Unusual name pipe

September 2002

A name pipe has always been a valued item. Donated by a loved one or ordered in other cases personally, it gave the smoker a special identity. The occasion was often a festive or memorable event that people were happy to look back on. When the glazed ceramic pipe developed in Gouda around 1910, the name pipe variant soon appeared. This copy is an early example of this kind. The pipe dates from 1915 and does not yet have the appearance as it later became, characterized by a scene in a geometric frame with text in block lettering. Here the inscription "PIETER GLAS 1891-1915 KAPELLE IN MEMORY" is still straight forward or even primitive. The text is written right in the middle of the bowl in the then usual handwriting, executed in only one single colour and still the most obvious one: blue. The product was created at the Koninklijke Goedewaagen and looks like a loner in a style that has not been continued. Even the stem is time-bound, as it is not made in hard rubber, but in a red sort of plastic. Such stems were introduced during the turn of the last century and gained great popularity because they could compete with amber in appearance. In addition, they had the advantage that they were significantly stronger. To protect the bowl against breakage, a locking chain with a locking eye was attached on the curved shapes. If the bowl were to fall off the stem, it would not break thanks to the little chain.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 16.512

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