I recently acquired a large lot of antique Meerschaum pipe turning tooling (not carving tooling, there is a difference). I bought it not knowing anything about where it had come from or any other history about it. I really only bought it to get all the tenon taps that came with it, meerschaum pipe makers used some really strange now antiquated threads and the taps are near impossible to find now. When it showed up at my house I knew I had acquired something more than a pile of old Whitworth and decimal taps.
The lot was bought from a seller in Boston who had got it from an estate sale, they knew absolutely nothing about it. But it was all packed up in Ehrlich's boxes. After doing some very brief digging I came across one blurry picture of a lathe used at Ehrlich's to turn meerschaum pipes. The story goes that the treadle lathe was made in Austria in the 1870's and was shipped to the US and used at D.P. Ehrlich's pipe shop for almost 100 years.
I can't really prove anything beyond what I already know at this point. The facts are as follows, these are 100% chucks and tooling for (a) meerschaum treadle lathe. The chucks are at least 100 years old. Its all in Ehrlich boxes. It came from Boston. The tenon taps and other handled tools are feruled with pipe bands.
I can't imagine that there were a lot of Meerschaum treadle lathes operating in Boston, so the only conclusion I can come to at this time is that these are the tools used with the Ehrlich's lathe.
If anyone has any info regarding these tools please PM me.
The lot was bought from a seller in Boston who had got it from an estate sale, they knew absolutely nothing about it. But it was all packed up in Ehrlich's boxes. After doing some very brief digging I came across one blurry picture of a lathe used at Ehrlich's to turn meerschaum pipes. The story goes that the treadle lathe was made in Austria in the 1870's and was shipped to the US and used at D.P. Ehrlich's pipe shop for almost 100 years.
I can't really prove anything beyond what I already know at this point. The facts are as follows, these are 100% chucks and tooling for (a) meerschaum treadle lathe. The chucks are at least 100 years old. Its all in Ehrlich boxes. It came from Boston. The tenon taps and other handled tools are feruled with pipe bands.
I can't imagine that there were a lot of Meerschaum treadle lathes operating in Boston, so the only conclusion I can come to at this time is that these are the tools used with the Ehrlich's lathe.
If anyone has any info regarding these tools please PM me.
