Contents of no. 15/2002:

No. 15/2002, p. 4f.
Ralf Kluttig-Altmann: Report on the 15th Meeting of the Arbeitskreis zur Erforschung der Tonpfeifen held in Grefrath on 28-30 April 2001

The Arbeitskreis zur Erforschung der Tonpfeifen (German Society for Clay-Pipe Research) held its 15th Meeting on 28-30 April 2001. Twenty five participants from Germany and one from Holland and several visitors attended the Meeting, which was held in the Niederrheinische Freilichtmuseum Dorenburg in Grefrath at the invitation of the Museum Director, Heinz-Peter Mielke. A venue for the Meeting was chosen in the German, Belgian and Dutch border region to make it easier to visualise the close relationships that existed in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly in the production, marketing and consumption of clay pipes and tobacco in this region, which today is transected by national borders. Two excursions, one to Weert in Holland and the other to Andenne in Belgium, were specially planned to relate to this topic.
The complete version of this paper can be found here.

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No. 15/2002, p. 8-18
Rüdiger Articus: "There have always been pipes". The history of clay-pipe research in the 19th century

The author explains how, in the past, clay pipes found in excavations of prehistoric or ancient sites were often attributed to ancient civilizations. From the 1820s onwards, clay pipes repeatedly turned up in excavations of Celtic and Roman sites, mostly in south Germany, Switzerland and France, and, since the typical shapes of the 17th century clay pipes had mostly been forgotten, the finds were attributed to the ancient civilizations. Contemporary national feeling in the 19th century used to exert a considerable influence on how history was interpreted. For example, the idea that a cultural achievement with as broad a popularity as tobacco smoking was acquired from the "savages" of America was utterly unacceptable to the academic community in Germany and central Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries - a truly European origin had to be found, and preferably a very ancient origin! Although this subjective kind of thinking was abandoned by the middle of the 20th century, one still finds the old ideas turning up, even today, in exhibitions, lexica, and other publications. In this connection, metal pipes, which were occasionally found in the 19th and 20th centuries, still pose an unsolved problem, although they are possibly metal imitations of Dutch clay pipes.

No. 15/2002, p. 19-34
Michael Schmaedecke: A draft typology of floral decorations on pipe stems based on material found in SW Germany and the surrounding region and mostly made in the Mannheim/Frankenthal area

In contrast to the manually impressed decorations on pipe stems, there is a large group of pipes with stem decorations that were engraved in the pipe mould. Many pipe fragments exhibiting the latter type of decoration have been found in SW Germany and the surrounding regions during the last few years, most of which were produced in the Mannheim/Frankenthal area. The floral decorations are subdivided into three hierarchical groups on the basis of various criteria such as the type of motif, the position and extent of the decoration, and its relationship to an inscription, if present.

Clay pipes with floral decoration, made by Julius West in Mannheim in the 1690s.

The typology permits small fragments, such as are often found in excavations, to be classified, and it is sufficiently flexible to allow new groups, even those of other production centres, to be integrated into all levels of the hierarchy. It is hoped that, eventually, the typology will prove to be a useful tool for determining the age and provenance of clay-pipe fragments, perhaps even allowing the pipe maker to be identified.

Clay pipes with floral decoration, made by M. Kesselhum.

No. 15/2002, p. 35-50
Regina Geiss-Dreier: Clay-pipe finds in Schloss Oberstein.

The clay tobacco pipes found in the castle Schloss Oberstein show that the habit of tobacco "drinking" started in the upper River Nahe region during the second half of the 17th century, at the latest. Pipe smoking was introduced by the French troops of Ludwig XIV during the "Reunion" time and the Palatinate wars of succession, as has been demonstrated for other castles in this area. According to the names and places marked on the clay pipes, they mostly originated from clay-pipe factories in the Palatinate, particularly from Frankenthal. This is also true of many pipes bearing marks and initials that have previously not been seen or identified. The clay-pipe finds from Idar-Oberstein show that trade in clay pipes produced in the Mannheim-Frankenthal area extended not only southwards but also to the north and northwest. Schloss Oberstein on the upper reaches of the River Nahe is the most northerly occurrence known so far.

Clay pipe made by Otto Kissius of Frankenthal, marked "OK" above a triangle.

The find of a heelless pipe dated 1736 demonstrates that tobacco was smoked at Schloss Oberstein in the 18th century. That of a 'Wortmann pipe' shows that clay pipes were obtained from Westerwald during the first half of the 18th century. It is not yet known, however, whether clay pipes were imported from pipe makers in Holland. This question can only be answered when the finds have been studied in more detail. In particular the polished clay-pipe fragments and those displaying an unusual decoration must be carefully looked at. So far it is only possible to say that import of clay pipes from the Netherlands was confined to the 18th century.

No. 15/2002, p. 51-64
Helmut Szill: Clay pipes from Erding. Part 2

Most of the clay pipes found at Erding are either plain or decorated ones from the 17th century. The importance of these finds lies not only in the variety of different models but also in the large number of fragments bearing initials. The initials, always in relief, appear on some pipes on the side of the bowl and on others on the heel. The initials include TCB, ISC, CB, LP and RV. During this preliminary evaluation of the material, it was not possible to compare each model with similar material from other complexes. It is clear that the distribution of these pipes, in spite of their comparatively poor quality, is very wide and covers the whole of the region of south Germany. At this stage of the research, unless archaeological or documentary evidence turns up unexpectedly, we must be satisfied with 'south Germany' as provenance. Eventually, the initials mentioned above will enable the production centre(s), which were certainly of considerable importance, to be localised.

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No. 15/2002, p. 65-71
Natascha Mehler: Tobacco and clay pipes on Iceland in the 18th century, based on finds in the Aðalstræti, Reykjavik

This paper deals with clay-pipe material found on Iceland and places it in its historical framework. Certain long forgotten, written documents provide useful evidence that tobacco was grown successfully on Iceland, at least for a short time, during the 18th century. Clay pipes, on the other hand, were not manufactured on Iceland but were imported indirectly from Holland, England and Scandinavia via Danish traders. Altogether 268 pieces of clay pipe were found during excavations at Aðalstræti 14-16, Reykjavik, where a wool mill was situated in the 18th century. These pipes mostly originate from Holland (Gouda), and others are from Denmark (Stubbekøbing and København) and England (Bristol). Six clay-pipe makers' names appear on the pipes: F.VERSLU (Frans Verzyl) and LUCAS DE IONGE from Gouda, R TIP PET (Robert Tippet) from Bristol, A·ROSS (Alexander Ross) and S·Fe (Severin Ferslew) from Denmark. The name WVVELSEN has not as yet been identified.

No. 15/2002, p. 72-78
Heinz-Peter Mielke: The Lower Rhine clay-pipe region. The distribution of clay-pipe production between Cologne and the Netherlands

The Lower Rhine region was always a good market for clay pipes from Westerwald and Holland. However, in spite of this, repeated attempts were made between Cologne and the Dutch border to establish clay-pipe factories to supply local and regional markets.
(Clay-pipe production centres in the Lower Rhine area)
Some of these attempts met with success, some had less luck; the political conditions invariably provided the necessary framework for business success. An account is given of 14 production centres which were active in the period between the early 17th century (Cologne) and the second World War (Hoisten). That at Neuss is a slight exception since clay pipes were only processed there.

Notice circulated by the Prussian Kriegs- und Domänenkammer
inviting clay-pipe makers to settle in towns in the Lower Rhine area;
from the Duisburgische Adresse- und Intellegentz-Zettel, 1750s.

No. 15/2002, p. 85-89
Ralf Kluttig-Altmann: Guidelines for preparing drawings of clay pipes

A drawing of an archaeological object should provide the viewer, who of course would not have seen the object itself, with a "substitute", which can never be as good as the original but can contain the relevant details. If a drawing is going to contain an optimal amount of (optical) information about the object, and if the viewer is to be enabled to visualise the object, then certain drawing standards should be adhered to.
The complete version of this paper can be found here.

One of the oldest pieces of material evidence so far found documenting tobacco smoking in Saxony: Pipe bowl produced in Holland around 1620.

No. 15/2002, p. 90-95
Martin Kügler: Clay pipes from the Schönhof in Görlitz

During renovation work on the historical buildings of the Schönhof in Görlitz, several fragments of 17th and 18th century clay pipes were found in fill between the first and ground floors. The oldest of these clay pipes can be dated as around 1620 and is inferred to have been imported from Holland. This unusual specimen, which is unique amongst the Schönhof material, is the oldest piece of material evidence so far found documenting tobacco smoking in Saxony. There are also four pieces of heelless pipes with cylindrical bowls and curved stems. These pipes are particularly interesting since they were clearly made in a two-piece mould with no decoration engraved in it; the pipe maker evidently impressed the decoration on the bowl by hand after removing the pipe from the mould. The material from Schönhof resembles clay pipes that have been excavated in Breslau/Wroclaw (Poland) and Zittau in large quantities. We can thus infer that, during the second half of the 17th century, there must have been a production centre of considerable importance in the Saxony/Silesia region and/or in one or more of these three towns.

Clay pipes from the Schönhof, Görlitz, with hand-impressed decoration on bowl; provenance unknown, second half of 18th century.

The very broken fragments of 18th century pipes also found were possibly made by the Wille family, pipe makers who were active in Görlitz from 1777 to shortly after 1830. No products of Wille's pipe factory have as yet been identified with certainty.

No. 15/2002, p. 96
Martin Kügler: An 18th century Jonah-and-the-whale pipe

Two examples of an unusual type of clay pipe have recently been found at different localities in Stockholm, Sweden. The bowl shows, in relief, a man's face with bushy eyebrows, a large nose and a long, curling moustache, reminding one of the Jonah-and-the-whale pipes of the 17th century. Both pipes have a "foot" as heel mark, on the left side of which is the Gouda coat of arms. The shape of the bowl gives the age as no earlier than about 1750. This means that the possible makers are Jan Osterhout or Thomas Verhage. A clay pipe with a Jonah-and-the-whale design is very unusual for this period, since, according to the present state of our knowledge, this type of pipe was not produced after 1700.

Fragment of pipe made by John Newall, Cleobury Mortimer, 1680-1710.

No 15/2002, p. 97 f. David Higgins: Report on the discovery of a pipe kiln near Cleobury Manor, Shropshire, England As early as 1948, scattered clay-pipe fragments were found on a field belonging to Barnsland Farm, about 1.5km SW of Cleobury Mortimer. A trial excavation in 2001 showed that the site was undisturbed and exposed the foundations of a building. The bases of stone walls and abundant remains of a pipe kiln and pottery - dated between 1640 and 1720, the remains of the pipe kiln were dated somewhat more accurately as between the years 1680 and 1710. Some of the clay pipes are marked with two initials 'IN'. The house and the clay-pipe factory most probably belonged to the clay-pipe maker John Newall, who died in 1719. This man is also mentioned in contemporary documents including his will dated 2 March 1718 or 1719 and an inventory of his possessions dated 11 May 1719. Newall was both a farmer and a craftsman who was helped by his family with his clay-pipe production. Since no other clay-pipe makers are known from this area, it is likely that he found sufficient customers for his pipes in the local markets. However, the fact that some of his pipes were marked suggests that he also sold them at larger markets.