24
THE CLAY TOBACCO-PIPE IN BRITAIN
2. STEM: if mouthpiece be present, is it plain or glazed?
plain: ANY DATE. glazed: AFTER 1700
(honey-coloured glaze: LATE
18th OR 19th CENTURIES).
3. Is the stem thin or thick? (an insecure guide in itself).
3/16" (4 or 5 mm.) dia.: EITHER 1/4" (6 mm.) or more: ANY DATE.
THE END OF A 19th CENTURY
CHURCHWARDEN OR (VERY
RARE) EARLY 17th CENTURY.
It has been suggested that in the thicker stems, a markedly-eccentric
hole betokens an EARLY DATE—say EARLY 17th CENTURY: this
is an uncertain indicator by itself. A more reliable guide is that
the earlier the pipe, the larger the bore of the stem-hole and average
values are:
11/2 mm.: 19th CENTURY and 20th CENTURY.
2 mm. : 18th CENTURY.
2J-3 mm.: 1660 TO 1700.
3-4 mm.: EARLY 17th CENTURY or even 16th CENTURY.
4. Is the stem, if complete (and make sure of this), long or short?
Very long (over 20"): NINE- Very short (21/2" to 3"): LATE
TEENTH CENTURY. 16th CENTURY (but most un-
likely because so rare).
Long (12" to 20"): is it bowed
or straight? Short (4" to 7"): 17th OR LATE
Bowed: Straight: 19th CENTURY.
18th OR 19th 'ALDERMAN'
CENT. of LATE 17th Medium (6" to 10"): ANY DATE.
CENT. or 18th
CENT.
Note that even a broken stem may be long enough to exclude the
short and very short classes from consideration.
5. Is there any mark or lettering anywhere on the stem?
Sometimes the maker's, or publican's, name appears in full, impressed
along the stem, as in the case of many of the Broseley pipes. Sufficient
of the letters may remain to enable the maker's name to be sug-
gested and sought in the list on pp. 28-33, or the initials may be
discovered; early pipes were sometimes marked with maker's initials
on the stem instead of, or in addition to, on the foot or bowl.
Examination of bowl, if any remain:
6. Does the plane of the top, or lip, of the bowl meet the axis of the
stem "at an angle" (see fig. 5, page 22), or is it substantially parallel
with the stem?
Plane of bowl-top meets stem, or Top of bowl parallel with stem:
axis of stem, "at an angle":
PRIOR TO 1690, OR AFTER LAST DECADE OF SEVEN-
1850 (BUT A FEW PIPES OF TEENTH CENTURY OR ANY
THIS FORM WERE MADE UP TIME LATER.
TO 1720).