WDC Estate Fraternity Pipe - Phi Kappa Alpha

klause · Jan 14, 2015

Morning All,
I won a nice little pipe on Fleabay the other night and have been doing the usual look-see to find ut as much as I can, and hitting the proverbial brick wall. The pipe is a WDC Estate Pipe.
Initially I was drawn to the shape and that teriffic stem, also, not having a WDC, added to the willingness to shell out the readies. So, once the deal was done I began to give serious consideration to whole concept of what I assume is a Fraternity Pipe. Were they common? What period did this phenomena flourish in? Who did the embellishments on the pipes? Did all Fraternities do these? Were they like a POY for the Frats? etc, etc, etc.
Does anybody know anything about Frat' pipes? Any history would be much appreciated.
I have a picture in my head of a young chat with a hat cocked at a jaunty angle walking about campus with this stuck between his teeth - though judging from the lightly smoked look of it, I doubt it was used much in anger.

tuold · Jan 14, 2015

It will be interesting to read what somebody may have on this subject. I've got at least one estate Kaywoodie "campus" that may have been puffed between classes.
You've got a great old pipe there! Pretty cool.

torque · Jan 14, 2015

I don't have a whole lot to add about that particular pipe but there is evidence that WDC marketed to college students in the 30s. If I had to guess I would put your pipe in this same time period. Very nice specimen, does it have any kind of "system"?
WDC AD in the Columbia Daily Spectator

klause · Jan 14, 2015

Torque, I don't have it yet, so can't say.
Nice Ad' - thanks for that - also the info on targeting students.

huntertrw · Jan 14, 2015

klause:
On November 1, 2009 pipesmagazine.com featured a one-hour video presentation concerning "Collecting William Demuth & Co. (WDC) Pipes & related Tobcacciana." This presentation was originally made by Mr. Tom Clasen at the Chicagoland International Pipe & Tobacciana Show in May of that year. I have not taken the time to view the entire presentation, but perhaps it may shed some light on WDC's fraternity pipes. Here is a link (Tom Clasen's presentation on WDC pipes) to that presentation.
Concerning the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, according to their Website (Pi Kappa Alpha) it was founded at the University of Virginia in 1868.
I hope that you find this information to be helpful.

klause · Jan 14, 2015

Hunter, that is superb - thank you very much - I really appreciate it.
I'll have a nosey at Mr. Clasen's presentation this evening.

ssjones · Jan 14, 2015

Thanks Hunter, 2009 was before my pipe hobby (passion...) started. I'll definitely check out that video later this evening.
What a great pipe. That should restore nicely! If you need some help with the restoration, don't hesitate to give me a shout.

xrundog · Jan 14, 2015

I have seen a number of college and frat pipes on ebay over the years. Some carved, some inlaid. They usually date from the 00s through the 20s. That particular WDC fits the earlier part of that time frame.

klause · Jan 14, 2015

If you need some help with the restoration, don't hesitate to give me a shout.

Al, I really appreciate that - thanks very much. I may take you up on it.
Xrun - thats super - thanks. So, its much older than I thought. That makes the condition all the more impressive. I'd love to know who did the inlays - were they done in a batch, or individually, by request?
Questions! Questions!

huntertrw · Jan 14, 2015

klause:
Did William Demuth & Co. hallmark their silver? If so, then the band (assuming that it is silver) on your pipe might give an indication of its age.
Also, if memory serves, then the shape of this pipe is similar to that of the estate CJC about which you posted earlier.

buroak · Jan 14, 2015

I've never seen real hallmarks on a WDC. Still, I would guess this is a 1920s pipe, especially if it turns out to have the bone-type screw-in tenon.
That inlay is among the best I have seen. All too often the letters were added with small tacks that help the pipe along to an early death.
The price was right, too.

buroak · Jan 14, 2015

Klause, You might also be happy to know that WDC was considered good enough in the 1920s/1930s (I think) to make BBB pipes in America for the American market. I have an old ad to that effect, but I will have to find it to verify the date.

xrundog · Jan 14, 2015

There are no hallmarks on American silver on pipes. Ever. Silver is simply marked as "Sterling". I'd imagine that groups bought the pipes in batches. I'd guess pipe shops may have done it. Or maybe a jeweler silversmith as well. Often a college pipe will have the graduating year on it.
That pipe is in very good condition. If I liked the shape you would have had more competition for it. I think (but don't know for sure) that that particular shape was out of fashion by 1930.

klause · Jan 14, 2015

Hunter, yes, it's very similar to the CJC pipe, maybe not as elegant - but, since smoking that pipe I'm developing an appreciation for the shapes and variations there-of. I think this looks like a truncated, or stubby, version. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on it. I was doubtful of there being hallmarks on it, and Buoak and Xrun have confirmed my suspicions. I spent ages looking at the pictures, so was fairly sure it wouldn't be marked.
Buroak I'm glad you mentioned the inlay - I was quite taken with its quality - I'd love to know more about the process - as you suggest, it's a cut above the norm. As for the BBB association, that's good to know, as it will sit nicely with my meagre collection of old BBBs.
Xrun, I'm glad it's not your cup'o'tea

. Being honest, I was expecting it to surge in price towards the end, and was very surprised to get it for the price I did. Still, The briar gods were smiling on me.

mso489 · Jan 14, 2015

It's a reminder that tobacco pipes used to be a staple of college life, and the often very young guys who

smoked them looked just as affected and ridiculous to their citizenry, professors, parents and non-college

blue collar guys as young pipers do today. I guess my dad was one of those college pipers -- although he'd

started in high school or possible a little younger, but he kept smoking through the Depression and World

War, and grew into the look of a mature pipe smoker. So when tempted to rankle and scoff at the really

young guy with a pipe, remember these frat pipes. Then there was Huck Finn -- I think my dad thought

that was who he was. His high school teachers and family had to wrangle him into going to college.

klause · Jan 15, 2015

Mso, thanks for the story - it really made me smile and reminded me of my youth and dabbling with pipes - less said the better - and has set me up for the day.
Thank you - I really appreciate it.

misterlowercase · Jan 17, 2015

Wow!
Sweet pipe!
I have a soft spot for older WDC.
You always do a spectacular job of cleaning them up, so I eagerly await the pix of your magic hands!

8)
I can't offer much on the history of frat pipes, but here's a slew of googbook clips of relevance.
You can easily find many old WDC adverts online too, which are well worth searching out.
This link has a lot of WDC pipes:

http://kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org/about191.html
:

:

There is a dreamy, ruminating expression in his deep-set eyes as his hands toy caressingly with a time-battered fraternity pipe. Listen —a long sigh, the certain forerunner of verbal evaporation. "Ah me! those halcyon days of yore!"
- extract from a 1909 college yearbook
http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/Washington_Jefferson_College_Pandora_Yearbook/1909/Page_248.html

:
1904

:
1905

:
1906

:

1908

:
1911

:

1913

:
1914

:

1915

:
1916

:
1912 poem

line 12...

:
1903 article discussing the tradition of smoking the class pipe...

:
1917 article...

:
1918 article...

:
1926 advert,

typewriter and pipe?

I love it.

:
WDC university pipe from 1923:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/WDC-MILANO-SMOKING-TOBACCO-PIPE-/271529595088?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f386cd0d0
:
pdf

contains BBB ad and an Edgeworth ad...
Penn State Collegian, 1928

somewhere in the text it says "1911 CLASS PIPE RELIC ADORNSDESK OF REGISTRAR HOFFMAN."
http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Repository/PSC/1928/11/13/036-PSC-1928-11-13-001-SINGLE.pdf
A good example of what old college newspapers looked like, often containing quite a few ads.
:
Optical Character Recognition, or OCR, is a process by which software reads a page image and translates it into a text file by recognising the shapes of the letters...
The text below may not be accurate because it's OCR generated and I didn't take the time to correct any of it, but it does convey the general gist of things...
from:

Bowdoin Orient

1908

"The Class of 1904 at Yale has decided to make Maine Society, Sons of the American Revolution, held at Portland, Monday. a radical change in the annual class day exercises next June. The reading of histories by the four class historians will be omitted and instead, the class poem and oration will be read on the afternoon of class day, and be followed by a humorous speech to be prepared by the class historians and spoken by W. W. Thomas of Yarmouthville, Me. one of their number. The personal grinds on members of the class will not be allowed, as all references in the speech to any class must be anonymous. The reason given for the change is that the custom of referring to every member of the class ford Falls, read a paper at the meeting of the Maine Academy of Medicine, held recently in Portland, on has become tedious with the growth of the classes. The smoking of the class pipe and the planting of the class ivy will be continued."
unrelated, but interesting:
"In lecturing the Lower Juniors of Chicago University, Professor Clark said: "The average student appointment of postmaster at Brunswick. is an unthinking, unpractical being. He has no right to spend great sums for a dance while the "old man stays out in the rain and gets rheumatism. A man owes more to his college than to whoop up football nonsense. I'd like to see him whoop up some Whiltier's work and recent experiments with blood serum appears in last Saturday's issue of the Leiv- things that need whooping more. Fraternities that don't pay their debts, as most of those in this University do not are disgraces to us; they are tj'pes of absolute immorality. You are all beggars! You are paying $120 a year for an education that costs the University $300. You are objects of charity. What are you doing to justify it? The poor man in Silver Works at Providence, at a salary of $5,000 per annum. About six years ago Dr. Parker went the stock yards pays taxes to help educate you." Members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity from assembled in Boston for the first conclave of the banquet at Hotel Essex. George H. Stickney of Lynn, was the toast-master."

:
An odd trio of pre-1900 class pipes:

http://contentdm.williams.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/wmp&CISOBOX1=Pipes+%28smoking+equipment%29
:
: puffy

:

misterlowercase · Jan 18, 2015

1919

klause · Jan 22, 2015

Bingo!
Troy, exactly what I was looking for, and more!
Excellent.
Very much appreciated - thank you.

tuold · Jan 29, 2015

Just an addendum to the great material added by mrlowercase. Here's an ad in the Cornell student newspaper about class pipes.

So, we can tell the tradition of the class pipe extended at least into the 1950s. In fact I have since picked up an estate Medico Alma Mater "Summa" from that period.

WDC Estate Fraternity Pipe - Phi Kappa Alpha

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