Acquisition ‘Uncle Paul’

27 January 2014

The so-called Uncle Paul pipe in a rustic finish is the first acquisition in 2014. It was a gift from an American ex-smoker who wanted to complement our collection. Uncle Paul is a specific shape with a wide cylindrical bowl connected to a strongly bent stem, practically going upright along the bowl and again a strong bent towards the mouthpiece. This shape was popular in the time around 1900, the name refers to Paul Krüger the president of South-Africa at that time.
This gift however is not a briar pipe as was to be expected, but a pipe in block meerschaum. In the late 1970's when this pipe was produced it was a highly fashionable pipe with its rustic, raw surface. The dark black coloring makes the pipe unrecognizable as a meerschaum pipe. Finally, the mother-of-pearl effect in the acrylic stem is a fashion of the time. With these specific features this pipe is a fine addition to the collection, registered under number APM 21.925.
Should you have some tobacco pipes, hidden in a cabinet or in the attic, even if they are not really old, bring them to our museum. It could very well be a welcome addition to our collection of the twentieth century smoking history.

A gift from a colleague

25 January 2014

The former director of Museum Flehite in the Dutch city of Amersfoort donated to the Amsterdam Pipe Museum a series of paper cigar bags which he got from his father. Special about all these paper bags is that they were all issued by the same cigar shop in The Hague in the 1910’s to 1930’s. The paper bags are printed with the name and address of the tobacconist shop on one side and with different images on the reverse, mostly a rebus.
Before World War II cigar smokers bought their cigars mostly in small numbers, just one to three at the time. The cigars were put into a simple paper bag for transport home. The printing of the bags was the advertisement for the shop. In order to prevent that the paper bag was thrown away straight away after use, the shop keepers sought for an additional print to make the bag more useful. This could be the time table of the local tram or bus, or even a rebus that kept the children busy for quite some time. In this way the name and address of the tobacconist stayed in the house for days. In this case the paper bags from The Hague survived even two generations! By searching the internet the colleague from Amersfoort found out that the Amsterdam Pipe Museum has a fine collection of these kind of paper cigar bags. This inspired him to make the donation. His well-preserved bags will stay in our collection for the next generations. Any one following his example?

The Changing of the Guard

18 January 2014

After a successful year Patricia Olsthoorn leaves us as a museum director. Her position in the Amsterdam Pipe Museum made her eligible for a new, and better paid job in the staff of the Amsterdam Riding School (Hollandsche Manege). Also in her new position she will be responsible for publicity and public relations. During the time with us she made the Amsterdam Pipe Museum better known and enhanced the visitors numbers considerably. Her tasks as director will be taken over by Benedict Goes, who seized his career in monument conservation allowing him more time for the Amsterdam Pipe Museum.