The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-11-11
A Collection or Pipes.

Most men, and even some women, would
find much to Interest them in unique col
lection OF pipes which Is now on exhibition
in Edinburgh 1t Is a collection of 5000
pipes of all nations, the whole valued at
t8, 900. The interest Of the collection to
smokers Is sufficiently obvious, aud if non.
smokers should too hastily determine that
an assemblagc of tools for burning tobacco
had NO interest to them, they would make
a great mistake, for, besides It's curiositles,
the collection contains for those who can
find 1t much information as to the artistic
and mechanical development of the nations
which smoke, and which of them do not.
What q progress is involved, for instance
In the passage from the English small bowl
ed clay pipe of 1000 to 1860 to specimens
of blue Wedgwood or Worcestershire and
Stafford ware, and which doubtless deserve
| their description rs exquisite Or, COM
pairing nation with nation as well as pipe
with pipe. what inference would not the
student of anthropology, who had no other
source Of information, draw from two pipes,
one rude, like those from Siberia; with
stems made from thong bound slips of wood,
and the other fashioned as symmetrically
as any statute9 Or, who considering the
nature of it's intended service. would hcsi-
tate to say that pipes Of gems and precious
metals, like those from Central Asia and
Turkey, betoken barbaric taste in CON-
parlson with the beautiful and comparative
ly cheap bowls Of Venitian glass or Scvres
chlnaware, In which material goes for
nothing and fitness and workmanship for
all3 We would not even infercntially say
that anything is good enough to burn to-
bacco In; on tho contrary, jasper, agate,
jade, and serpentine, or the silver used in
Japan, and the polished precious stones
used in Circassia, are none too good, but
only woman, dandy, or a savage would
use them to put fire in. Other national
characteristics are expressed In these pipes.
The Swiss and the Scandinavians carves
theirs; bowls of painted porcelain are COM
mon in Germany; Russia sends some stems
Embroidered" with flowers, and All Amcri-
can Indians pipe Is decorated with scalps
and woman's work in beads and porcupinc
quilts. Among the cuIlosities is a pipe
which belonged to the Corporation Of Co.
logne, and was smoked by ''the giant of
their guild professions; one has cluster of
five bowls, but 1t does not appear how many
are smoked at once; another has a bowl for
each day In tho week. In the Dutch case
is "brlde-groom's pipe" long clay dec
oocSN WIN SauNy ilouohSy WHICH, 10 Suloh-
cd only on tho wedding day and its anniversa-
rics; there Is a tomahawk pipe and a
Polynesian club pipe, which arc equally
useful in peace or war, and finally, there is
tho "biggest" pipe. Of which tho stem is
8 teet inches long, the dimensions of the
bowl not being given. A suspicion arises
that this is merely show pipe, and so 1t is
probable that pipe ordered some two or
three years ago by the Russian Court, Tyo-
skiewecs, from maker in this city romans
on the record as the biggest pipe intended
for use. The block Of meerschaum from
which 1t was cut weighed, when ready for
the stem, just half u pound, and measured
9i inches from tho outer edge to the joint.
The stem was made from single piece of
clouded amber 81 inches long, and was
joined to the bowl by silver screw. Tho
total length was 174 inches, the weight
was IA ounces, and the cost only 5000, as
the bowl, though nicely shaped, was not
carved at all.