<< Hello all! I've just added four pipes to the Ligne Bretagne catalog, including a rare Grade 5 and one of our popular "Fat Dwarf" shapes. Check them all out here:
@motie2 I concur. @PappyJoe blog makes for very interesting reading. Haven't had time lately to check in, but for those unfamiliar with his blog, as @motie2 says, highly recommended...
<< "On les aura" is a French phrase that translates to "We'll get them!". It was famously used as a slogan on a World War I poster, according to the University of Tulsa and the Imperial War Museums. The poster depicted a French soldier with a determination to defeat the enemy, and the slogan became a rallying cry for the French people.
More specifically, the phrase was quoted from General Philippe Pétain at the Battle of Verdun in 1916. The poster, created by Jules Abel Faivre, was originally an advertisement for the Second National Defense Loan. It featured a generic-looking soldier in a pose echoing that of François Rude's "Victory" on the Arc de Triomphe,invoking the spirit of liberty, equality, and fraternity. The poster and its slogan were widely used during the war and became a symbol of French resistance. >>
The history of clay pipes is long and closely tied to the spread of tobacco smoking in Europe. Here’s a concise overview of their development:
🌿 Origins and Early Use (16th Century)
Introduced to Europe: Tobacco was introduced to Europe from the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, largely due to Spanish and English explorers.
Early clay pipes: The earliest European clay pipes appeared in England in the 1570s, shortly after the arrival of tobacco.
These pipes were small-bowled (reflecting the high cost of tobacco at the time) and made from white clay, often kaolin.
🏭 17th – 18th Century: Widespread Use and Refinement
Mass production: By the 17th century, clay pipe manufacturing had become widespread across Europe, especially in England, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Long stems: Pipes were often very long (some up to 2–3 feet), believed to provide a cooler smoke.
Decoration: Designs became more elaborate, with molded patterns, maker’s marks, and even commemorative motifs (e.g., for political events or royal occasions).
Disposable: They were inexpensive and somewhat disposable, especially in taverns and inns where customers often broke the tips off for a “fresh” mouthpiece.
🛠️ Industrial Age and Decline (19th Century)
Improved manufacturing: Industrial techniques allowed for faster and cheaper production. Factories in England, France, and the U.S. produced millions.
Competition: The rise of briar pipes (more durable and reusable) in the 19th century began to overshadow clay.
Cultural significance: Despite declining popularity, clay pipes remained a staple among working-class smokers and in ceremonial uses, such as by Native Americans (who had their own traditions with clay and stone pipes).
🧱 Archaeological and Historical Importance
Common finds: Clay pipe fragments are some of the most common artifacts unearthed at European and colonial archaeological sites.
Dating tools: Due to changes in bowl shape and maker’s marks over time, archaeologists use them to date historical layers.
📌 Summary
Material: Usually made from white kaolin clay.
Era of popularity: Circa 1570s to the mid-1800s.
Cultural role: From elite novelty to everyday working-class item.
Legacy: Today, clay pipes are produced in small quantities for reenactments, collectors, and traditional pipe smokers.
Today, as I was lighting my pipe, I experienced something that I haven’t for some time:
A full and wonderful realization of all that pipe smoking can be. This may be a bit difficult
to explain, but please allow me to try.
As I lit the pipe, hovering a match just over the surface of the tobacco, gently drawing in
and moving the match back and forth, I marveled at the sight of those individual ribbons
of tobacco twisting and turning as they caught, then slowly settling and beginning to
glow a beautiful orange. As I tamped the surface oh-so-lightly, I was struck by the
interesting thought that all of these individual ribbons were now transforming into
something else, something new. That surface, a smoldering thin cake of tobacco which
allowed me to savor the taste and aroma of a favorite tobacco, and which drew my
thoughts back to those times as a young boy that I would watch my great-grandfather
puff at his pipe, seemingly without a care in the world. It seemed like a magic trick, the
puffing and tamping, the creation of slowly swirling gossamer blue-gray smoke, the
indescribably comforting aroma.
Suddenly, I was brought back into the moment of now, and I realized as I slowly drew
breath, watching the tobacco of my first light gently rise and fall in the intensity of its
glow, that I was performing magic, all on my own. It was a transformative moment, a
collision and temporary merging of the here and now with lucid and beloved memories
of days gone by. In a way, it was as if I were somehow impossibly both sharing a smoke
with my great-grandfather, as well as sharing a moment with that bright-eyed young boy
that was me, who was so amazed by it all. Oh, the things I wish I could share with that
old man, and with that young boy!
But just as quickly as it began, time snapped back into place like quicksilver, and I was
left with my pipe and my thoughts of just how much I miss both of those people, and
how dearly I love them. For without the old man, I may not even be smoking this pipe
now. And without this pipe, I may not find the time to remember that boy at all. And I’m
so thankful for all of it: The old man, that young boy, and the pipe that gifted me with
such a cherished little glimpse back through the years...
Comments
www.talbertpipes.com >>
https://pappyjoesblog.com/having-a-pipe/
I concur. @PappyJoe blog makes for very interesting reading. Haven't had time lately to check in, but for those unfamiliar with his blog, as @motie2 says, highly recommended...
This just came up on my marketplace feed for anyone interested.
<< "On les aura" is a French phrase that translates to "We'll get them!". It was famously used as a slogan on a World War I poster, according to the University of Tulsa and the Imperial War Museums. The poster depicted a French soldier with a determination to defeat the enemy, and the slogan became a rallying cry for the French people.
https://pappyjoesblog.com/tobacco-lost-tobacco-found/
@PappyJoe blog is well worth visiting...
The history of clay pipes is long and closely tied to the spread of tobacco smoking in Europe. Here’s a concise overview of their development:
🌿 Origins and Early Use (16th Century)
🏭 17th – 18th Century: Widespread Use and Refinement
🛠️ Industrial Age and Decline (19th Century)
🧱 Archaeological and Historical Importance
📌 Summary
No, not weed pipes; some really nice mugs, like these…..
https://static-promote.weebly.com/share/5518421b-6fe4-4ed6-be15-fee2a798c5c5 A Pipe Smoking Moment
Today, as I was lighting my pipe, I experienced something that I haven’t for some time: A full and wonderful realization of all that pipe smoking can be. This may be a bit difficult to explain, but please allow me to try.
As I lit the pipe, hovering a match just over the surface of the tobacco, gently drawing in and moving the match back and forth, I marveled at the sight of those individual ribbons of tobacco twisting and turning as they caught, then slowly settling and beginning to glow a beautiful orange. As I tamped the surface oh-so-lightly, I was struck by the interesting thought that all of these individual ribbons were now transforming into something else, something new. That surface, a smoldering thin cake of tobacco which allowed me to savor the taste and aroma of a favorite tobacco, and which drew my thoughts back to those times as a young boy that I would watch my great-grandfather puff at his pipe, seemingly without a care in the world. It seemed like a magic trick, the puffing and tamping, the creation of slowly swirling gossamer blue-gray smoke, the indescribably comforting aroma.
Suddenly, I was brought back into the moment of now, and I realized as I slowly drew breath, watching the tobacco of my first light gently rise and fall in the intensity of its glow, that I was performing magic, all on my own. It was a transformative moment, a collision and temporary merging of the here and now with lucid and beloved memories of days gone by. In a way, it was as if I were somehow impossibly both sharing a smoke with my great-grandfather, as well as sharing a moment with that bright-eyed young boy that was me, who was so amazed by it all. Oh, the things I wish I could share with that old man, and with that young boy!
But just as quickly as it began, time snapped back into place like quicksilver, and I was left with my pipe and my thoughts of just how much I miss both of those people, and how dearly I love them. For without the old man, I may not even be smoking this pipe now. And without this pipe, I may not find the time to remember that boy at all. And I’m so thankful for all of it: The old man, that young boy, and the pipe that gifted me with such a cherished little glimpse back through the years...
Keep ‘em lit,
Eddie Gray
https://www.thepipenook.com/