1919 Red Scare Era WDC Pipe Advertisement

[Briar Lee]

We have our problems today, but in 1919 the modern western democracies had just ended the bloodiest and most costly war in human history, the greatest pandemic since the Black Death, Spanish Flu, had killed at least 50 million souls, there was rampant inflation, anarchist bombings, labor unrest, Russia had fallen to communism, and the USA was in the middle of the First Red Scare.

First Red Scare - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

You might relax with a Bud Light and read how the advertising agency for WDC pipes, the world’s largest pipe maker, ran an ad campaign in 1919:

Where Pipe Democracy Reigns Supreme



They should have invented the Drinkless fitting instead , so that every man could smoke a pipe.



Can you imagine that much democracy in any factory today?

And if they did, they surely couldn’t brag about it.

 

[yanoJL]

Fascinating @Briar Lee, thank you for sharing these.

Silly question: when Kaywoodie would advertise "Drinkless", was that to say that the stinger prevented moisture from traveling up the stem into the smoker's mouth?

 

[lraisch]

Fascinating @Briar Lee, thank you for sharing these.

Silly question: when Kaywoodie would advertise "Drinkless", was that to say that the stinger prevented moisture from traveling up the stem into the smoker's mouth?

I always took that to be what they were implying. Sadly, I never found it to be true.

 

[Briar Lee]

Fascinating @Briar Lee, thank you for sharing these.

Silly question: when Kaywoodie would advertise "Drinkless", was that to say that the stinger prevented moisture from traveling up the stem into the smoker's mouth?

The obvious implication of the name is the pipe drinks less.

It doesn’t get wet and gurgle.

And when Babe Ruth said now every man can smoke a pipe, it implied more than a pipe not gurgling. It would smoke dry, sweet and cool, and not bite or burn.

KB&B knew their customers were selfish and wanted a high dollar, modern and new product for their money.

On the other hand WDC thought the customer cared about wages and working conditions and the welfare and happiness of factory workers at WDC.

I wonder if that’s the one and only advertisement in the campaign?.

 

[jguss]

This brings up something I hadn't thought about for a long time. A dozen years ago I wrote an article about Demuth focused almost entirely on the family era. Clocking in at 43 pages and 170+ footnotes the appetite for this much Demuth proved to be astonishingly small. But a section of the piece dealt directly with the background story underlying the ad briarlee posted, and for those with insatiable curiosity about this topic I've attached a pdf of my article here. I strongly advise the reader to focus on pages 29 to 33. This is the section which provides a brief review of labor relations at Demuth during the turbulent time spanning WW1 and its immediate aftermath.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

This brings up something I hadn't thought about for a long time. A dozen years ago I wrote an article about Demuth focused almost entirely on the family era. Clocking in at 43 pages and 170+ footnotes the appetite for this much Demuth proved to be astonishingly small. But a section of the piece dealt directly with the background story underlying the ad briarlee posted, and for those with insatiable curiosity about this topic I've attached a pdf of my article here. I strongly advise the reader to focus on pages 29 to 33. This is the section which provides a brief review of labor relations at Demuth during the turbulent time spanning WW1 and its immediate aftermath.

Printed and added to my library!

 

[Briar Lee]

This brings up something I hadn't thought about for a long time. A dozen years ago I wrote an article about Demuth focused almost entirely on the family era. Clocking in at 43 pages and 170+ footnotes the appetite for this much Demuth proved to be astonishingly small. But a section of the piece dealt directly with the background story underlying the ad briarlee posted, and for those with insatiable curiosity about this topic I've attached a pdf of my article here. I strongly advise the reader to focus on pages 29 to 33. This is the section which provides a brief review of labor relations at Demuth during the turbulent time spanning WW1 and its immediate aftermath.

These and other works like it need their own section here on the forum. Otherwise they’ll be buried and lost in the posts.

The writing, research and composition skills of jguss are at an extremely high, professional level. I’m in awe.

But as to the relation to my original amazement that even in an era where “Fordism” was celebrated and the public thought it possible in a few more years the lambs of the factory would lie down with the lions of ownership and management, Demuth would spend lots of money to advertise a socialistic experiment at their factory is now lessened.

Those ads were approved by the WDC House of Representatives and Senate, and not vetoed by the Cabinent!.

Nothing like vanity, to sell an ad campaign.

——

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

—-

They should have came out with a tasty cigarette, you know?

 

[mso489]

I have a Kaywoodie Drinkless I bought during the last few years they were made with the screw-in stem with a stinger. Otherwise, I have removed all the stingers from the several pipes that came with them. To my surprise, the Drinkless has proved a smooth smoking pipe, and the stinger is quick and easy to clean.

In terms of moisture, if that is what was intended, in my case it solves a problem I don't have. For whatever reason, I've never been a juicy smoker, so moisture isn't a problem. But the pipe smokes great.

As a bonus, the finish on the pipe, called a Ruff-Tone with carved grooves, was a matte gray-brown when it was new. Over the years I've owned it the finish has developed reddish highlights and become more polished looking, and the rather basic groove carving has developed a more subtle look.

sablebrush advised me on how to get the bit adjusted so it screwed in on the true horizontal, melting the glue on the stinger with a hair dryer. And now I have this advertising reference to Babe Ruth, no less. So it is a pipe with a story.

Kaywoodie still sells the Drinkless series, but with push bits and no stinger.

 

[Zamora]

Fascinating stuff. The First Red Scare is such an important chapter of American history but criminally understudied. I've never heard of WDC, that pipe in the ad looks like a Peterson System.

 

[FLDRD]

Fascinating stuff. The First Red Scare is such an important chapter of American history but criminally understudied. I've never heard of WDC, that pipe in the ad looks like a Peterson System.

Upon observation of one that I acquired during a bulk purchase, and a little unofficial reading - it seems to have been an attempt to imitate Peterson's system in most regards. I don't recall if they also had the tapered internals in the stem, but I think so.

 

[Zamora]

Upon observation of one that I acquired during a bulk purchase, and a little unofficial reading - it seems to have been an attempt to imitate Peterson's system in most regards. I don't recall if they also had the tapered internals in the stem, but I think so.

It seems like there's been many attempts to mimic Peterson over the years, Erin Go Bragh comes to mind as a current example.

 

[Briar Lee]

Upon observation of one that I acquired during a bulk purchase, and a little unofficial reading - it seems to have been an attempt to imitate Peterson's system in most regards. I don't recall if they also had the tapered internals in the stem, but I think so.

My first high quality pipe was a Giant Wellington.

Maybe WDC paid royalties to Peterson. Or maybe the patent had expired. It’s very close, but not exactly the same.

Before WW1 WDC sold Wellingtons for as little as a quarter through dealers. After the war the price doubled for the small ones to fifty cents.

Here are the differences I can see.

The Wellington obviously has a molded stem with a cosmetic flange. They are high quality, made of good vulcanite, but entirely by machine.

The cosmetic cap, was made of sterling silver, nickel, or some say nickel plated. Again it’s entirely a machine operation. Maybe a little polishing was done.

That leaves the third part to the product, the stummel. There has to have been hand work done but the basic unit was machine made, on automatic fraising machines.

Men don’t change. Before WW1 the average factory worker might have earned $500 for 3,000 hours a year, or just over 15 cents an hour. A man can make lots of Wellingtons in one hour.

William Demuth became extremely wealthy. He didn’t have any income taxes at all to pay. A few thousand a year bought him a house full of servants. He had multiple yachts and mansions.

The entire cost of labor for a Wellington was a few pennies.

But the future belonged to the cigarette mavens who turned a ten cent pound of tobacco into 400 cigarettes.

20 Camels cost 15 cents.

The profit margins were staggering.

 

[OverMountain]

We have our problems today, but in 1919 the modern western democracies had just ended the bloodiest and most costly war in human history, the greatest pandemic since the Black Death, Spanish Flu, had killed at least 50 million souls, there was rampant inflation, anarchist bombings, labor unrest, Russia had fallen to communism, and the USA was in the middle of the First Red Scare.

First Red Scare - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

You might relax with a Bud Light and read how the advertising agency for WDC pipes, the world’s largest pipe maker, ran an ad campaign in 1919:

Where Pipe Democracy Reigns Supreme

View attachment 223194

They should have invented the Drinkless fitting instead , so that every man could smoke a pipe.

View attachment 223196

Can you imagine that much democracy in any factory today?

And if they did, they surely couldn’t brag about it.

Charles Schwab was a big proponent of steel worker incentives as described in this manner.

Now publicly traded companies exist to return dividends or gains to shareholders, NOT workers.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I will say - the pre-synchrostem stingers for the push tenon stems have always worked well for me. When I'm in the mood for an aromatic or a heavier, more moist blend I reach for one.

 

[OverMountain]

Also

We have our problems today, but in 1919 the modern western democracies had just ended the bloodiest and most costly war in human history, the greatest pandemic since the Black Death, Spanish Flu, had killed at least 50 million souls, there was rampant inflation, anarchist bombings, labor unrest, Russia had fallen to communism, and the USA was in the middle of the First Red Scare.

First Red Scare - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

You might relax with a Bud Light and read how the advertising agency for WDC pipes, the world’s largest pipe maker, ran an ad campaign in 1919:

Where Pipe Democracy Reigns Supreme

View attachment 223194

They should have invented the Drinkless fitting instead , so that every man could smoke a pipe.

View attachment 223196

Can you imagine that much democracy in any factory today?

And if they did, they surely couldn’t brag about it.

Also Briar Lee, Bud Light is now cheaper than water in the stores .