Lately, curiosity has led me down the road to knowledge, which has no hazzard
of traffic jams, about Meerschaum Pipes. I've been reading an amusing little book, The Art of Pipe Smoking by Joaquin Verdanguer. It's a collection of short essays and thoughts that were likely written originally on the back of a wine list. In it, Verdanguer (an obvious nom de pen) states: Until 1850 Meerschaums were made exclusively in Austria. Then the French butted in, boastfully advertising their wares as 'French Meerschaums' and selling them by the thousands. That would have would have been all right if they hadn't played a dirty trick on their competitors. Out of the shavings and other by-products they manufactured Pipes of inferior quality and slyly marketed them under the trade-mark 'Made in Austria.' Consequently this label was so discredited that a Viennese Pipe dealer showing a prospective buyer a truly magnificent Meerschaum and saying to him 'A genuine Austrian product, sir!' was bewildered when the customer would mutter 'confounded racket' and stalk out to the shop." Just as it is today, the Meerschaum trades have historically been the site of many frauds and spivs. The market for counterfeit would bear no profit were it not for the existence of true coin.
Recently in conversations with Ben Rapaport, who is an excellent source of information about the study of Meerschaums and culture, I've been given a list of suggested reading sources, which I think is worthwhile. Ben is a rare source of knowledge accumulated over a lifetime of study on relevant information about Pipe smoking. He's available at ben70gray@gmail.com
Christie's. South Kensington, September 2010, The Trevor Barton Collection
Palais Kinsky, Wiener Kunst Auktionen 41, 22-23 Oktober 2002
Guernsey's, A Gentleman's Collection, January 19-20, 1991
PB 84, Sotheby-Parke Bernet, Pipes, April 1978
Museum of Tobacco Art and History, Nashville, Meerschaum Masterpieces. The Premiere Art of Pipes (1991)
Hungarian National Museum, The History of the Hungarian Pipemaker’s Craft. History Through the Pipemaker’s Art (Budapest, 2000)
Schmied-Duperrex, A. e. Boccazzi-Varotto, A.The Lausanne Pipe Museum/Il Museo della Pipa di Losanna e degli Oggetti da Tabacco (Ivrea, 1989)
Muzei Iantaria. Mundshtuki i Trubki XVIII--Nachala XX Vekov iz Chastnykh Kollektsii: Katalog Vystavki (Mouthpieces and Pipes of the 18th--early 20th Century from Private Collections. Exhibition Catalogue) (2007)
With the benefit of his guidance, I've acquired the following books, which are excellent sources of information, insight and understanding of our passion for Meerschaums that has been active for ages:
The History of the Hungarian Pipemaker's Craft, which is a catalogue of the
2001 Hungarian National Museum's exhibit in 2001.
Meerschaum Pipes @ E-Bay (1999-2010), Joao P. Martins 9e.)
Our Pipe-Smoking Forebears, Ferenc Levardy
Antique Pipes (A Journey Around a World), Carlos Armero
Ben's knowledge of these books and more gives him the ability to advise, offer counsel as to whether this or that book serves the prospective buyer's needs and interests. Articles that Ben has written, which have been published in some of the
current magazines include:
http://www.pt-magazine.com/home.php?id=119&cid=703&article_id=10271 (The Great Divide: You Are What You Collect)
A Legendary Company Gone, While Its Logo Lives On: The Other Demuth, CIGAR Magazine, Spring 2010
World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893: The Columbus Pipe Redux, CIGAR Magazine, Fall 2008
Collecting Conundrum: Meerschaum Pipes Past or Meerschaum Pipes Present?, P&T, Spring 2006
Victorian Curiosities, CIGAR Magazine, Winter 2005-2006
Unsolved History: The Meerschaum Company of America, an Early 20th Century Mining Venture in New Mexico, Pipes & Tobaccos, Winter, Vol. 8, No. 4
Collecting Antique Smoking Pipes. An Introduction, CIGAR Magazine, Spring 2006
Victorian Curiosities, CIGAR Magazine, Winter 2005-2006
I'm using the format of this thread, to provide venue for further comments, experiences and participation. Sharing is a great way for all of us to learn. Ben is a wonderful resource that is available to us all and certainly one that I would encourage anyone to benefit from.
of traffic jams, about Meerschaum Pipes. I've been reading an amusing little book, The Art of Pipe Smoking by Joaquin Verdanguer. It's a collection of short essays and thoughts that were likely written originally on the back of a wine list. In it, Verdanguer (an obvious nom de pen) states: Until 1850 Meerschaums were made exclusively in Austria. Then the French butted in, boastfully advertising their wares as 'French Meerschaums' and selling them by the thousands. That would have would have been all right if they hadn't played a dirty trick on their competitors. Out of the shavings and other by-products they manufactured Pipes of inferior quality and slyly marketed them under the trade-mark 'Made in Austria.' Consequently this label was so discredited that a Viennese Pipe dealer showing a prospective buyer a truly magnificent Meerschaum and saying to him 'A genuine Austrian product, sir!' was bewildered when the customer would mutter 'confounded racket' and stalk out to the shop." Just as it is today, the Meerschaum trades have historically been the site of many frauds and spivs. The market for counterfeit would bear no profit were it not for the existence of true coin.
Recently in conversations with Ben Rapaport, who is an excellent source of information about the study of Meerschaums and culture, I've been given a list of suggested reading sources, which I think is worthwhile. Ben is a rare source of knowledge accumulated over a lifetime of study on relevant information about Pipe smoking. He's available at ben70gray@gmail.com
Christie's. South Kensington, September 2010, The Trevor Barton Collection
Palais Kinsky, Wiener Kunst Auktionen 41, 22-23 Oktober 2002
Guernsey's, A Gentleman's Collection, January 19-20, 1991
PB 84, Sotheby-Parke Bernet, Pipes, April 1978
Museum of Tobacco Art and History, Nashville, Meerschaum Masterpieces. The Premiere Art of Pipes (1991)
Hungarian National Museum, The History of the Hungarian Pipemaker’s Craft. History Through the Pipemaker’s Art (Budapest, 2000)
Schmied-Duperrex, A. e. Boccazzi-Varotto, A.The Lausanne Pipe Museum/Il Museo della Pipa di Losanna e degli Oggetti da Tabacco (Ivrea, 1989)
Muzei Iantaria. Mundshtuki i Trubki XVIII--Nachala XX Vekov iz Chastnykh Kollektsii: Katalog Vystavki (Mouthpieces and Pipes of the 18th--early 20th Century from Private Collections. Exhibition Catalogue) (2007)
With the benefit of his guidance, I've acquired the following books, which are excellent sources of information, insight and understanding of our passion for Meerschaums that has been active for ages:
The History of the Hungarian Pipemaker's Craft, which is a catalogue of the
2001 Hungarian National Museum's exhibit in 2001.
Meerschaum Pipes @ E-Bay (1999-2010), Joao P. Martins 9e.)
Our Pipe-Smoking Forebears, Ferenc Levardy
Antique Pipes (A Journey Around a World), Carlos Armero
Ben's knowledge of these books and more gives him the ability to advise, offer counsel as to whether this or that book serves the prospective buyer's needs and interests. Articles that Ben has written, which have been published in some of the
current magazines include:
http://www.pt-magazine.com/home.php?id=119&cid=703&article_id=10271 (The Great Divide: You Are What You Collect)
A Legendary Company Gone, While Its Logo Lives On: The Other Demuth, CIGAR Magazine, Spring 2010
World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893: The Columbus Pipe Redux, CIGAR Magazine, Fall 2008
Collecting Conundrum: Meerschaum Pipes Past or Meerschaum Pipes Present?, P&T, Spring 2006
Victorian Curiosities, CIGAR Magazine, Winter 2005-2006
Unsolved History: The Meerschaum Company of America, an Early 20th Century Mining Venture in New Mexico, Pipes & Tobaccos, Winter, Vol. 8, No. 4
Collecting Antique Smoking Pipes. An Introduction, CIGAR Magazine, Spring 2006
Victorian Curiosities, CIGAR Magazine, Winter 2005-2006
I'm using the format of this thread, to provide venue for further comments, experiences and participation. Sharing is a great way for all of us to learn. Ben is a wonderful resource that is available to us all and certainly one that I would encourage anyone to benefit from.
