The pipes are illustrated natural size. The largest and the smallest
pipe of each form available to us are shown. In many instances this
difference in size is not great; however, it does illustrate that minor
variations often existed in different molds for the same pipe form. The
diameters for the stem openings have not been included since they have
proved useful only in consideration of the earlier integral-stem clays,
and not for consideration of the “short-base” pipes of the type and time
included in this report (Wilson, 1971:2).
TABLE NO. 1.
Sources of Pipes, and Relative Numbers Available for Examination.
Total number of pipes inspected—4,451.
Plate. Source. Number of Examples.
13 A. Both Many
13 B. Home 2
13 C. Home 11
14 D. Home 4
14 E. Home Many
14 F. Both Many
15 G. Factory Many
15 H. Home 3
15 I. Factory Many
16 J. Factory Many
16 K. Both Many
16 L. Factory Many
17 M. Both 37
17 N. Factory 1
17 O. Factory 1
17 P. Both Many
18 Q. Both Many
18 R. Home 10
18 S. Both Many
19 T. Home 14
19 U. Home 2
19 V. Factory 1
19 W. Surface 1
20 X. Factory 1
20 Y. Both 2
20 Z. Factory 4
20 AA. Factory 4
21 AB. Factory 1
21 AC. Home 1
21 AD. Factory 1
21 AE. Factory 1
22 AF. Factory 2
22 AG. Factory 1
22 AH. Factory 1
22 AI. Factory 2
23 AJ. Factory 1
23 AK. Factory 1
23 AL. Surface 1
23 AM. Home 2
TABLE NO. 2
Identifications Appearing On Certain Pamplin Pipes.
Plate: Source of Pipe. Designation. Lettering.
13 A. Both Original Impressed
13 B. Home Original Impressed
17 M. Both Original or Florence Impressed
18 Q. Both Hayiti Impressed
18 R. Home Genuine Impressed
19 V. Factory 117 Raised
20 Z. Factory Catlins Raised
20 AA. Factory 103 Raised
21 AC. Home Original Impressed
21 AD. Factory Powhatan Impressed
_Plate 13 A._ Slightly Acute Angle. Made _both_ in the factory and in
the home. Many examples. All are a deep, dark, glossy red, except 9
pipes which were a light brown. Plain round bowl, octagonal base. It was
made in at least 12 slightly varying sizes, there being that many
variations between the large and the small pipe illustrated. This was
the Pamplin Company’s “Original” Powhatan, and it was no doubt one of
the Company’s leaders in production and sales. The word “ORIGINAL” is
impressed in the right side of each base, with the exception of one
single pipe, and the lettering appears in at least three different
sizes, there being no correlation between the letter size and pipe size.
This is a sturdily made pipe.
The Company emphasized in its publicity that the Indians had originally
demonstrated to the early settlers the method of making the Powhatan and
so had enabled them to make this exact form, thereby inferring that this
model should have been of particular interest and worth. No doubt at
some time and place in our history a happening of this nature may have
occurred. However, the Powhatan is a usual form which has been found in
aboriginal sites, with some modifications and of varying materials, over
a wide area.
Many of these pipes appeared, both from the factory site and among those
made by local women and retrieved from the basement of the Thornton
General Store. Mrs. Betty Price said that this form was a standard
product of the local Home Industry pipe makers before the factory ever
came to Pamplin and one of the earliest made in the area. All of the
pipes available to us carried the designation “Original” except one.
The making of clay pipes was an old and well established business at
Pamplin; whether the impressing of the word ORIGINAL on the base of this
pipe was an innovation of the Pamplin Smoking Pipe and Manufacturing
Company, or whether this had been long done by the Home Industry is
unknown.
_Plate 13 B._ Slightly Acute Angle. Home. 2 examples. Dark red. Plain
round bowl, octagonal base. Quite similar to “A” except both bowl and
base are shorter, and diameter of bowl proportionally larger. “ORIGINAL”
is impressed on right side of base. A very sturdy pipe.
_Plate 13 C._ Slightly Acute Angle. Home. 11 examples. Glossy dark red.
Round bowl, octagonal base. Upper part of bowl plain, lower front
portion decorated with a series of raised dots. The dotted area is
divided into two triangles, as well as separated from the undecorated
area by raised and rounded bands. The mold marks in the undecorated area
have been almost entirely smoothed. It would seem that all pipes of this
form came from the same mold, in contrast to the fact that at least most
other Pamplin pipe forms seem to have come from a number of different
molds.
The two pipe forms “C” and “B” are quite similar, except that “C” has
decoration as well as a slightly longer base, and is not marked
“Original” Both are sturdily built, with thicker than average bowl
walls, and both were retrieved from the Thornton Store site; no examples
were found at the factory site. They are probably the product of the
same individual woman working at her home.
_Plate 14 D._ Slightly Acute Angle. Home. 4 examples. This is a black
pipe. The deep, solid color was probably intentionally achieved by
allowing portions of the burning wood of the kiln to fall into the iron
kettles which were used as saggers for the firing of pipes in the Home
Industry. The bowl and base are round, with diagonal cross-hatched
decoration on bowl, separated from the same decoration on remainder of
base by a narrow rounded band. Flat band at both top of bowl and end of
base. The right and left halves of the pipe are separated from each
other, front and back, by a broad smooth ridge covering the mold mark.
_Plate 14 E._ Slightly Acute Angle. Home. Many examples. Bright red.
Bowl and base decoration similar to “D”, but this form is somewhat
smaller than “D”. Double band at both top of bowl and end of base, the
outside band broad and flat, inside band narrow and rounded. Only slight
variations in size.
_Plate 14 F._ Right Angle. Both. Many examples. Dull red. The Company
called this their “Akron Hamburg”. The diagonally cross-hatched bowl
decoration is separated from the diagonal line base decoration by a
rounded band. Double band at both top of bowl and end of base, the
outside band broad and flat, the inside band narrow and rounded. The
right and left halves of the pipe are divided from each other, front and
back, by a broad smooth ridge covering the mold mark. Only slight
variations in size.
_Plate 15 G._ Right Angle. Factory. Many examples. Dull red. Diagonal
line decoration on bowl runs at right angles to that on base. Double
band at top of bowl and stem end of base, outside band flat, inside band
narrower and rounded. The right and left halves of the pipe are divided
from each other, front and back, by a broad smooth ridge which covers
the mold mark. Two slightly different sizes.
_Plate 15 H._ Acute Angle. Home. 3 examples. Dull, dark red. Spiral
decoration on bowl, plain hexagonal base. Double band at top of bowl,
upper flat, lower rounded. Large rounded band at end of base.
_Plate 15 I._ Right Angle. Factory. Many examples. Dull, dark red; a few
are light brown. The Company called this model their “Ole Virginny
Shaker”. Grooves of decoration run vertically on bowl and curve toward
the bottom to stop at a rounded band, then continue horizontally to stem
end of base. Double band at top of bowl, upper flat, lower rounded.
Double band at stem end of base, inside band rounded; the outside band
may be either rounded or flat; if flat, the end of base is noticeably
swelled. Five slightly varying sizes.
_Plate 16 J._ Sharply acute Angle. Factory. Many examples. Dark red.
Broad grooves of decoration run from top of bowl and curve toward bottom
to continue to stem end of base, or curve back around bowl. Double band
at top of bowl, upper flat, lower rounded. Prominent rounded swell at
stem end of base. At least 4 different sizes.
_Plate 16 K._ Acute Angle. Both. Many examples. Dull red to dark brown.
Quite similar to “J” in form and decoration except that lines of
decoration are more narrow and the bowl does not set at such an acute
angle to base. Only slight variations in size.
_Plate 16 L._ Obtuse Angle. Factory. Many examples. Dark red to brown.
Round undecorated bowl and round tapering base. These pipes are somewhat
similar to early stemmed clay imports except that the base is cut off
rather short, to form a flat vertical face, instead of terminating in a
stem which was an integral part of the bowl and base. The opening in the
end of the base is quite small and does not have the usual taper. All of
the pipes of this form are nearly identical in size.
_Plate 17 M._ Acute Angle. Both Home and Factory products, 37 examples.
Bright, light red. Plain round bowl, hexagonal base expanding to a
bell-shaped swell at stem end of base. The flat bottom extends around
and under the bowl. “ORIGINAL” is impressed in the right side of base of
some examples and “FLORENCE” in others, while some have no wording. The
factory examples that we saw were marked either “ORIGINAL” or
“FLORENCE”, as were some of those of home manufacture; however, 16 pipes
of home manufacture had no wording. At least three sizes are
represented.
_Plate 17 N._ Acute Angle. Factory. One Example. Dull, dark red. Similar
to “M” except heavy rounded band of beading around near top of bowl, no
wording. Hexagonal base expands to a bell-shaped swell at stem end. Mold
marks are more distinct.
_Plate 17 O._ Acute Angle. Factory. One example. Dull, dark red. Plain
octagonal bowl, with planes continuing along base to large rounded swell
at stem end. From deep in the dam at factory site.
_Plate 17 P._ Obtuse Angle. Both Home and Factory. Many examples. Dull,
dark red or brown. Octagonal bowl and base. No decoration. Base expands
slightly towards stem end. Relatively small pipe, three slightly varying
sizes.
_Plate 18 Q._ Obtuse Angle. Both Home and Factory. Many examples.
Glossy, light red to deep red. Plain round bowl and base: the base
terminates in rounded and swelled end. “Hayiti” impressed on right side
of base. At least three sizes of lettering. A few of these pipes are
right angled. A similar pipe, except that it had one small rounded band
of beading near the top of bowl, the Company called theirs “Powow Smooth
Shaker”.
_Plate 18 R._ Very Acute Angle. Home. 10 examples. Dark, glossy red.
“Genuine” is impressed on the right side of base, except one example
which had no lettering. Plain round bowl and base, terminating in
rounded and swelled base end. All apparently from same mold except one
which was not marked “Genuine”.
_Plate 18 S._ Acute Angle. Both Home and Factory. Many examples. Glossy,
dark red. Plain hexagonal bowl which expands towards the bottom. Plain,
slim round base tapering towards stem end. These pipes usually carry a
high glossy finish. Two slightly different sizes.
_Plate 19 T._ Slightly Acute Angle. Home. Fourteen examples. Uniform
light tan color. Undecorated round bowl and base. Bowl tapers uniformly
from top to bottom and base expands uniformly to stem end. Two slightly
varying sizes. No mold marks, but some evidence of smoothing.
_Plate 19 U._ Right Angle. Home. Two examples. Uniform, light pinkish
tan color. Quite similar to “T” except bowl diameter is slightly larger
and does not have the extreme taper, but rounds towards the base. Two
slightly varying sizes. Probably made of the same clay by the same
person who made “T”. No evidence of mold marks, but some evidence of
smoothing.
_Plate 19 V._ Acute Angle. Factory. One example. Dull red. Round bowl
and base. Two bands of rounded beading encircle mid-portion of bowl,
base expands towards stem end. “117” in raised figures appears on the
left side of the base near stem end.
_Plate 19 W._ Right Angle (A Surface find). One example. Dull red.
Except for its angle, this pipe is quite similar to “V” with its two
bands of rounded beading encircling the bowl.
_Plate 20 X._ Slightly Acute Angle. Factory. One example. Salmon pink
color. Ten-sided bowl and base. A rounded band of beading is near the
top of bowl, the base end is simply cut off flat.
_Plate 20 Y._ Acute Angle. Both Home and Factory. Two examples. The bowl
is decorated by narrow upright grooves and ridges which extend from the
base up to and lightly across a rounded band which encircles the bowl
near its top. The hexagonal base flares somewhat toward the stem end.
This the Company called “Wigwam Shaker”.
_Plate 20 Z._ Acute Angle. Factory. Four examples. Color ranges from
pale red to light orange, though two are very dark, probably from having
lain long in the stream bed. The round bowl is encircled by a band of
rounded beading near the top. Below this, on each side of the bowl,
appears “CATLINS”. The base is hexagonal and its planes merge into the
lower portions of the round bowl. The top plane of the base seems to be
divided into two narrower planes which give the base a seven-sided
appearance; this however is probably due to lack of trimming of the mold
mark. The base terminates in a large rounded stem end. This was probably
a specialty pipe, and apparently all the pipes of this form had these
characteristics.
_Plate 20 AA._ Acute Angle. Factory. Four examples. Color ranges from
pale red to light orange to medium red. The 14 upright panels which
constitute the bowl, with its two encircling rounded bands near the top,
give the effect of a wooden bucket whose staves are held by hoops. The
raised number “103” appears on the flat bottom. In one example a metal
ferrule, apparently of brass, is still in place around the stem end of
base. Other examples of this pipe no longer retain the ferrule; however,
the discolored pattern of the ferrule was present to show that each had
originally had one in place. All pipes of this form seem identical and
evidently came from the same mold.
_Plate 21 AB._ Right Angle. Factory. One example. Dark Red. Round
undecorated bowl and base. Stem end of base has an inside taper to hold
a small reed stem.
_Plate 21 AC._ Slight Obtuse Angle. Home. One example. Glossy, dark red.
Similar to “AB” except the angle of bowl and “ORIGINAL” is impressed on
the right side of the longer base.
_Plate 21 AD._ Obtuse Angle. Factory. One example. The plain bowl and
base have a uniform high glossy red finish. “POWHATAN” is impressed on
the right side of base. The stem end of base has been broken off, and it
is possible that this base terminated in a clay stem which was an
integral part of the pipe. In that event it would have followed the
pattern of some of the old white clay imports. There are no spurs or
projections of any nature at the bottom of the bowl.
_Plate 21 AE._ Probably Obtuse Angle. Factory. One example. Glossy
medium red. This is a form similar to some early white clay imports.
While the only example available to us was badly broken, it seems to
have its own integral clay stem, and it definitely has one spur below
the bowl.
_Roll of Fired Clay._ A portion of a roll of fired clay was found in the
fill on the Factory site. It evidently had been prepared for molding,
and some clay had been broken from each end. It could have been a test
firing of the clay, or the piece may have unintentionally gotten into
the kiln.
_Plate 22 AF._ Right Angle. Factory. Two examples. Colors are light
orange and red. A flat band encircles the top of the bowl, and below
this is a more narrow rounded band, whose lower edge is here and there
lightly cut in line with the grooves below. The vertical grooves of
decoration on the bowl continue, or merge with a lesser number of
horizontal grooves and ridges which run to the stem end of the base.
These grooves, in part at least, extend over the large rounded swell at
stem end of base. These two pipes illustrate the minor differences that
may exist in different molds used in making the same basic pipe form.
This and the following three pipe forms seem to represent a transition
from the earlier, rather heavy, sturdy and relatively thick side-walled
clay pipes, to a pipe lighter in weight, which is more representative of
the form in use by what might be considered the last generation of
regular clay pipe smokers.
_Plate 22 AG._ Acute Angle. Factory. One example. Color is gray. This
piece was among the eight pipe sherds, still sufficiently intact to give
an indication of the original pipe form from which they had come, that
were picked up by us on the driveway of the Pamplin Smoking Pipe and
Manufacturing Company in July 1969. Some were heavily glazed and of a
different character from the pipes dealt with up to this point, and seem
to have come from pipes resulting from the change in style mentioned
under “AF”.
This pipe fragment has some characteristics similar to “AF”. The bowl
decoration towards the top is unknown, but vertical lines of decoration
occupy the bowl, and only those on the front of the bowl continue along
the base; those on the sides terminate upon joining the front lines. The
stem end of the base is also somewhat different, being decorated by a
rounded and finally a flat band. This sherd carries a moderately heavy
glaze and it is the first pipe form presented which actually shows
evidence of a salt glaze.
_Plate 22 AH._ Right Angle. Factory. One example. Color pale yellow to
light brown. Round bowl and base, double rounded band of beading around
top of bowl and stem end of base. Bowl decorated with raised dots in
cross-hatched pattern. Spiral decoration on base. Prominent mold marks,
thin sidewalls. Heavily glazed.
_Plate 22 AI._ Right Angle. Factory. Two examples. Color ranges from
deep red through light orange to yellow. This lighter pipe with thin
sidewalls has two narrow rounded bands encircling the top of bowl, which
is otherwise plain. A large rounded band is at stem end of base. These
pipes are well glazed.
_Plate 23 AJ._ Right Angle. Factory. One example. Dark Red. This is a
version of the Company’s novelty “Tomahawk Pipe”, decorated to order for
special occasions. The pipe illustrated was made specifically for sale
at the Chicago World’s Fair and has “Century of Progress, Chicago” in
raised letters on the left side. “1833—(likeness of an Indian)—1933” is
on the right side of bowl.
_Plate 23 AK._ Right Angle. Factory. One example. Color light tan. This
was the Company’s standard novelty pipe, recommended for all occasions,
and it was shaped like a tomahawk. A likeness of Washington appears on
the right side of the bowl, with the name “Washington” in raised letters
above. On the left side is the likeness of an Indian wearing a Plains
headdress, and above it in raised letters is the name “Powhatan”. A wide
flat band encircles the stem end of base.
The Pamplin Company’s literature stated, _Tomahawk Pipe-Novelty, molded
from hand engraved brass die, of finest clay, hard-burned and glazed. An
attractive item for carnivals, conventions, fairs, etc. Packed 200 to a
box with 5″ reed stems. Price $13.50 per box._ This pipe was a regular
sales item for festive occasions (Plate 11).
_Plate 23 AL._ Right Angle. (A surface find). One example. Deep red.
Most Pamplin pipes of home manufacture were made by women; however, Miss
Wilsie Thornton and Dr. C. G. O’Brien said that a Mr. Rodgers, about
1938, made pipe molds and pipes of unusual form as a hobby. Miss
Thornton mentioned two forms that he made—an Indian Head, and a Woman’s
Leg, the calf being the bowl and the foot being the base, with the toes
at the stem end of base. This pipe is credited locally as being of his
manufacture.
_Plate 23 AM._ Right Angle. Home. Two examples. Deep glossy red. The
decoration on the lower portion of the round and expanding bowl reminds
one somewhat of a peach seed; this decoration is separated from the
upper part of the plain upper bowl by a rounded band. The base is
undecorated, and terminates in a smooth enlarged stem end. The second
pipe of this form was a surface find.
If the Factory had Nos. 103 and 117 how many more numbers may they have
had?
Impressed identifications, usually put on the base of the pipe with a
stamp after the pipe came from the mold, appear on pipes from both the
Homes and from the Factory. It is of interest that apparently
identifications in raised lettering came only from the Factory.