The first colonists were quite familiar with the use of tobacco, and it
is believed that many of them smoked clay pipes. Evidently there was
some demand for tobacco pipes by the early planters as one of the men,
Robert Cotten, who reached Jamestown in January 1608, was a tobacco
pipemaker.
In 1611-12 John Rolfe had experimented with tobacco plants in Virginia
(he used Virginia plants as well as varieties from the West Indies and
South America), and was successful in developing a sweet-scented leaf.
It became popular overnight, and for many years was the staple crop of
the infant colony. There was a prompt demand for the new leaf in
England, and its introduction there was an important factor in
popularizing the use of clay pipes. After 1620 the manufacture of white
clay pipes in England increased by leaps and bounds.
It is estimated that there are over 50,000 clay pipe bowls and stem
fragments in the Jamestown collection--perhaps the largest assemblage of
its kind extant. Pipe bowls and stem fragments were found wherever
excavations were made, indicating that the smoking of clay pipes was an
extremely popular custom at Jamestown.
During the 1607-1700 period, pipe-bowls developed in size from small to
fairly large. In most examples that have been found, the early pipes
have larger stem-holes than pipes made during the latter years of the
century.
Although the majority of pipes found at Jamestown were imported from
England, some were made in Holland. Some of the colonists made their
pipes in Virginia from local clay, either by pipemaking machines or by
handmolding. The English and Dutch pipes were white in color, whereas
the local product was brown. As they were fragile, not a single complete
pipe has been unearthed at Jamestown.
[Illustration: HARVESTING TOBACCO AT JAMESTOWN, ABOUT 1650. (Painting by
Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: CHILDRENS' GAMES DEPICTED ON DUTCH DELFTWARE FIREPLACE
TILES ARE VERY SIMILAR TO THE GAMES CHILDREN PLAY TODAY. THE TILES WERE
MADE IN HOLLAND ALMOST 300 YEARS AGO.]