Antique and Vintage Pipes

We are a part of eBay Affiliate Network, and if you make a purchase through the links on our site we earn affiliate commission.
The first people to smoke tobacco in pipes were the Native Americans who lived in the eastern woodlands of North America between 500 BCE and 500 CE. These early smokers burned indigenous tobacco in clay or stone platform pipes, so named for their...
Continue reading
The first people to smoke tobacco in pipes were the Native Americans who lived in the eastern woodlands of North America between 500 BCE and 500 CE. These early smokers burned indigenous tobacco in clay or stone platform pipes, so named for their flat bases. Over the next thousand or so years, the bowls of these pipes became more sculptural, frequently carved into the forms of ducks, wolves, and other animals. Easily the most recognizable Native American pipe is the calumet, a decorated, ceremonial pipe that was smoked to bring rain to parched lands or the wrath of god upon enemies. The peace pipe, whose wooden shank was often decorated with feathers and quillwork, was actually a type of calumet. What set it apart from other calumets was its bowl, which was carved from a soft, reddish stone now called catlinite, named for 19th-century painter George Catlin (more than 500 of Catlin’s paintings and drawings of Pawnee, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, and other Native Americans are now in the Smithsonian). In the 1500s, European explorers returned home from the New World laden with tobacco and Native American pipes. At first, pipe makers copied these designs, but pipes quickly evolved into the recognizable shapes that we know today. Some of the first European pipes were made out of a type of clay called kaolin, the same mineral potters used to produce fine china. Thousands of pipe makers sprang up in England and Holland. Meanwhile, in 19th-century America, clay pipes were so common and inexpensive that tobacco companies gave them away to customers. Wood was another favorite material of pipe makers. Carvers gravitated to hard woods such as walnut, cherry, rosewood, and maple, but they didn’t just use any piece that was lying around. Before a tree was cut for pipe wood, it would be drained of its sap, dried for several years, and then boiled or steamed. Germany, Austria, and Hungary became known for their carved, wood pipes, in particular the U-shaped Ulmer and...
Continue reading

Best of the Web

Matchbook Museum
James Lileks' gallery of 400 matchbooks from coffee shops, hotels, motels, bars, banks,...
Matchbox Labels
Jane McDevitt's huge Flickr photoset of matchbox labels, primarily Eastern European, from the...
Match World
This ambitious site showcases the 20,000-item Rankei Library matchbook collection, owned by the...
Kensitas Silk Flowers
Don Wearmouth and his wife showcase the 230 beautiful silk designs that were distributed free...
Most Watched

Best of the Web

Matchbook Museum
James Lileks' gallery of 400 matchbooks from coffee shops, hotels, motels, bars, banks,...
Matchbox Labels
Jane McDevitt's huge Flickr photoset of matchbox labels, primarily Eastern European, from the...
Match World
This ambitious site showcases the 20,000-item Rankei Library matchbook collection, owned by the...
Kensitas Silk Flowers
Don Wearmouth and his wife showcase the 230 beautiful silk designs that were distributed free...