WDC With Interesting Carving & History (Pics)

[agnosticpipe]

Ok, I hope the title isn't too misleading. I saw this WDC "Royal Demuth" on ebay and the description and pics weren't very good, but it looked interesting. I couldn't tell what the letters were and the seller gave some of them wrong. So I bid on it thinking it's some great folk art object, like ivory scrimshaw or something, right? Cost me all of $.99 plus shipping. When I got it I was surprised to see what the letters actually were. I can't believe the seller couldn't identify the word "OKINAWA". After some research, I decided that the "IWO" stood for Iwo Jima. That left "PI". There were quite a few acronyms for this, but given that the first two carvings were locations, I thought maybe it stood for Parris Island SC, where there has long been a Marine Recruit Depot (boot camp). Who knows if this is correct or what history this pipe has behind it. I resisted the urge to totally restore it and just concentrated on the stem, which was badly oxidized, but had just a little chatter. Minor cake in the bowl, so a little reaming made it ok, then just clean it all inside and out real good, give it a good buffing and waxing.

You know the saying "if these wall could talk"? I feel the same about this pipe. Not sure how old it is, but it seems like it has a story to tell. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.... :roll:

 

[petes03]

For $.99, I'd say it was a steal, plus it'll make for an interesting conversation item! It would be interesting to know who the original owner was. Congrats on a neat little pipe!

 

[lurch76]

Very interesting carvings. I have run across a few estate pipes where owners carve their names into them. They are pretty obvious though. Good pipe for your collection.

 

[kcghost]

PI might be Phillipine Islands. Could be the owners initials. We will never know. Maybe the guy who sold it to you could tell you how he acquired it.
A while back I published an article in the GKCPC newsletter titled the "Pipe Carver of Bataan". It was about a guy who was captured when Bataan surrendered and remained in captivity until the end of the war. While a POW this guy carved pipes for his fellow prisoners with just a pocket knife. None of these pipes are known to exist, but a number of his pipes from the post war era are around.

 

[agnosticpipe]

kcghost, I think you may be right. I don't know why I never thought about the Philippine Islands! That makes more sense than Parris Island for sure. If a soldier was at service in the Pacific theater they would probably be more likely to be in all three of those campaigns. Or maybe someone just wanted to remember what happened to a family member in those battles. Like you say, we'll never really know.

I do like the info about the "Pipe Carver of Bataan" though. Would be interesting to see some of those pipes. Thanks!

 

[ejames]

I agree that PI is most likely the Phillipine Islands. During my time in Uncle Sams Canoe Club if someone mentioned "PI" you knew they were talking about the Phillipines. Had lots of fun there!