This was the first long-bowl pipe that would gain in popularity through the end of the century.ġ680 - 1710: The long-bowl became firmly established during this period. Except for the occasional maker's mark (the pipe pictured is Dutch-1670-1700), the pipes for the seventeenth century were plain.ġ660 - 1680: One such variation was the West Country style pipe that featured a curved bowl that lost much of its "barrel" look. After 1640 pipe styles remain basically the same with some regional variations in England. One of the most notable designs was Jonah about to be swallowed by a serpent, perhaps depicting King James I who tried diligently to stamp out smoking.ġ660 - 1680: There is a noticeable size increase during this period. Decorations were stamped, incised by hand, or molded in relief on both bowl and stem. A few elaborately decorated pipes appeared during the first half of the century, mostly of Dutch origin. The spur became rounded, perhaps to allow the bowl to rest on a table top during smoking without marring the finish of the table. The diameter of the bowl had increased only about 3/8 inch and there was no noticeable increase in the length of the stem.ġ640-1660: The size of the bowl increased slightly during this period and stems increased to between 10 and 14 inches. The spur allowed the pipe to rest upright on a table.ġ610 - 1640: This period saw the development of a flat base and a true spur upon which to rest the pipe. The stem was fairly short, only measuring 4 to 6 inches. The spur or platform at the bottom of the bowl was hart shape. These early pipes are sometimes referred to as "belly pipes" because of the pot-belly or barrel shape of their bowl. These trade relationships greatly reduced the Indian’s reliance on their own crafts as clay trade pipes, iron tools, and weapons began to appear in their villages.ġ580 - 1610: By 1573 the first written description of clay pipes referred to them as being shaped like a ladell. The Indians were egger to trade with whites for the European goods. Excavations at Fort Union, located along the upper Missouri River (1828-1867), yielded some 10,000 clay pipe fragments.
#CLAY PIPES COLLECTION FULL#
The effects of English pipe manufacture eventually came full circle back to the American Indians through the fur trade sometime early in the 1600’s. The size of the bowl was often effected by the cost and availability of tobacco. Many of these variations were the result of fashion, but many were the result of the growing skills of pipe makers. The basic form of the pipe has changed little over the long history of pipe smoking, however there have been notable variations in pipe styles effecting the size of the bowl and the length of the stem. It is a part of the collection of Steve Beasley, who purchased it while in England. Pictured above is a British pipe mold that dates to the early 1600's.
The English pipe-making industry grew quickly to satisfy the growing demand of people, including women and children, to take up the art of “tobacco drinking” as it was then called. The Spanish had observed the Indians off Florida’s coastline smoking cigar-like rolled tobacco leaves in 1493 and had eventually adapted that form of smoking for themselves.
There is little doubt that the earliest pipes came from England. By 1558 tobacco smoking had been introduced to Europe. These, no doubt served as a model for later pipe development. The idea of smoking tobacco came from the American Indian, who had long fashioned their own clay pipes. No one knows for sure who made the first clay pipes.
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