HISTORICAL SMOKIANA.

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A. 1586. D.

HISTORICAL
SMOKIANA.

To
YE MEMORIE of
KING JAMES 1^st.
“counterblaste”
of the past
&
To the ANTI·TOBACCO·FRATERNITY
of the present day.
The following ETHNOGRAPHICAL
“PLEBESCITE”
is respectfully dedicated.
by their well wisher,
The Author & Sinner
RTP

Ye PREFACE.

To
The Courteous Reader.

LONDON

Greeting

The stream of Conquest has generally flowed from North to South. The Triumph progress of the Goddess Nicotina has been from West to East starting in the 16^th. century she has now girdled our little orb with devotees burning continuous incense. The Instruments connected herewith are objects of Historical & Ethnographical interest hence are brought together authentic Portraits of the “Pipe Family”. Briar root and Branch “who judge from the favor in which they are now held.” “At home & abroad” they seem likely to flourish for ever. I cannot close without expressing my thanks to Mr. Bernard Quaritels for placing then before you in their present Garb.

Your faithful Sinner & Author,
Robt. Pritchett.

A·D·
1890

List of Illustrations.

Tobacco Plants
&
their Varieties.

Although Smoking is generally associated with Tobacco only, yet there are other plants whose leaves are used for similar purposes & these will be referred to as we come to the different means of using them. Our first Woodcut of Tobacco is from STELLA—ROMA 1669. a work of

great value as giving Pipes & the Hookah of Persia as well as Plants but we will start with some of the growths now most generally known of the “NICOTIANA” Family which is very widely spread over the face of the Earth & has of late made great strides in Borneo & Sumatra.

NICOTIANA “TABACUM”. (The mother of the family) Height 5 ft. Leaf 12ⁱⁿ to 14^in. Corolla Pink. Virginia manilla.

N. “RUSTICA”. Height 3 to 4 ft. Leaf 10^in. to 12^in. Corolla Greenish into Yellow. Turkey & India.

N. “REPANDA”. Small. Corolla white. Havannah.

N. “PERSICA”.—or Bombay, all used in Persia by the Royal Family. (SHIRAZ tobacco).

N. “AFFINIS” is our Garden Plant with long tube 3½^in. with Corolla White. Very fragrant. Habitat. Isle of Pines. S. PACIFIC.

We are greatly indebted to old German woodcuts for solid information anent details of Habits & customs of the 16^th. Century which our own people have not handed down to us, take for instance “Hans Sachs.” Book of Trades. Had smoking been in vogue in his day he would have given it—or rather Jost Ammon would have illustrated it so here in 1616 ·A·D we find a Sturdy German, blowing a tremendous cloud. It is taken from an old work now in Frankfurt—viz

“Völler Von Gellhausen (ULRICUS).”
Das ist
“Ein. Blumenbuck.”
Small Folio.
Franckfurt
am Mayne.
M. Weixner. Formscheider und Mahler. A·D 1616.

Pipes.

We have heard much of late of The “STONE” Period. The “Bronze” Period & the “Iron” Period & some one has gone so far as to say this is the “Brass Tin” Period. on all these scores “SMOKIANA” is strongly represented bringing forward The “Brass” Pipes of SUMATRA. It is surprising how widely diffused is “STONE” especially “Soap stone.” Amongst the following specimens will be found our “Gourd.” Period—but as there is “no place like Home” we will begin with “English clays,” of which some are shown on the opposite page enriched by Tobacco of recent years..

BROSELEY SALOP.

The various stamps & names of early makers of Tobacco Pipes are most satisfactorily corroborated by the Parish Register and the families seem to have gone on prospering, but the sickle “of Old Time” has been put in & . & old things have passed away making room for new. The Four stamps given on the opposite Page are amongst the Earliest known. & of great interest. The quality of the Clay must have attracted the makers to that spot—after the introduction of Pipes to London, which had a Pipe maker’s Company .A·D. 1619 & still continues establishments at Bow.. The “Old Cock” Tavern in Fleet Street had its own Token & its own Pipe.

and old London as revealed in digging old foundations has yielded a great harvest of Pipe produce.. The museum at Guildhall has a very good collection. The “Churchwarden” Clay was the Pipe of the early part of this century & is still in the Country. It was considered right always to have a clean pipe hence they were stacked together in a double ring & sent to “The Bake-house” for Purification. The “Irish Dudean” originated the rich “old clay” most probably & the Scotch followed with Cutties, & The French with “Fiolets” bien “Cullottées”—of Forty years ago. “Milo” in the Strand was the man for “Colouring Clays” which he made his Specialty.

HOLLAND.

The Dutch have always been great Smokers, how often does Ostade introduce clay Pipes into his pictures & when they favored us with a visit in 1689. how many records have been dug up from time to time wherever they were located. The Typical Pipe of Holland is that of “GOUDA” make. & The Pipe enters largely into Wedding ceremonies thus they have for the Copper wedding, the long clay Pipe of some 36^in. decorated with Copper leaves. The Silver Wedding Silver leaves & The Golden Wedding Gold & finally The Diamond—for the 75^th. now Cigars are smoked by every one, even by little Hollanders going to school

9·A·M·

GERMANY.

As a Nation of Smokers The Germans have always carried the palm & do still & with them Smoke & Song were ever inseparable. Imagine a German Student without his Pipe, & his Corps Cap we should not know him. The Leading feature in German Pipes is decidedly The long Bowl of Porcelain generally adorned with some Beauty on the front of it in medallion form. The stems are of great lengths some four feet or so with flexible tubing leading up to the mouth piece. These may be considered House Pipes for travelling, naturally they are shorter. The Tobacco Bags are objects of great care & interest.

NORTH EUROPE.

The Island of “AMAGER” near Copenhagen has retained its costumes & customs so faithfully that we have confidence in the Pattern Pipes which are now still in use. The Long one. 4 ft 8 in is the House, the shorter one 6^in. in the bowl contains the allowance of Tobacco for the day, this is the constant companion of the out-door worker.

In Norway small blocks of meerschaum seem to be most in vogue.

The Hungarian Pipes are of red clay. & show asiastic influence in form.

The Tyrolese Pipes look very workman like mostly of wood with Roebuck horn—introduced as ornament—

ALGERIA.

We are now in a new sphere of Pipe-Land: a Kind of slack water between European & Asiatic systems—in which the Turkish type predominates thus the upper Red clay bowl on the opposite page is quite Turkish & the handsome Arab Pipe of a form seen often smoked riding on a Camel shews us how decoration will now be introduced in a new form. The Stem of this Pipe is beautiful in Colour, the Ivory having a very beautiful arabesque pattern upon it, the red colour of which harmonises delightfully with the dark wood & bowl. The Large bowl is decidedly for House or Tent service.

AFRICA.

Everywhere in the Dark Continent the habit of smoking something or somehow has been met with by our most energetic explorers even in the dense forests of new Equatoria. The Pigmies find it desirable to have something to smoke. Paul Du Chaillu in 1856 brought to our notice the Pipes shewn at the top of the next page. These are used by The Fans, a fierce Cannibal tribe—great in the mystery of Iron work, and are generally made of red or very dark clay. The Specimen from SANKURU River LAT 5° S is of wood & very beautifully carved.—The Bone Pipe is very like a Cigar Holder

LAGOS and Ashantee.

The Three Bowls of the dark clay bowl are certainly a striking object to any smoker.. and again the small bowl from the larger one in fact “Bowl major.” “Bowl Minor”—this plurality we shall find in India, still that does not very clearly explain the why & wherefore—unless it emanates from mere love of being unlike others.. The Light coloured Red Clay of the Ashantee Pipes is very striking—& the form of the Bowls still more so. There is a decidedly Classical character about them.. as if started from Roman Lamps & Pompeian ideas & then supplied to their Colonies—.

AFRICA

EAST.

DAHOMEY is associated in our minds with the most ghastly & cruel scenes of useless blood-shed. & yet “TOBACCO” is smoked there and gradually is the Symbol of Peace asserting its gentle influence & Dahomey is now more humane than when Capt. Burton first visited it. To him we are indebted for the specimens opposite. The long peculiarly formed bowl like a “nepenthes” or Pitcher Plant is of Iron & has prongs or spurs of Iron. Length of stem, 33 in. The Hanging tufts are of Red Indian character. The upper pipe is carved wood & the double one, Iron.

AFRICA

We now come to newly opened up country, for Livingstone is of our time & Bishop MacKenzie in the Zambesi river also: The wooden Pipe with the Curious board in front of the Bowl is used by the LOMWE Tribe of MAKUAS on the LUKUGU River which runs into the “LAKE TANGANYIKA”—W. and a very curious arrangement it is the front of the board being elaborately carved. The Two lower Pipes are large & cumbersome & used to smoke Wild Hemp or “Cannabis Indica” sometimes called Banghi, but generally, “Bang”—In India we find the same name applied to a spirit obtained from Palms into pots & collected in the Deccan.

AFRICA.

The recent explorations in Africa have developed our Geographical Knowledge so much that a very special interest is imparted to many of these specimens by giving carefully the situations from which they have been procured—thus. The Ivory pipe of King MTESA from UGANDA Victoria nyanza is from a new Country & the ornamentation very refined & delicate. next the long one 8 ft. presented by the Khedive to the British Museum is from the MONBUTTOO tribe N. W. of the ALBERT NYANZA. The Lower one is from the SHIRÉ River near the Murchison Falls & used for Wild Hemp by the Manganja people.

STANLEY. EXPEDITION.
Central AFRICA & Equatoria.

For this most interesting page we are indebted to Surgeon Parke who very kindly took the trouble to make sketches of the bowls & wrote the names under each. what better authority could we have than this.. it makes the page historically interesting. The hard clay of the sticky ant heaps takes a beautiful polish see the KAVALLI bowl Albert NYANZA. The most original is from AREWENI & ITURI Forest where the little people take the mid rib of the “Banana” which is cellular & by pushing a reed down they get the bore required, cut a hole & rolling up a piece of Banana leaf.. like a Grocer’s paper insert that for a Bowl & smoke.

AFRICA

Zanzibar at the present moment is a centre of public interest and the example given on the next page is an exceedingly good one, it is of carved wood & has much of the ARAB character in its form. The Large one is of wood also with good ornamentation, the Bowl is 4^in. in diam and the total length 12^in. this is used for smoking Wild Hemp or Bang—and sometimes known as. “LIAMBA.”—it is from NYASSA. LAT 9° S. LONG. 31.^E. This is a pipe of mixed features as the arrangement is strongly allied to the Bushmen on the next page. it is however from N. W of Victoria nyanza UGANDA · NYASSA LAND. The Bowl is of dark clay with a gourd body. HABITAT doubtful

BUSHMEN · S. AFRICA.

Now we arrive at the full swing of the Stone Bowls of Soap stone or “STEATITE” and the link with the last “UGANDA” Pipe will at once be recognised. The whole machine is most cumbersome& the size therefore—The Horn being some 18^in. must make it bad for Bushwork. Altho the tube can be unshipped most readily The Stone Bowls are carved with great care, the favorite form reminds us of the maces or “Martel de Fer” used in the real Iron Period.—There is found also the Duplex Bowl also in Steatite.

South Africa.

The “Steatite” Bowls now show decidedly European influence, altho the most striking feature is the under disc which is probably added to give strength as the Steatite itself is very friable, its form reminds one of the inverted comb on the skull of a Gorilla which is very African. These specimens like many others are from that Great Store House of information The British Museum which happily secured many of the interesting examples collected by the late M^r. Bragg F.S.A. We can but regret that so complete a collection should ever have been dispersed—Sic transit.

TURKEY

Turkish tobacco is such a familiar form & so comprehensive in its light varieties that Turkish pipes must at once be called “CHIBOUQUES” & “HOOKAHS”. The red clay bowl of the former is generally 2 in. in diameter. The stem of Cherry or of Iasmine 5 ft long. When the Bowl is primed it is covered with thin paper & prepared for lighting. The Smoker at a range of 5 ft gives the signal & the light is applied—The mouth piece of clouded amber is very rounded & therefore only put to the lips.. The Red clay Hand Hubble of Benares is very simple.

PERSIAN.

A. D. 1669 “HOOKAH.”

STELLA of ROME, here is again useful to shew us the “Hookah” of Persia in his day. his book was published 1669 and as travelling from TEHERAN to the HOLY CITY was less rapid than nowadays, we may fairly accept this illustration as representing a well-established object. The action of the “Hookah” or “Hubble bubble” is to draw the smoke through the water—& so cool & purify the fumes of the Tobacco Being made of Glass. This is called a “SHISHEH” & in it is smoked the. Persian “TOMBAK” exclusively grown at CHIRAZ is the best & consumed by the Members of the Imperial family.

INDIA.

The Persian Fashion doubtless soon took India by storm & the maharajahs found in Hookahs a new object of luxury & one capable of unbounded decoration, in fact a new field for native talent to embellish & enrich. The upper bowl which contains the tobacco is called

“The Chillum”

whatever the material whether richly embossed or the simple red clay which tries one’s lips at BENARES. These State Hookahs are of considerable height running to Thirty inches & Three feet—with coils of tubing—which terminates in a silver mouth-piece.

CASHMERE.

Naturally one would expect to find something of special beauty in the fine collection of The Indian Museum where the art of the various Provinces is so well represented in all kinds of metal work beautiful form & rich Colour. SRINUGGER CASHMERE yields a very lovely specimen of a Hookah. Copper gilt with very rich deep blue and green enamel produces a very noble result of harmonious colour. The “CHILLUM” is a choice work of art & crowns a very fine work of

CASHMERE ART

Height 30 inches.

INDIA.

Of all the dreadful materials ever introduced in any land to the mouth of a smoker. The Red clay of India is certainly the worst & the roughest. Both these examples are Hand Hubble bubbles or HOOKAHS used by the Natives in India and the Red dotted lines shew where the Chillum to carry the tobacco is fitted on.

The sizes are given in each case otherwise the proportions would be a dead letter. The Tobacco, if tobacco at all, that is smoked in these specimens is of the roughest description.

SCINDE.

This is one of the Giants of the Red ware Race is India. 18 inches in height and is used in this north west Province as a Village welcome to travellers & is generally found in the DAK Bungelow. In some parts of India a native may be seen with his Public “Hookah” all alight ready for the passer-by to take a few whiffs—on paying a “consideration” for the privilege & refresher. The lower form was given to the writer by D^r. Watts it is used by the Hill Tribes of “CHITTAGONG”: & was brought over here for the Colonial Exhibition in 1886.

MADRAS

As we are now leaving the “HOOKAH” family & coming to the “NARGHILES” it will be well to emphasize the distinction between the two—which is this—“NARGHILE” is the native term for Cocoanut, hence all smoking mediums of that kind such as must be laid down & will not stand erect are called “NARGHILE”s especially of Cocoanut shape. All “Hookahs” stand by themselves. This bowl from N. ARCOT MADRAS is made of a Bronzed Ware somewhat heavy but good form. The Five topped Chillum is only seen in the Bazaars not in general use.

PROVINCE INDORE.

This is a true, good & faithful representative of the “NARGHILE” Family, a real Cocoanut pipe, mounted in Silver with good native work. The shell has evidently been selected for its graceful shape. & the native artificer has done his work lovingly.. The “Chillums” beneath are of different material that on the left is of Silver & although Sir Walter Raleigh smoked a pipe of silver still in these days in Europe all metals are avoided for bowls. The Chillum on the right is from “LUCKNOW” perforated rim of glazed Pottery. Biscuit colour ground with green pattern & Ruby spots or Knobs.

YARKAND.

As Pipes are made out of every conceivable material we cannot be surprised that where “Iade” has its habitat that there its services should be enlisted & utilized—& so it is: The “Yarkand” River has much Iade but to work it & bore it for a pipe must not only involve great care & consummate skill, but necessitate rarity of production The wooden & more humble confrere is much more general & very easily made anywhere. The Dark clay “chillum” belongs to a Gourd Pipe.

YARKAND & BOKHARA.

Having noticed the exceptional Iade we come to the more common Gourd Pipe in fact our “Gourd Period”. They are doubtless received with favor on account of their lightness and the example given is from one in the India Museum where they seem to be of much the same character. The Gourd of about 12 inches in length. The wooden. Bowl carrier curiously turned in rings & the Bowl itself of dark clay The ornamentation is in some cases very elaborate in this case a mixture of Persian & Chinese.

ASSAM · KHYBER & BURMAH.

Bamboo is wonderfully useful in so many ways & now it comes before us as the very simplest of Pipe Bowls, the joint forming the base. This is north “Assam.”

The Pipe of the AFRIDI tribe at the South entrance to the KHYBER PASS has a very small brass bowl. Two pieces of wood are scooped out for the bore & bound together with leather. This pipe is promoted to a Wooden Case with carved ornamentation. The Pipe of KAKHYEN N. IRRAWADDY RIV. BURMAH has a very long bowl, the lower held in the hand & the bent Bamboo example is so formed to be carried on the arm.

CHINA & COREA.

Still working to the Eastward we come to the land the ancient land of Iohn China-man, a land of small bowls & jade mouthpieces & water pipes in the shops for the inveigling of undecided customers and for the more definite explanation of small bowls the full sizes are now traced here for reference..—Diams.

Illustration caption:
Full sizes.
A·D 1820
White metal Brass. White metal

The Pipes of Corea have longer stems & the Bowls are flatter as shewn & they are brass..

OPIUM

This is a serious matter to approach especially as it has a very bad character—and has been black balled all round & generally tabooed. After careful research & unbiased study of its merits & demerits we must confess that it is unduly maligned, as the most useful of Colonists, The Chinese, work in all the hottest & most unhealthy parts of the world. & are generally very healthy which may be attributed to the moderate use of the so called Demon OPIUM. The largest employers of Chinese labour never object to the use of it & It is made from the White Poppy. “PAPAYER SOMNIFERUM.”