Clay Pipe

[root]

Hello All..
Not sure if this is posted in the right folder. I found a clay pipe while digging a t.o.c. dump the other day. I really know nothing about pipes. There looks to be a T U on the pipe. Is there a way to identify the maker by these initials?

 

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[jmann2424]

Im sorry i dont no what that is
but thats a great find

 

[armchairQB30]

1) Yes it is a clay pipe.

2) you need to go back there.....I think you might have found a trash pit. Keep going!!!!

 

[collector01]

looks to be a 1700s pipe, nice find I have never found a whole bowl yet just lots of peices. nice find i would dig aroung a little more.

 

[deepsix47]

Nice pipe bowl. I would definitely be digging that area some more. Bob Marx published a huge chart of clay pipes (ages, styles, etc.) in one of his books but sorry, I can't seem to remember which one it was. I'll thumb through some of them this next week and see if I can find it.

Deepsix

 

[Slocan]

I've found a few similar clay pipes around old mines in southern British Columbia dating from the late 1800's. I understand the pipes were included with pouches of tobacco and because of their fragility were considered a disposable item unlike the finely carved Meerschaum clay pipes from Europe. Still great finds!

 

[johny mc.]

Root ...nice find....you will find them in old dumps....the one you have is probably late late 1800's to early 1900's....a lot of them are initialed.....rarely will you get the whole thing: pipe stem and body......dig the area ...spread the dirt and you might get some silver....more likely some indian head pennies from 1890-1907......the white clay pipes are the most common.....look for orange ones or terra cotta.....they are neat....aloha johny mc.

 

[kuger]

Agreed,I have dug many of them in post 1850 sites.They often have the makers initials on them and seldom are they found complete as "new",the pipe stems were quite long.I have read period accounts of them called penny pipes,they could be "rented",in Saloons or similar type settings for a smoke and a small fraction of the stem was broke off after you done for sanitary reasons.

 

[Don in SJ]

I believe the letters might be T D, TD pipes are often found, I have a nice example of one, but my letter D is not worn down, but looking at the left side of yours, it does look more like it is a worn down D than a U, I could be wrong, the angle of your photo might change appearance of shapes.

Here is some info on T D clay pipes:

White ball clay pipes

T.D. Pipes: T.D. pipes first appeared ca. 1755, named after pipemaker Thomas Dormer. T.D. pipes became so popular for their design that by the nineteenth century they were "produced by numerous pipemakers in a multitude of variations" (De Vore 1993: 33). T.D. pipes eventually came to stand for a generic style of pipe and not for the pipemaker.

 

[PBK]

Russell's book on clay tobacco pipes lists a mid to late 1800's variety of similar style (but with a patterned rim) having the letters LC on one side of the bowl and TU on the other.

This eBay listing for a TU or T&U clay pipe of German manufacture might also be of interest:

http://cgi.ebay.ph/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350224651620

 

[stefen]

A little trivia for what its worth...

As pipes were smoked, especially in public smoke houses, the end of the stem was broken off...

Eventually, only the bowl was left...so that may explain why so many pipe bowls are found and no complete pipes...

 

[Don in SJ]

A little trivia for what its worth...

As pipes were smoked, especially in public smoke houses, the end of the stem was broken off...

Eventually, only the bowl was left...so that may explain why so many pipe bowls are found and no complete pipes...

Yes, that is how they explained it at Williamsburg, I have one of their full length pipes that they sell as souvenirs, sure seems fragile with the stem being over 14 inches or so in length!

 

[kuger]

A little trivia for what its worth...

As pipes were smoked, especially in public smoke houses, the end of the stem was broken off...

Eventually, only the bowl was left...so that may explain why so many pipe bowls are found and no complete pipes...

I think I stated that above?

 

[stefen]

You did...guess I missed it...

Oh well, great minds and all that rot

 

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

I found this post and thought that I would dig out a few that I found when I was a teenager digging bottles. I dont have much to add. I dont know much about these pipes other than they came from the river bank behind an old store in Orange County, Vermont.
The more round bowl in the center is my favorite. The bowl on the left has the TD on it. The one on the right is smooth.
Two of the stems say something but I am not sure
As you can see I have never cleaned these in about 20 years. After I post I will

Here are the pics, VPR

 

[kuger]

You did...guess I missed it...

Oh well, great minds and all that rot

 

[coloradocav]

T.D. 1800's-turn of century nice find. here is some of the ones I have found from the 1700's to the teens.

 

[coloradocav]

T.D. 1800's-turn of century nice find. here is some of the ones I have found from the 1700's to the teens.

 

[kuger]

I really like those "Talon",ones,havent found one yet!

 

[tsgman]

I read that that a lot of those were shipped here from England. Also as stated previously they would break off the stem for sanitary reasons. I also read that the stems were broken off because they would get bitter, so they came to the bitter end and would break it off, I alwasy wondered if that term "the bitter end" came from that?