Pipe shape history

[plank46]

Hi all
As I am from South Africa, I would like to know if anybody knows anything about the history behind certain pipe shapes. The shapes being Zulu, Rhodesian and Oom Paul ( is this one in reference to Paul Kruger the 5 th president of the republic of South Africa). If anybody has any information or any interesting facts about other shapes or books or forums regarding pipe shape history, that would be most appreciated.

 

[ssjones]

Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be one source center for this interesting information. This can get you started:

http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2011/6/12/finding-your-favorite-shape.html

 

[mso489]

Yes, to the Paul Kruger question. Though this is a sort of legend, people seem pretty secure in that being the origins of

Oom Paul. I'm not sure if the Rhodesian shape has any connection to Cecil Rhodes, the founder of the colonialist nation

of Rhodesia, but I believe it centers on that former country, now liberated to the governance of its people. As for Zulu,

also often called Yacht, I do not know, but suspect this is just an imaginative name assigned to this somewhat jazzy

shape, of which I have two, one old Savinelli I've had for 30 plus years, and another rather elegant version from Chapuis-

Comoy. I don't think the name has anything to do with the Zulu people or Europeans active in their area. But I live to be

better educated on this, and many other, subjects. I too have wondered about the name of the Zulu shape.

 

[ssjones]

I've also read the Cecil Rhodes reference. Sadly, these names appear to be primarily pipe lore, passed down thru pipemen, which is intruiging in itself.

 

[ssjones]

What in the world is Cecil Rhodes doing smoking a bulldog?

 

[mso489]

Cecil Rhodes was quite an adventurer and businessman, but like many of his time and generation had

a most restricted and self-aggrandizing lack of regard for the people who occupied the land before he

arrived. The British were discovering their power as a national force in the world, with a Navy second

to none, and to ask their military and business men to take into account the cultures of a wider world

was way beyond their grasp. This turned into pretty much a grab for power and resources, by most

accounts. It's debatable if they did anything to bring modernity, education or health to these places.

Most of the current history says not so much. Apologists have to paddle very hard to make a case.

 

[papipeguy]

I think this explains the name Zulu for a pipe shape.
The Zulu, a boat used in the Scottish east coast fishery.

 

[plank46]

Thanks guys all very interesting. Love the photo

I was in an antique store the other day and they had a Oom Paul that had supposedly been maid during the boer war as a piece of trench art it had boer war and a coat of arms engraved on the front. A very cool pipe but I couldn't afford $400 on a pipe that would just sit in a display case not know anyway

 

[thabop]

Hallo from a fellow SAner.
Yes, the Oom Paul shape got its name from Paul Kruger, president of the ZAR.
See my video here on the shape and history... http://youtu.be/AkqWjw6ql_c

 

[daniel7]

The Oom Paul shape is originally called Hungarian. It is from old pipe factory of the city called Debrecen. Hungarians started to make this shape back then before briar times from hardwood, clay and meerschaum.

It is a shame that everybody calls it Oom Paul instead of Hungarian. It is a country's real heritage.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Everybody does not. As I've posted before, Paul Kruger was a m.....f....... and while some SA folks like him, he is despised more places. Why it ever got to be named after him is a mystery. No one has a photo of him smoking that shape.
Hungarian it is.

 

[daniel7]

You are right, Paul Krueger was a.... questionable person.
All hail the Hungarians and their pipes!

 

[aldecaker]

I don't get the gastric bloats every time I hear a Hungarian called an Oom Paul for the same reason I don't rabidly relive every one of Winston Churchill's colonialist transgressions every time I light a cigar. I just don't think there's enough of an emotional connection there for me.
While I don't doubt the Hungarianness of that shape at all, the ones you pictured aren't what I have seen called an Oom Paul. More of a Jaeger style to my eye.

 

[daniel7]

If you are interested, here is a very good exhibition there:

https://mnm.hu/en/collections/historical-repository/smoking-collection
And there is a pipe museum in Ibafa, Hungary as well.

 

[daniel7]

For me it is quite obvious that the shape is from these pipes. Especially if you check that WW1 soldier. You can even follow the evolution of the shape.

 

[daniel7]

Some of the "jäger" and some of the traditional Hungarian - just check that white one up there. These are from the 1700's 1800's. It has got its final (today's)shape in the 1900's.

 

[mso489]

Not about these particular shapes, but always worth noting, that the French, who developed the briar as the main material for commercial pipe making, also developed most of the classic shapes that we now associate with English pipes. The French pipe making industry is still a vibrant and competitive one that gives excellent value for the Franc, Euro, Dollar, etc.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Wow, check out that dude on horseback clenching what could be a churchwarden or forerunner thereof.

 

[daniel7]

Mso, you are right, they started to make a lot of shapes. Chacom is very cheap nowadays, maybe it is good quality, but I'm really not into their style so I haven't tried them. Possibly once I will invest for one. And also, BBB is only British in its name but it is owned by the French again. Brits learnt a lot about pipe making from the French.
That dude on the horseback looks so bad@ss, like Clint Eastwood of the east :lol: