Vest pocket in canoe shape

May 2023

Vest pocket in canoe shape

This pocket tobacco pipe also called vest pocket has an original design. It is a small short pipe with a hard rubber, strongly curved stem. Turned back over the bowl, the pipe can easily be tucked away in the pocket of a waistcoat. The smooth round shape of the vest pocket is made by several manufacturers. A design that immediately appeals to many smokers, but never really becomes a favorite due to the small oval inner bowl. The same principle with the bowl in the shape of a clog has been popular as a souvenir in both Brittany and the Netherlands. The version depicted here in the form of a Canadian canoe is an atypical design and the only one known so far. It was conceived in Saint-Claude during the interwar period, but did not become a bestseller. The low shallow bowl does not guarantee the best draft and the short stem only provides moderate cooling. The fact that this is an unsmoked pipe does not say anything about its popularity. This specific object was kept in a sample collection and went straight from the factory inventory to the museum destination with us. It is precisely that unused, virginal element that now gives the object its special appearance. Moreover, despite the lack of a brand name, we now know the place of production.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 24.657



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