Clay tobacco pipe dating

IDENTIFYING AND DATING CLAY TOBACCO PIPES. A brief history. Clay smoking pipes were first used in Britain in the 16th century following the importation of.
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Monday 10th September Last updated: Awaiting validation A post-medieval clay tobacco pipe bowl with no stem remaining. The bowl is swollen and convex curved from the heel to about two thirds up the bowl where it becomes straight where it meets the lip. The side of the bowl that meets the stem is slightly convex and goes straight near the lip of the bowl which is broken on this side.

The heel has the indented letters W. There is 2mm of stem remaining and the walls of which are 3. The WH re… Created on: The object is composed of the moulded bowl and partial circular stem. The upper and lower faces of the object have applied moulded decoration. The decoration is composed of a raised seam with repeating leaf pattern. Friday 6th July Last updated: Friday 6th July Spatial data recorded.

Mid-17th century

Awaiting validation A fragment of post-medieval clay pipe dating to and consisting of part of the stem only. David Higgins comments, '[This is a] stem fragment with the abraded remains of an incuse stem stamp across the stem, which would have had an 'I' followed by a small 'O' over an 'N' and then 'EDMO' and 'NDS' on the next two lines. This is the mark of John Edmonds of Portsmouth, who is recorded working from The Oswald mark in… Created on: Tuesday 1st May Last updated: Monday 14th May No spatial data available. The breaks are old.

The casting seam is clearly visible on opposing sides of the stem, to top and bottom. To one side of the stem is the stamped inscription F. To the opposite side is [ The fragment measures Monday 14th May Spatial data recorded.

Late 17th-early 18th century

Greater London Authority Workflow stage: Awaiting validation An incomplete post medieval ceramic tobacco pipe dating AD This tobacco pipe has a small, rounded bowl, which has an internal diameter of The bowl is set at an oblique angle to the stem and there is a milled design running around the rim. There is part of a spur heel at the junction between the bowl and the stem.

None of the stem is present as it is broken near the bowl. Friday 2nd March Last updated: Wednesday 25th April Spatial data recorded.

Why I Love Clay Pipes

Awaiting validation An incomplete moulded clay pipe of late post-medieval late 18thth century date. The pipe has a rounded bowl which has suffered some damage, and a short length of the pipe stem remaining. The pipe bowl is decorated with projecting stipples of clay and a rouletting around the rim - there is no maker's mark or other decoration. This pipe may have been of they type which has a very long, and therefore brittle stem, popular in the 19th century. Thursday 1st March Last updated: Thursday 1st March Spatial data recorded. Awaiting validation In incomplete clay pipe.

A clay pipe bowl with a flat heel. The rim is knurled. A Bristol and Wiltshire type. Thursday 22nd February Last updated: Thursday 22nd February Spatial data recorded. Jarrett notes the use of the three initials as a device for distinguishing the maker from the numerous other makers with initials 'IB' at this period Jackson and Price , A second bowl from the same context is probably the work of the same maker, but the bowl is fractured, leaving only the lower initial, 'O', visible.

Culture Impressed - A Brief History of Marked European Clay Tobacco Pipes

It is possible that the bowl with only the initial 'I' remaining above may also be the work of the 'IOB' maker. The last marked bowl of this type bears the initials, 'IM', within a cartouche, and was retrieved from Context John Macey I is known to have been running his own business by Price , , at a workshop, probably in Temple Street, which is known to have existed between c. John Macey II had died by , but it is likely that his own widow carried on the business until c. One of the bowls of Bristol Type 15, from Context , has stylised leaf decoration, with dots, along the upper seam, and leaf decoration along the lower seam.

Bowl Type 15a is a slightly more angular variant of Type 15 Jarrett , , although the distinction between the two types was not always evident. Of the sixteen bowls of this type, one, from Context , bears the maker's mark, the incuse initials, 'CH', on the top of the bowl, and see also BRST 16, below, for Hicks bowl from Context Charles Hicks was probably established as a maker by , when he signed the Bristol Pipemakers' Guild mould-size agreement.

He was living and working in St Leonard parish, possibly near Baldwin Street, by In , he was stated to be living in St Stephen's parish Price , , and between and probably remained in the Baldwin Street area Price In he served as co-master of the Bristol Pipemakers' Guild Price , , and later as master in and Price , Pipes marked with the initials, 'CH', are occasionally found on excavations in Bristol, and are probably products of his workshop Price Ten pipes of this type were recovered, with pedestal heels and quite angular bowls Jarrett , Four of this type of bowl bear makers' marks, either within a cartouche on the right side of the bowl two examples or incuse on the upper face.

The incuse examples, from Context excavation and Context watching brief bear the initials 'RC', which have been associated with the Carter pipemaking family, of Bristol Richard Carter I or II; Price , ; Jarrett , , although Jackson and Price list other makers with the same initials working at this date Jackson and Price , Richard Carter I established his pipe factory in Castle Street c. Richard and Rebecca had taken on at least two apprentices, one of whom was Charles Hicks above. In , Rebecca married the pipemaker, John Macey II see above , who took over the business in his turn, until his death in Price The family business continued under Rebecca, and later under Carter's son, Richard Carter II, until , and under the eldest son, James, until it finally closed c.

Pipes with these initials are held in the Bristol City Museum collections Jackson and Price , 87 , and have been excavated at city centre sites such as Cabot Circus Jarrett , , The fourth marked bowl of this type, from Context , bears the initials 'II', within a raised cartouche, and is probably the product of the maker James Jenkins above; Price , As is the case for the earlier period, a very small number of bowls do not conform exactly to the forms of the Bristol Type Series.

One has a chunky pedestal heel and rounded, forward-pointing bowl, more similar to a Gloucestershire Type 9 of Peacey , 46, figure 2. The second also more closely resembles a Gloucestershire example, a Gloucestershire Type 5, with pedestal heel and slight 'belly' on upper face Peacey Spencer is known to have been running a pipemaking business in Lewins Mead between c.

Thirteen bowls or bowl fragments of this type were recovered during the excavation, all spurred bowls, four with leaf decoration on the seams see Type One of the bowls from watching brief Context bears the royal Hanoverian coat of arms of the recently formed United Kingdom, with an image of the sun on the opposite side of the bowl Figure 67; Jackson and Price , , ; Jackson b , In , his signature came second in the list of those signing the Bristol Mould-size Agreement, suggesting that he was warden of the Bristol Pipemakers' Guild Price , Between and , Tippett is also known to have had at least a part share in premises in Broadmead Price , , although it is not known whether the latter, or his premises in Lewins Mead or both were the site of his factory Price , and see also Isaac Evans, above.

Robert Tippett III is known to have been running a business as a pipemaker in , when he is known to have taken on an apprentice, but had died by Pipes bearing the Hanoverian coat of arms, similar to that recovered at Wade Street, have been recovered from Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol Jackson b , 95 , from Rosemary Street see above, Jackson and Price , and also from sites elsewhere in southern England, notably London Jackson b , 95 , the latter not necessarily products of the Bristolian maker.

In North America, Robert Tippett pipes are quite commonly found in contexts dating to the mid- to late 18th century, which is surprising, as the last working Robert Tippett II is known to have died in Price Price suggests that it is likely that his daughter and son-in-law would have continued to maintain the business, at least until the latter's death in Price , but it is also possible that there was an as yet unknown Robert Tippett IV, who may have been working in the later 18th century, possibly in partnership with the pipemaker, Israel Carey I Price This may explain the slightly later style of the Robert Tippett pipes recovered from Wade Street, which date stylistically to between c.

One possible fragment of this type was recovered from Context , a stem fragment with a very large oval, pedestal heel and truncated bowl. Five bowls of this type were recovered, all relatively upright, straight-sided bowls, one unstratified example bearing the maker's initials, 'RT', either side of the spur heel.

The London typology is still one of the most useful because of the clean, accurately drawn forms and the widespread influence of London styles. It can be used for many areas of the country, in conjunction with more local typologies, where these exist. The general and regional typologies produced by Oswald suffer from the poor quality of the form drawings, although the underlying dating is still sound. Regional typologies are useful if they exist for the study area, but can be variable in terms of the quality of the bowl form drawings and accuracy of the dates attributed to them.

It is important to display or print these at life size when comparing pipe bowls with them, since size is often an important factor in determining the date. Before the establishment of the railways in the mid-nineteenth century most pipes were produced in small family run workshops and generally only traded around miles from their place of manufacture.

Further lists and details of individual pipemakers are scattered through the pipe literature for each county and a list of the full holdings available by visiting the NPA itself can be found at http: They are sorted by surname initial first, then Christian name initial and finally by date oldest first where the same set of initials occurs.

It is important to be aware of this order if you have a full name mark or are trying to look up details of a known maker, since their full name may not appear in a list in the normally expected place. The date of the pipe will often narrow the search period see bowl form typologies as can the style of the mark. When looking at a mark it is important to distinguish between stamped marks, which were impressed into the clay after the pipe had been taken from the mould, and moulded marks, which were created by the mould itself.

Stamped marks tend to be sharper and more clearly defined than moulded marks, although they may also be poorly or partially impressed, or double struck so that they can be hard to read. A moulded mark is one that is an integral part of the mould from which the pipe is made, so that it automatically appears each time a pipe is made from the mould. They may also exhibit blank or missing elements where the design in the mould has become temporarily clogged with hard clay.

A late nineteenth-century stamped bowl mark left compared with a moulded bowl mark of a similar date right. Note how the stamped lettering is much more crisp. The different styles of mark produced using these two methods each have their own chronological and distributional ranges, which can be crucial in narrowing down the origin and likely date of a particular pipe. Similarly, the use of incuse or relief lettering can also be diagnostic of time or place. An incuse mark is one where the principal lettering or design is sunk down into the surface of a pipe, whereas a relief mark is one where the principal lettering or design is raised up from the surface of a pipe.

The most commonly encountered types of mark are as follows: The earliest marks were often symbols rather than initials. The use of symbols continued after initial or name marks became more common and examples can be found right through to the twentieth century. Before about pipes were sometimes traded considerable distances from large centres such as London but, after this date, most production and use was relatively local within Britain although export pipes were traded much more widely overseas.

Not all makers marked their pipes and there was a lot of regional variation. In contrast, the majority of pipes in the north and west of the country were marked. There were also different styles of mark in the different regions, which can also be used to identify where a pipe was made see Oswald Most heel stamps are found locally to where they were made but it is important to remember that some pipes were traded and so the style of bowl and mark must also be taken into consideration when looking for a maker. A range of heel stamp types.


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During the seventeenth century initial marks or symbols were also occasionally applied to the stem, usually a short way behind the bowl and orientated to face the smoker. This style of marking becomes much more common from around in most areas, the main exceptions being East Anglia and the south-east. In some areas roll-stamped stem borders were also used during this period, especially in the Midlands and north of the country, with notable production centres in Chester and Nottingham.

Stem stamps are rare in most areas from the s onwards, with the exception of the west midlands and north west. In the west midlands, especially in and around Broseley, full name stem stamps across the stem with relief lettering has been common during the eighteenth century and, from about , they were turned to read along the stem. During the s the lettering on these Broseley area styles of mark changed from relief to incuse, and incuse stamped marks continued in use until the last Broseley factory closed in about In the north west the Liverpool makers started using long single line stamps with relief lettering from around the s and these continued in use until around the s.

They were placed along the top of the stem. For much of the eighteenth century bowl stamping was very rare anywhere, although a few large marks were used in the London area. This style remained popular throughout the nineteenth century in the south east, with other areas adopting bowl stamping from the second half of the nineteenth century onwards, particularly for advertising marks or slogans.

Rubber stamped ink marks were also used for a similar purpose from the late nineteenth century onwards. Different methods of bowl marking. Eighteenth-century relief bowl stamp; 2. Nineteenth-century incuse bowl stamp, which has been double struck; 3. Nineteenth-century rubber-stamped ink mark. These are usually arranged with the Christian name initial on the left hand side of the heel when the pipe is held as if being smoked and the surname initial on the right.

Appendix 3: The Clay Tobacco Pipes

Occasionally the mould maker got them mixed up but the convention is to always transcribe them in this order and then to note in any accompanying text if it is suspected that they should be read the other way round. Moulded initials on the side of the heel or spur started to be used in the London area from around the s and, by , had become very common. This style then persisted in the south east as the most frequent style of marking until the twentieth century, but it was not always very common in other parts of the country, the north-east of England being a notable exception.

The earlier marks always used lettering with serifs but sans-serif script was often used from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards. This was placed on the side of the bowl and usually only occurs on one side. This style emerged during the late seventeenth century and continued in use until the late eighteenth century but its use was confined to the south-west of England and, in particular, to the Bristol area.

Large quantities of pipes exported from Bristol to the Caribbean and North America have this sort of mark on them. This mark occurs on one side of the bowl only. This usually occurs in conjunction with other moulded bowl decoration.