New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-04-18
THE CENTENARY or THE MEERscHAUM


With the waxy white OF sicate of nagnesia is
to be marked this year the centenary of the meer-
schaum pipe As he egg holds the music OF the
Nightingale the Anatolian mines had held the calu
met better beloved OF the smoker than the pipe OF
any bird. Your Anatoan smoked hundred years
ago but he has smoked a meerschaum. OUT
of his silicate he fashioned vases ana CUPS ahd
varied bibeoterie Occasionally he washed himself
with it, but to its proper use 1t never entered his
'' But IN in Pi is1 the raw material somehow
Prague The first European 10 f smoke a mees-
sshsnm Was Masy p 70 airs al H of e sn
Frankfort By-and-by Vienna had monopoiized the
For a while this ecume de thought TO
be. not natural substance. but manutactured
was held to be eponymic Hummer probably did
not discourage this idea;
But the chemical analyst got interested In the
matter. He smoked meerschaum. very likely
He explained. and then the prospectoar went TO
many were discovered. One was roundly asserted
undcrlie Montmartre II It ever DID, il may DO
encouraging What was thought to he great
the crimea. In excava,ing a trench he came as
he thought. upon magnificent stratum Of tho
sba operat Was OF the siege When the war was
over he took specimen block back 10 Paris with
10 a manufacturer. The manufactures had his
doubts; his foreman had none He wrote his mama
clay. Meerschaums however have been made OF
less likely substances since.
For half century the real pipe was exclusively
of Vienna make. II was rather Formidable look.
i os The stem shaped ike that Of the Ger
man porcelain pipe OF the present day, and made OF
wooi-cherrywood for choice-was a foot ana n half
long with "A mouthpece Of amber or OF the pre-
cious metals and n tassel-and- fringe adornment.
pipes over here in the early part Of the present
century. There Is an oil painting extant repre-
sening the officers OF a distinguished British cav
airy regiment engaged, In the ante-room OF the
Ipswich barracks. in the selection OF pipes from
Mr. Bensons stock prior 10 their departure for tho
seat OF war in lstN.
When meerschaums came to be made in Paris
the German form OF pipes had gone out OF fashion
Something nearer the present dimensions had oe-
come the mode and the carving OF the meerscnaum
pipestem had become a fine art
The man who started this lucrative Industry
over the water Edouard Carbon lie voyased
out TO Anatoa In ls47. He has told the story OF
his adventures with land rats and water rats IN a
book which has additional delight Tor It's pos
SCISSORS In that there are not dozen copies q IL
extant But the pirates contemptuousy let MS
freight OF ilicate pass and he brought II IN tri
umph to Marsees. II any man Is 70 pe pnsted
over this centenary Carbon should be that man.
II may however, he noted that sort OF meer-
schaum had been brought into France by me
ARMY OF Egypt The French army smoked this
sort OF pipe In than one campaign atterward.
General Lassae led cavalry charges with a pipe
OF this sort In bis mouth Moreau smoked one
while both thighs were being amputated.
A real meerschaum pipe may be smoked sun TO
test IL YOU pass a needle through the bowl when II
is moderately warm. The hole closes up OF itself.
and the operation leaves no trace.
The real meerschaum" OF commerce u another
matter And the 'meerschaum' OF powdered egg
shells treated with wax and oil. is yet another.
was a sometime Transparency OF Zwe- Brdcken.
His collection was valued at lOV.~o HORNS, lho
keenest appreciator OF the meerschanm pipe We
ever came across the late Edwin Booth.