THE DATING OF CLAY-PIPES
27
(d) Initials on base of bowl or on stem: Read them.
Any initials collected from (b), (c), and (d) above should be compared
with those given in the list on pages 28 et seq.: CORRESPONDING
INITIALS MAY BE TAKEN TO SUPPORT THE DATING FROM
OTHER EVIDENCE.
Note : Initials on the underside of foot (or on bowl and stem of pipes
with spurs) preceded those on the sides of foot, the latter becoming
general only after 1660.
The early initials were incuse: after 1640 they were more often in
relief, except in the West Country (BRISTOL) where the incuse
form persisted throughout the seventeenth century. When incuse
initials are found, check for the "overhang" shape of bowl,
characteristic of West Country pipes.
(e) Is there on the underside of the foot any initial or simple mark,
taking care that the projecting fin caused by the joint of the two
halves of the mould is not confused with the (usually incuse)
trade-mark of the earliest makers?
No mark or initial(s): This is usual. ANY PERIOD.
A mark (see fig. 3 (a) for examples):
Incuse: 1590-1630. VERY RARE.
In relief: SUCH MARKS MAY BE MUCH LATER, AND OF
ANY PERIOD.
Initials: READ THEM AND REFER TO LIST, PAGES
29 to 30b.
11. Is the bowl "pipe-clay" colour, allowing of course for colouring by
use, by dirt, by yellow clay or gravel stains or by the slimy greening
or blackening which long immersion imparts? Or does it appear to
have been deliberately coloured? In the latter case, the whole body
is coloured throughout, not the surface only.
(a) Plain pipe-clay: ANY PERIOD.
(b) Uniformly honey- or amber-coloured: PROBABLY 1850 to
1900-1910 (CROP, maker).
(c) Uniformly black: PROBABLY 1860 to 1902 (J. HARRISON,
maker), BUT EARLIER BLACK PIPES ARE KNOWN: CHECK
BOWL SHAPE.
12. Is the bowl of a "usual" shape and size, as illustrated in fig. 5, or is
it abnormal in being of multiple-bowl form, or with very large bowl?
"Normal": Over 11/2" dia. at Multiple:
ANY PERIOD. mouth: 2, 3, or 4 bowls :
(a) 1800 to 1840 1819 to 1830 (VERY
(RARE). RARE).
(b) ABOUT 1700,
MADE BY
GAUNTLETT
(RARE)
Note : All these unusual forms are most unlikely to be found in
excavations.