A Salmagundi of Briar Pipe Shapes and Names: Difference between revisions

== A Brief History ==

“Now, you all know the shape of a tobacco pipe; it has a bowl to hold the burning tobacco, and a long handle up which the smoke is drawn into the mouth” (Isaac Taylor, ''Scenes of Wealth or Views & Illustrations of Trades Manufactures Produce & Commerce'', 1826). “Tobacconists should occasionally give away cards in the shape of [clay] pipes; new styles can always be invented” (William Smith, ''“Advertise. How? When? Where?”'', 1863). “Pipes are made in a great variety of shapes, and lengths, from four to twenty-seven inches, designated by a curiously recondite vocabulary, the origin of which is too profound a subject for light investigation” (“Broseley,” ''American Artisan'', February 21, 1872). “The better criterion of age is the form, and the examples in existence shew the most prevalent shapes at different periods. The barrel-shaped bowl was most during the Commonwealth and the reign of Charles II, although it was made in many various shapes. …In the reign of William III., a more elongated form of bowl began to be prevalent, probably introduced from Holland, although the barrel-shaped bowl still continued to be used. In the middle of the 18th c., the wide-mouthed bowl, now to universal, became the prevalent form…” (''Chambers’s New Handy American Encyclopædia'',1885). “The names and shapes of Clays are legion, and the illustrated catalogue of the clay-pipe maker is a study in itself” (“Concerning Pipes,” ''All The Year Round'', September 9, 1893). “These old [clay] pipes have been given names by rustics and uneducated people—they are known as Celtic pipes, Dunes’ pipes, Elfin pipes, Cromwell pipes, Fairy pipes, and even Roman pipes” (T. P. Cooper, “The Story of the Tobacco Pipe,” ''The Reliquary and Illustrated Archæologist'', 1907). Quite often, the clay pipe was named after the place where it was manufactured, e.g., Broseley, a concept that made perfect sense. “These were the basic, most common forms of pipe, but because there were small clay-pipe manufacturers all over the country, there were a great number of names and shapes” (Matthew Hilton, ''Smoking in British Popular Culture 1800–2000'', 2000).

Joseph D. McGuire remarked: “There is undoubted evidence that pipes throughout the continent were made in many shapes, though it is probable that the most elaborate are the most modern. …All wooden pipe stems are not round; some are flattened, parallelograms, others are triangular, ellipsoidal, or even square…” (''Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Aborigines'', 1899). “Shaped Pipes are so called from their shape. The Circular Peace Pipe, with its multiplicity of stem–holes, is always circular in form as the name ... The Keel–shaped Pipe is made in the shape of the prow of a boat with a projecting keel, from which it derives its name. …Vase-shaped pipes are so called from their shape” (George Arbor West, ''Tobacco, Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Indians'', 1934).  

The 200 or so years of meerschaum pipe and cheroot holder production were essentially a period of transition. In the early years of Hungarian production, three bowl shapes prevailed: Debrecen, Kalmasch, and Ragoczy. From about 1850 to about 1925, the meerschaum pipe industry is best described as unstructured, unrestricted, and individualistic. Carvers throughout Europe and the United States abandoned those three shapes and demonstrated imagination and ingenuity in their two- and three-dimensional creations that defied classification. “Different men require varied types or forms of pipes; though the so-called ‘Bull Dog’ shape and the blunter ‘Hungarian’ pipe, and again, the egg-shaped bowl predominate” (Felix J. Koch, “Your Meerschaum Pipe,” ''Popular Science Monthly'', September 1916). This adds little to the conversation.  

The very unique wood pipe bowl, the Ulmer, originated in Ulm, Germany, a town noted for its manufacture of assorted wooden pipe bowls. The prototype Ulmer bowl is attributed to wood-turner, Johann Jakob Glöckler, in 1733. Some have believed that its shape represented an inverted balaclava helmet. Its popularity quickly spread beyond the borders of that town. In time, Ulmers were also produced in both meerschaum and amber. This is easy: it’s a unique shape and it’s always been called an Ulmer.  

In brief, from the mid-1700s through the early 1920s, the porcelain pipe was a product of Western European countries—Germany, France, Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands—and, like meerschaum pipes, factories produced whatever bowl shapes were popular. The focus was not on bowl shape; it was on the bowl’s art work, whatever the hand-painters employed at the factory were capable of creating. “…and The Thuringian forests of Middle Germany for their porcelain pipes, which are pressed onto every possible shape, and ornamented with every known color” (“The History and Mystery of Tobacco,” ''Harper’s New Monthly Magazine'', No. LXL, Vol. XI, June 1855).

In the early stage of manufacture, “Briar-root blocks are cut into about 25 different sizes, and three principal shapes. The shapes are ‘Marsellaise,’ ‘Relevé,’ and ‘Belgian.’ The first two are the more usual shapes” (“The Briar-Root Industry in Italy,” ''English Mechanic and World of Science'', September 21, 1900). It’s only after manufacturers turned blocks into finished pipes, did these manufacturers choose various names for the shapes they produced. Beginning in the late 1800s, there were more than a handful of briar pipe makers in England, but no written record exists as to how or why they gave names to their shapes, some of which continue to be produced to the present day. Most of these attempts do not mention the origin of briar pipe shapes and names. Was it ''terra incognita'' for all those 20th century correspondents and reporters?  

== Mission Unaccomplished ==

*A Complete Guide to Tobacco Pipe Shapes (tobaccopipes.com)

*Tobacco Smoking Pipes (cigarcigarinfo.com)

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From Gabriel Bass, “In Praise of Traditional Pipe Shapes” (smokingpipes.com): “After determining what makes a Liverpool different from a Lovat (hint: it’s the stem), it becomes possible to read shape charts like style guides for the different marques, each with its own flavor and variations on the same handful of basic forms. …Looking at the history of pipe design, one can see the predecessors to many common shapes in pipes that pre-date the widespread adoption of standardized shape charts. The Cutty and Belge, for example, are directly borrowed from designs popular when clay and meerschaum were the most common materials for pipes. One can see how the now ubiquitous Billiard shape evolved from the clay pipes of yore as the shape was tweaked and perfected to perform best in briar form.” As well, Truett Smith, another smokingpipes.com contributor, wrote a series of articles on the history of pipe design in Denmark, England, France, and Italy. His mission was “…to map and untangle that metaphorical web of pipe design.”  

Did you ever wonder why a particular name was chosen to describe a pipe, to personify its shape with an alluring ''nom de plume''? I find that some names are imprecise, some don’t make sense, some defy explanation, and others are superfluous. Many are flights of fancy, spur-of-the-moment, capricious … an unusual assignment of labels or designations to particular pipe shapes. Are you able to conceptualize or envision a certain pipe image by its assigned shape name? Admittedly, a few, such as apple and brandy, seem obvious—a few are hybrids—but the others? I am not a member of The Words Matter Movement, but words do matter, even for the humble pipe. Dunhill’s Duke or Don shape looks like a setter or a tankard, and is often confused with the Friendly, the Poker, and the Cherrywood. Its Collector pipe looks very much like an apple. I’m not a Dunhill expert, but the company is now rather careful in its promotion. On its website: “Pipes types include Root, Bruyere, Rubybark, Cumberland, Shell Briar among others.” And its system of describing pipes is by shape, finish, group, and stock number, e.g., “Dunhill Chestnut Prince, Group 3 Pipe, #101-6688,” which leaves little doubt as what this pipe is.