Serial Number: P0174
Status: Display
Description:
Vintage Jacob Clay Long Stemmed Pipe, Hand Made in London, Curved Mouthpiece Finish. The pipe measures 19 cm in length and weighs 34.73 grams, RAF London Trip 17 July - 12 August 2017.
Jacob’s pipe – or more correctly Jacob pipe – is uncommon in English in Joyce’s time. It is better known now through the activities of pipe collectors.
According to the Revue de Traditions Populaires (May 1893, p. 270) la pipe Jacob was very popular in the Latin Quarter of Paris, and in Belgium. Le beau Jacob was well-known in France and elsewhere on the continent of Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century and some production continued well into the twentieth century. Manufacturers included Gambier, Fiolet, and Wingender.
The pipe – at least in its later days – had a Bakelite mouthpiece, and wooden stem, and a clay bowl which was decorated with a person’s head. The head was typically that of one of the patriarchs of the Christian church, graced with a turban, though there was some variation in the designs (Joyce has a female head depicted on the clay bowl).
