Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-01-03
HOW no COLOR A PIPE.
A Talacconist Gives Reporter so"o
Points ON Browning a Meerschaum'

A Ta,,aceon,st Gives q Reporter Some
Points on Browning Meerschaum'
"Now. have about as good meer,
schaum pipe as one wants to see salu
the writer to a tobacconist and pipe
naker, foreigner, who learned ms
trade in Vienna, by the way, "and l
want to know how l shall start IN 10
color it,.
1T is well you ask me if you don't
know" was the reply, ''for if you at
tach anything more than sentiment,
al value to the pipe you can just ABOUT
double its value by careful colorlng.
'Meerschaum pipes need about as
much care as baby. First of all you
must get a false bowl, that is bowl
of brier wood or meerschaum which
YOU must fit into the top of your pipe.
Don't use the lower bowl for smoking
at all. but the false one, or you may
burn your pipe and almost spoil 1t.
Then, too, you must keep your pipe
case well brushed out. If pieces OF
tobacco are allowed to get in 1t they
harden and scratch the pipe all up.
And you must keep the pipe wiped,
| 700, lOT lIIt SuIllC ICdoOI, ohN oi'O ~
that it won't have dirty look. Your
false bowl must be wet just little on
the inside before you use 1t, and be
smoked very carefully until it gets a
crust, or you will have to throw 1t
away and get another.
"Phg cut tobacco is the best to use,
as it is not as hot as most fine cuts and
is not as likely to burn the bowl"
Isn't a meerschaum pipe ruined
after it has been burned once2" asked
the writer.
mo. That is mistaken idea If
you burn your pipe so that you find it
won't color any more, bring it in to
us and we will boil it in wax, and
then you can try your luck again. All
meerschaums are boiled in wax; and
when pipe is overheated that waxy
polish on its surface disappears, and it
looks dull and chalky. In making a
carved pipe they cut out the design in
the rough and boil the pipe in wax.
Then they finish the carving and boil
it in wax again, and the pipe is ready
for market
Now, here is pipe in the shape of
womans head, with wreath OF
flowers across the forehead. The
wreath, you see, is white and chalky,
and the rest has the familiar wax fin
ish. That is because the wreath was
carved after the pipe had been boiled
in wax the second time; in carving
the wreath the workman cut below the
wax finish. When the pipe is colored
the wreath will remain white as you
see it now, and the effect will be very
| fine"
Where are the most meerschaums
made"
I'm Vienna. Pipe making is trade
there and there are very few first class
pipe makers outside Vienna and Pesth
| American work is often pretty, but il
lacks the finish of the European
Foreign pipes are lighter and more
graceful than the American.
in a first class pipe half of the
value ought to be in the amber; bu
both meerschaum and amber are of al
qualities For instance, one bundle OF
meerschaum may be worth $50, while
another exactly the same size may bt
worth $500. The lighter the better i.
the general rule"
Where do you get most of YOU
meerschaum.
I'VE get most of ours from Asia
Minor, where it is mined, the town o
Kouish furnishing the principal sup
plies. The Austrian merchants buy i
at Smyrna. Meerschaum is also fount
less abundantly in Greece and some o
the Grecian islands in Moravia and il
Morocco, where it is used when fresl
as substitute for soap. A variet,
used as "a building stone is found il
South Carolina. Its name, 'meer
schaum, is the German for sea foam
and is given it only because of its ap
pearance.
AN imitation meerschaum used fol
making pipes is made of hardened
plaster of Paris, treated with parafiiI
and colored by gamboge and dragon
blood. The French also use as sub
stitute for meerschaum a preparation
made chiefly of potato. The artificial
meerschaums cannot easily be distin
guished from the real but they ar
usually heavier and freer from blem
ishes, caused by the presence of foreign
minerals in many genuine meel
schaums.
by the way, that new pipe of your
is now worth from SIP to SIS. Colo
it up we'll and in two months you cal
sell it for S25. Yes, this false bow
will cost you twenty five cents. "-Bos
ton Globe.