, and outside one’s private smoking-room pipes were tabooed. Men in Society slunk into their smoking-rooms, or, when there was no smoking-room, into the kitchen or servants’ hall, after the domestics had retired. A smoking-jacket was worn in place of their ordinary evening coat, and their well-oiled massive head of hair was protected by a gorgeously decorated smoking- | [W]hen Thackeray wrote the story [Fitz-Boodle] smoking had not become the general habit it is to-day. No gentleman in those days was seen smoking even a ‘weed’ in the streets. Cigarettes were practically unheard of in England, and outside one’s private smoking-room pipes were tabooed. Men in Society slunk into their smoking-rooms, or, when there was no smoking-room, into the kitchen or servants’ hall, after the domestics had retired. A smoking-jacket was worn in place of their ordinary evening coat, and their well-oiled massive head of hair was protected by a gorgeously decorated smoking-cap (William Makepeace Thackeray, ''The Fitz-Boodle Papers and Other Sketches'', 1911).</blockquote> | ||
By the way, velvet was the ideal material for the smoking-cap, also called a smoking-hat or lounging cap, because the velvet absorbed the smoke and did not contaminate clothes. (Read “Smoking-Cap: In Colors,” ''Peterson’s Magazine'', 1867.) For the gentleman-smoker, there was also the smoking-suit. | By the way, velvet was the ideal material for the smoking-cap, also called a smoking-hat or lounging cap, because the velvet absorbed the smoke and did not contaminate clothes. (Read “Smoking-Cap: In Colors,” ''Peterson’s Magazine'', 1867.) For the gentleman-smoker, there was also the smoking-suit. | ||
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Mrs Daffodil’s ''Aide-memoire'': Smoking suits, jackets, and caps were designed to keep the smell of tobacco, said to be offensive, particularly to the ladies, off the gentleman’s person. No doubt there were some households where smoking was forbidden and visiting smokers had to lie on their backs and smoke up the chimney, but it is also a fact that many ladies also enjoyed cigarettes in the privacy of their own boudoirs (''Birmingham [West Midlands England] Daily Post'', October 25, 1889). | Mrs Daffodil’s ''Aide-memoire'': Smoking suits, jackets, and caps were designed to keep the smell of tobacco, said to be offensive, particularly to the ladies, off the gentleman’s person. No doubt there were some households where smoking was forbidden and visiting smokers had to lie on their backs and smoke up the chimney, but it is also a fact that many ladies also enjoyed cigarettes in the privacy of their own boudoirs (''Birmingham [West Midlands England] Daily Post'', October 25, 1889). | ||
After admitting the absolute necessity of ''allowing'' the members to smoke ''somewhere'' in the club, she continues: ‘To ''forbid'' smoking, therefore, is to exclude then men; to banish them to a separate smoking-room is to confirm and strengthen ''a bad habit'', but ''allow'' them to smoke in a club-room, where they are amused and occupied, and the pipe will go out, which often leads to the discarding of it | After admitting the absolute necessity of ''allowing'' the members to smoke ''somewhere'' in the club, she continues: ‘To ''forbid'' smoking, therefore, is to exclude then men; to banish them to a separate smoking-room is to confirm and strengthen ''a bad habit'', but ''allow'' them to smoke in a club-room, where they are amused and occupied, and the pipe will go out, which often leads to the discarding of it altogether’ (B. T. Hall, ''Our Fifty Years: The Story of the Working Men’s Club And Institute Union'', 1912). | ||
In the afternoon the gallant might attend what Dekker calls a ‘Tobacco-ordinary,’ by which may possibly have been meant a smoking-club, or more probably, the gathering after dinner at one of the many ordinaries in the neighborhood of St. Paul’s Cathedral of ‘tobacconists,’ as smokers were called, might have gathered “…to discuss the merits of their respective pipes and of the various kinds of tobacco—‘whether your Cane or your Pudding be sweetest.’ …These country smoking-rooms were known as stone-parlours, the floor being flagged for safety’s sake; and the ‘stone-parlour’ in many a squire’s house was the scene of much conviviality, including, no doubt, abundant smoking. …I [Lord Macaulay] have left Sir Francis Burdett on his legs,’ he wrote, ‘and repaired to the smoking-room; a large, wainscoted, uncarpeted place, with tables covered in green baize and writing materials. On a full night it is generally thronged towards twelve o’clock with smokers.’ …The late King Edward, at that time Prince of Wales, is said to have sympathized strongly with the defeated minority at White’s [a fashionable club], and to have interested himself in the foundation of the Marlborough; where, ‘for the first time in the history of West End Clubland, smoking, except in the dining-room, was everywhere allowed.’ By ‘smoking’ is no doubt here meant everything but pipes, which were not considered gentlemanly even at the Garrick Club at the beginning of the present century. Apart from social environment, there is a certain affinity between pipes and clothes. It is considered ‘bad form’ for a man in a frock-coat and silk hat to be seen smoking a pipe in the streets (George L. Apperson, ''The Social History of Smoking'', 1914). | In the afternoon the gallant might attend what Dekker calls a ‘Tobacco-ordinary,’ by which may possibly have been meant a smoking-club, or more probably, the gathering after dinner at one of the many ordinaries in the neighborhood of St. Paul’s Cathedral of ‘tobacconists,’ as smokers were called, might have gathered “…to discuss the merits of their respective pipes and of the various kinds of tobacco—‘whether your Cane or your Pudding be sweetest.’ …These country smoking-rooms were known as stone-parlours, the floor being flagged for safety’s sake; and the ‘stone-parlour’ in many a squire’s house was the scene of much conviviality, including, no doubt, abundant smoking. …I [Lord Macaulay] have left Sir Francis Burdett on his legs,’ he wrote, ‘and repaired to the smoking-room; a large, wainscoted, uncarpeted place, with tables covered in green baize and writing materials. On a full night it is generally thronged towards twelve o’clock with smokers.’ …The late King Edward, at that time Prince of Wales, is said to have sympathized strongly with the defeated minority at White’s [a fashionable club], and to have interested himself in the foundation of the Marlborough; where, ‘for the first time in the history of West End Clubland, smoking, except in the dining-room, was everywhere allowed.’ By ‘smoking’ is no doubt here meant everything but pipes, which were not considered gentlemanly even at the Garrick Club at the beginning of the present century. Apart from social environment, there is a certain affinity between pipes and clothes. It is considered ‘bad form’ for a man in a frock-coat and silk hat to be seen smoking a pipe in the streets (George L. Apperson, ''The Social History of Smoking'', 1914). | ||
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Joy reigneth in the hearts of many of the members due to the new rule accepted by the Board of Governors permitting pipe smoking in the Club. Just as the time-honored and historic art of pipe-inhaling seemed to die a dismal death along comes the proclamation of the Governors which is acting as an elixir of life. Pipes that for years have been accumulating dust and dirt in old garrots may now be seen daily in the lobby with ''slightly'' renovated appearance. Old curious, formerly used as momentos [sic] of the past, are now in actual service and may be seen dangling nonchalantly from the parted lips of distinguished N.Y.A.C. men. It should not be construed that pipe smoking had been abandoned completely during the preceding ‘dark ages.’ …It is now expected that the usual line of ‘pipe dreams’ will start at once (“Prepare the Way for Pipe Dreams,” ''The Winged Foot'', January 1918). | Joy reigneth in the hearts of many of the members due to the new rule accepted by the Board of Governors permitting pipe smoking in the Club. Just as the time-honored and historic art of pipe-inhaling seemed to die a dismal death along comes the proclamation of the Governors which is acting as an elixir of life. Pipes that for years have been accumulating dust and dirt in old garrots may now be seen daily in the lobby with ''slightly'' renovated appearance. Old curious, formerly used as momentos [sic] of the past, are now in actual service and may be seen dangling nonchalantly from the parted lips of distinguished N.Y.A.C. men. It should not be construed that pipe smoking had been abandoned completely during the preceding ‘dark ages.’ …It is now expected that the usual line of ‘pipe dreams’ will start at once (“Prepare the Way for Pipe Dreams,” ''The Winged Foot'', January 1918). | ||
In clubs, as in private houses, smoking required special permission, and a smoking-room was a place specially furnished with a minimum of textile hangings, and not unlikely to be supplied with the disgusting objects known as spittoons, and euphemistically designated cuspidors by retail tradesmen and American | In clubs, as in private houses, smoking required special permission, and a smoking-room was a place specially furnished with a minimum of textile hangings, and not unlikely to be supplied with the disgusting objects known as spittoons, and euphemistically designated cuspidors by retail tradesmen and American citizens (''The Savile Club, 1868 to 1923'', 1923). | ||
At a few clubs there are still some curious and rather unmeaning restrictions. A particularly absurd rule that maintains its ground here and there, is that which forbids smoking in the library of the club. What more appropriate place could there be for the thoughtful consumption of tobacco than among the books? But after due allowance has been made for a few minor restrictions of this kind, the fact remains that smoking has triumphed socially all along the line of Clubland. We have travelled far from the days when a committee man could declare that ‘No Gentleman smoked,’ to the time when, for example, the large smoking-room at Brooks’s is one of the finest rooms in one of the most famous and exclusive clubs (Wilfred Partington, ''Smoke Rings and Roundelays'', 1924). | At a few clubs there are still some curious and rather unmeaning restrictions. A particularly absurd rule that maintains its ground here and there, is that which forbids smoking in the library of the club. What more appropriate place could there be for the thoughtful consumption of tobacco than among the books? But after due allowance has been made for a few minor restrictions of this kind, the fact remains that smoking has triumphed socially all along the line of Clubland. We have travelled far from the days when a committee man could declare that ‘No Gentleman smoked,’ to the time when, for example, the large smoking-room at Brooks’s is one of the finest rooms in one of the most famous and exclusive clubs (Wilfred Partington, ''Smoke Rings and Roundelays'', 1924). | ||
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It seems to me farcical, for instance, that in this twentieth century of ours, a rule made fifty years ago to the effect that ‘pipes shall not be smoked in this club,’ should still be enforced. Plenty of the younger members of the clubs where this rule obtains have endeavoured to rebel, but in vain. The Committee have solemnly pointed out to such free-thinking and independent spirits that their fathers and grandfathers did without pipes, they ought to be able to do without pipes too–in the club. Oh yes, they were at liberty, if they liked, to smoke cigarettes at five a penny all over the house, but never tobacco in a pipe, even if they paid half-a-crown an ounce for it (William Le Queux, ''The Mysterious Three'', 2019). | It seems to me farcical, for instance, that in this twentieth century of ours, a rule made fifty years ago to the effect that ‘pipes shall not be smoked in this club,’ should still be enforced. Plenty of the younger members of the clubs where this rule obtains have endeavoured to rebel, but in vain. The Committee have solemnly pointed out to such free-thinking and independent spirits that their fathers and grandfathers did without pipes, they ought to be able to do without pipes too–in the club. Oh yes, they were at liberty, if they liked, to smoke cigarettes at five a penny all over the house, but never tobacco in a pipe, even if they paid half-a-crown an ounce for it (William Le Queux, ''The Mysterious Three'', 2019). | ||
All over Europe, and especially in England, the bourgeoisie adore regulating somebody or something, and the tendency remains long after members of this class have entered what are known as fashionable circles, and managed to obtain a hold upon the committees of exclusive clubs. In such a position, not a few of them have added largely to the number of rules, some of which in certain clubs are multiplied to the point of absolute absurdity. Occasionally, edicts of this kind possess a certain uncommon humour, as is well exemplified in a by-law, still amongst the rules of a certain club, which sets forth that ‘Members smoking pipes may not sit or stand in the windows.’ …In rooms, however, in which pipe-smoking is allowed, it is certainly not within the powers of a committee to define exactly where members shall station themselves whilst ‘blowing their | All over Europe, and especially in England, the bourgeoisie adore regulating somebody or something, and the tendency remains long after members of this class have entered what are known as fashionable circles, and managed to obtain a hold upon the committees of exclusive clubs. In such a position, not a few of them have added largely to the number of rules, some of which in certain clubs are multiplied to the point of absolute absurdity. Occasionally, edicts of this kind possess a certain uncommon humour, as is well exemplified in a by-law, still amongst the rules of a certain club, which sets forth that ‘Members smoking pipes may not sit or stand in the windows.’ …In rooms, however, in which pipe-smoking is allowed, it is certainly not within the powers of a committee to define exactly where members shall station themselves whilst ‘blowing their cloud’ (Ralph Nevill, ''London Clubs. Their History & Treasures'', 2021).</blockquote> | ||
There were also pipe clubs in name only that had a dubious objective. “Frederic Raingold, junior, was in the hands of his friends at the Clay Pipe Club. This is an incubating establishment on Fifth Avenue, entirely supported by private contribution. Its object is to hatch and force that wondrous genus of brute creation, quite common to large cities, marked ‘clubman’ for identification if lost, strayed, mis-laid, or stolen” (''The Illustrated American'', Vol. XIII, No. 151, January 7, 1893). “The Clay-Pipe Club has developed into a Society for discussing social questions from as educational a standpoint as possible. The Society has been fortunate in obtaining good openers, who have generally managed to greatly interest and instruct their hearers” (Oxford House in Bethnal Green, 1894). “The Mansion House Council can develop a clay-pipe club, to settle, amid the fumes of tobacco, the deepest problems which beset the social reformer” (John M. Knapp [ed.], ''The Universities and The Social Problem'', 1895). | There were also pipe clubs in name only that had a dubious objective. “Frederic Raingold, junior, was in the hands of his friends at the Clay Pipe Club. This is an incubating establishment on Fifth Avenue, entirely supported by private contribution. Its object is to hatch and force that wondrous genus of brute creation, quite common to large cities, marked ‘clubman’ for identification if lost, strayed, mis-laid, or stolen” (''The Illustrated American'', Vol. XIII, No. 151, January 7, 1893). “The Clay-Pipe Club has developed into a Society for discussing social questions from as educational a standpoint as possible. The Society has been fortunate in obtaining good openers, who have generally managed to greatly interest and instruct their hearers” (Oxford House in Bethnal Green, 1894). “The Mansion House Council can develop a clay-pipe club, to settle, amid the fumes of tobacco, the deepest problems which beset the social reformer” (John M. Knapp [ed.], ''The Universities and The Social Problem'', 1895). | ||
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*Facebook: Pipe Smokers Club; The Europe Pipe Smokers Club; The International Pipe Club; Pipe Club Europe Pipa Market; Pipe Club; The Gentlemen’s Pipe Smoking Society; Pipe Smokers of America; Pipe Smoking; Pipe Smokers Club; The League Pipe Club; Corn Cob Pipe Club of America; YouTube Pipe Community; Briar Nation—Pipe & Cigar Club; Pipe and Leaf Society; Pipe and Tobacco Society | *Facebook: Pipe Smokers Club; The Europe Pipe Smokers Club; The International Pipe Club; Pipe Club Europe Pipa Market; Pipe Club; The Gentlemen’s Pipe Smoking Society; Pipe Smokers of America; Pipe Smoking; Pipe Smokers Club; The League Pipe Club; Corn Cob Pipe Club of America; YouTube Pipe Community; Briar Nation—Pipe & Cigar Club; Pipe and Leaf Society; Pipe and Tobacco Society | ||
*The Virtual Pipe Club is on YouTube. | *The Virtual Pipe Club is on YouTube. | ||
* The International Peterson Pipe Club (petersonpipenotes.org. | *The International Peterson Pipe Club (petersonpipenotes.org. | ||
*Instagram has a lot of member clubs. | *Instagram has a lot of member clubs. | ||
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Words matter…even for pipe-club names. A century ago, pipe-club names were transparent, uncomplicated, usually the place names, such as Long Island’s Bridgehampton and Sagaponack Smoking Club or the Jacksonville (Florida) Pipe Smokers Club. Today, they’re clever, cute, and sometimes hard to decipher. Ohio has some interesting ones. The Wharf is an online pipe club sponsored by the Wharf Tobacconist in Beavercreek, Ohio, that posts informative articles online, such as this, “The History of Pipes.” Over-the-Rhine is a Cincinnati pipe club that’s named after its location; Over-the-Rhine is the downtown area of Cincinnati. The Cow Town Pipe Club is in downtown Columbus, Ohio, named so because, at a time, Columbus was called a cow town. The Scoundrels Pipe & Cigar Club is in Bath, Ohio. | Words matter…even for pipe-club names. A century ago, pipe-club names were transparent, uncomplicated, usually the place names, such as Long Island’s Bridgehampton and Sagaponack Smoking Club or the Jacksonville (Florida) Pipe Smokers Club. Today, they’re clever, cute, and sometimes hard to decipher. Ohio has some interesting ones. The Wharf is an online pipe club sponsored by the Wharf Tobacconist in Beavercreek, Ohio, that posts informative articles online, such as this, “The History of Pipes.” Over-the-Rhine is a Cincinnati pipe club that’s named after its location; Over-the-Rhine is the downtown area of Cincinnati. The Cow Town Pipe Club is in downtown Columbus, Ohio, named so because, at a time, Columbus was called a cow town. The Scoundrels Pipe & Cigar Club is in Bath, Ohio. | ||
The Pig’s Eye Pipe Club Parley in Minneapolis must consist of members who may often express strong disagreement. The Southern Fried Pipe Club is in Nashville, a city known for its outstanding southern fried chicken. California’s Sacramento Pipe Collectors Assembly is abbreviated SPCA; hopefully, it doesn’t get mistaken for the other SPCA. The Furniture City Pipe Society in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is so named, because Grand Rapids is known as the furniture city. The Pocono Inter-mountain Pipe Enthusiasts (PIPE)—very clever!—is in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. How about the Aromatic Pharts Pipe Club of Charlotte, North Carolina? (I can smell the burley!) Are the members of the Heretics Pipe Club separatist smokers? Do the members of the Silent Smokers Pipe Society commit to a vow of silence? Christian Pipe Smokers? This one’s easy. The website explicitly states “This group is for folks who smoke TOBACCO pipes or cigars who are also Christians.” The Pipe and Beard Club? I wonder if you can you join if you’re clean-shaven? The Viking Pipe Club of Saint Louis? Perhaps it harkens back to the Viking Club founded by J.R.R. Tolkien and E.V. Gordon in the 1920s. I am stymied by Pale Blue: The Collective Draw Pipe Club of Boise, Idaho, so I left a message asking for clarification; maybe I’ll get an answer. The Twins Pipe Club of Londonderry, New Hampshire, is affiliated with the Twins Smoke Shop & Lounge in that city. Why “Twins”? The owner has a twin brother! According to its online description, the Shelby County Hoarders of International Tobaccos of Birmingham, Alabama—abbreviated S.C.H.I.T.— “…is designed to be the drunken obnoxious uncle of the UPCA family. This is a pipe and tobacco club for people who don't like clubs. If you like to smoke pipes while making lewd and off color comments, welcome!” The Saints & Sinners Pipe Club of Calgary? Was the club’s name an original idea or was it inspired by the New Orleans restaurant by that name, or the pub in Ormond Beach, Florida or the one in Cincinnati, Ohio, or a line of or hair products, the TV series that ran from the 2016 to 2022, or sinnersandsaintsdesserts.com, or from several books with that title? The online Smoker’s Club is not what you may think it is; it sells smoking tools, such as stash jars, grinders, rolling papers, apparel and accessories. The Danny Boy Pipe Club is an online pipe seller whose club you can join for $25 for one year. | The Pig’s Eye Pipe Club Parley in Minneapolis must consist of members who may often express strong disagreement. The Southern Fried Pipe Club is in Nashville, a city known for its outstanding southern fried chicken. California’s Sacramento Pipe Collectors Assembly is abbreviated SPCA; hopefully, it doesn’t get mistaken for the other SPCA. The Furniture City Pipe Society in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is so named, because Grand Rapids is known as the furniture city. The Pocono Inter-mountain Pipe Enthusiasts (PIPE)—very clever!—is in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. How about the Aromatic Pharts Pipe Club of Charlotte, North Carolina? (I can smell the burley!) Are the members of the Heretics Pipe Club separatist smokers? Do the members of the Silent Smokers Pipe Society commit to a vow of silence? Christian Pipe Smokers? This one’s easy. The website explicitly states “This group is for folks who smoke TOBACCO pipes or cigars who are also Christians.” The Pipe and Beard Club? I wonder if you can you join if you’re clean-shaven? The Viking Pipe Club of Saint Louis? Perhaps it harkens back to the Viking Club founded by J.R.R. Tolkien and E.V. Gordon in the 1920s. I am stymied by Pale Blue: The Collective Draw Pipe Club of Boise, Idaho, so I left a message asking for clarification; maybe I’ll get an answer. The Twins Pipe Club of Londonderry, New Hampshire, is affiliated with the Twins Smoke Shop & Lounge in that city. Why “Twins”? The owner has a twin brother! According to its online description, the Shelby County Hoarders of International Tobaccos of Birmingham, Alabama—abbreviated S.C.H.I.T.— “…is designed to be the drunken obnoxious uncle of the UPCA family. This is a pipe and tobacco club for people who don't like clubs. If you like to smoke pipes while making lewd and off color comments, welcome!” The Saints & Sinners Pipe Club of Calgary? Was the club’s name an original idea or was it inspired by the New Orleans restaurant by that name, or the pub in Ormond Beach, Florida or the one in Cincinnati, Ohio, or a line of or hair products, or the TV series that ran from the 2016 to 2022, or sinnersandsaintsdesserts.com, or from several books with that title? The online Smoker’s Club is not what you may think it is; it sells smoking tools, such as stash jars, grinders, rolling papers, apparel and accessories. The Danny Boy Pipe Club is an online pipe seller whose club you can join for $25 for one year. | ||
Through time, authors of both non-fiction and fiction have used smoking room as a catchy title. There are many books in both categories, but only a few are relevant to this topic: Richard Doyle, ''The Smoking Room at The Club'' (1862); Cope’s Smoke Room Booklets, a series of 14 pamphlets from Cope’s Tobacco Plant, Liverpool, was published between 1889 and 1894, an assortment of literary works from various author that eulogized tobacco and smoking, but were not specifically focused on the smoking-room; Francis Aveling, ''The Philosophers of the Smoking Room: Conversation on Some Matters of Moment'' (1907); James Stanley Little, ''Stories for the Smoking Room. Humorous and Grotesque'' (1911); and C. E. Radclyffe, ''Round the Smoking Room Fire. A Collection of Sporting Adventures and Yarns'' (1933). | Through time, authors of both non-fiction and fiction have used smoking room as a catchy title. There are many books in both categories, but only a few are relevant to this topic: Richard Doyle, ''The Smoking Room at The Club'' (1862); ''Cope’s Smoke Room Booklets, a series of 14 pamphlets from Cope’s Tobacco Plant'', Liverpool, was published between 1889 and 1894, an assortment of literary works from various author that eulogized tobacco and smoking, but were not specifically focused on the smoking-room; Francis Aveling, ''The Philosophers of the Smoking Room: Conversation on Some Matters of Moment'' (1907); James Stanley Little, ''Stories for the Smoking Room. Humorous and Grotesque'' (1911); and C. E. Radclyffe, ''Round the Smoking Room Fire. A Collection of Sporting Adventures and Yarns'' (1933). | ||
These online articles are relevant: | These online articles are relevant: | ||
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*Cynthia Roman, “Smoking Clubs in Graphic Satire and the Anglicizing of Tobacco in Eighteenth-Century Britain” ([https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical-journal/article/abs/smoking-clubs-in-graphic-satire-and-the-anglicizing-of-tobacco-in-eighteenthcentury-britain/481124179ACA979D4B3D0E7B3B50EBA9 cambridge.org]). | *Cynthia Roman, “Smoking Clubs in Graphic Satire and the Anglicizing of Tobacco in Eighteenth-Century Britain” ([https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical-journal/article/abs/smoking-clubs-in-graphic-satire-and-the-anglicizing-of-tobacco-in-eighteenthcentury-britain/481124179ACA979D4B3D0E7B3B50EBA9 cambridge.org]). | ||
*“Casa Vicens Gaudi is continuing the restauration of its most iconic room: the smoking room” ([https://casavicens.org/blog/casa-vicens-gaudi-is-continuing-the-restoration-of-its-most-iconic-room-the-smoking-room/ casavincens.org]). | *“Casa Vicens Gaudi is continuing the restauration of its most iconic room: the smoking room” ([https://casavicens.org/blog/casa-vicens-gaudi-is-continuing-the-restoration-of-its-most-iconic-room-the-smoking-room/ casavincens.org]). | ||
*“The rise and fall of the smoking room, from essential feature to long-gone relic” [https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/rise-fall-smoking-room-86042 (countrylife.co.uk)]. | * “The rise and fall of the smoking room, from essential feature to long-gone relic” [https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/rise-fall-smoking-room-86042 (countrylife.co.uk)]. | ||
*Tristan Bridges, “Smoking Rooms—Unintentionally Providing Space for Gender Inequality” ([https://inequalitybyinteriordesign.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/smoking-rooms-unintentionally-providing-space-for-gender-inequality/ inequalitybyinteriordesign.wordpress.com]). | *Tristan Bridges, “Smoking Rooms—Unintentionally Providing Space for Gender Inequality” ([https://inequalitybyinteriordesign.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/smoking-rooms-unintentionally-providing-space-for-gender-inequality/ inequalitybyinteriordesign.wordpress.com]). | ||
*Jack Bettridge, “Smoking Rooms of the Gilded Age” ([https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/smoking-rooms-of-the-gilded-age-7425 cigaraficionado.com]). | * Jack Bettridge, “Smoking Rooms of the Gilded Age” ([https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/smoking-rooms-of-the-gilded-age-7425 cigaraficionado.com]). | ||
*“A Pig, a Dog and an Urchin” by Hallywyl Museum ([https://artsandculture.google.com/story/a-pig-a-dog-and-an-urchin-hallwyl-museum/5gUxZgIv09HDLQ?hl=en artsandculture.google.com]) | * “A Pig, a Dog and an Urchin” by Hallywyl Museum ([https://artsandculture.google.com/story/a-pig-a-dog-and-an-urchin-hallwyl-museum/5gUxZgIv09HDLQ?hl=en artsandculture.google.com]) | ||
See the collection of images from Wendy Sullivan, “British Smoking Room” at pinterest.com. | See the collection of images from Wendy Sullivan, “British Smoking Room” at pinterest.com. | ||