26
THE CLAY TOBACCO-PIPE IN BRITAIN
(d) Royal Arms or Arms of City Companies: HENRY BROWNE
MADE SUCH PIPES ABOUT 1680 IN LONDON: ALSO PIPES
COMMEMORATING PUBLIC EVENTS SOMETIMES WERE SO
DECORATED IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (CHECK BOWL
SHAPE).
(e) Regimental Arms, either alone or combined with Civic Arms:
USUALLY MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY, OFTEN IRISH (see
fig. 8 (c)).
(f) A design characteristic of Friendly Societies, e.g. 'a heart-in-hand':
NINETEENTH CENTURY, MOSTLY BEFORE 1880.
(g) Bowl and stem studded with small conical spurs: 1850-1900 (see
fig. 8 (a)).
(h) Glazed or of 'extravagant form' (see page 18)—either NOT clay,
or special types made mainly for show: EARLY AND MID-
NINETEENTH CENTURY.
(i) Reeded bowl, with about a dozen raised ribs gracefully following
the bowl-shape from lip to base, sometimes with a head of wheat
interposed front and back: MOSTLY OF NINETEENTH
CENTURY 'CHURCHWARDENS', BUT THE REEDED DESIGN
IS KNOWN AT THE END OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
(CHECK BOWL SHAPE AND SEE ILLUSTRATION, fig. 8 (d).
Note : Simple decoration, such as fleurs-de-lys or rosettes, appeared
on London pipes in the early 17th century, and patterns of raised
dots, on Ipswich pipes of 1630-165016. But the earliest fully-
decorated clay pipes (as distinct from stoneware) may be mid-
seventeenth century onwards; in the earliest of these the decora-
tion (often a mask) is on the back of the bowl, the later (18th and
19th Century) masked bowls had the mask usually on the front of
the bowl. Some decorated pipes of late 17th and early 18th
century, found in this country, were of French origin. Decoration
re-appeared at the end of the 18th century simultaneously with
thinner and less robust bowls, and these later specimens are
often fragmentary in consequence.
10. Is any initial or group of letters discernible on sides of foot, front of
bowl, base of bowl, underside of foot, or on the stem? If no initials,
there may be a 'trade mark' in one or more of these places.
(a) NO initials or marks: ANY PERIOD, BUT MORE PROBABLY
18th, 19th, OR 20th CENTURIES, OR LESS LIKELY, BEFORE
1650. REMEMBER THAT LESS THAN TEN PER CENT OF
PIPES HAD INITIALS OR TRADEMARKS.
(b) Initials on front of bowl: Read them as they face you: ON THE
LEFT IS USUALLY THE INITIAL OF THE SURNAME, ON THE
RIGHT, THE CHRISTIAN INITIAL.
(c) Initials on sides of foot or spur: Read them, holding the pipe with
the bowl away from you as in smoking: ON THE LEFT OF THE
FOOT IS THE CHRISTIAN INITIAL, ON THE RIGHT IS THE
SURNAME INITIAL.