Barking Treasures

Today’s young person would probably be astonished to see how much the “culture of smoking” surrounded the youth of their parents and grandparents. From print advertising to TV commercials, smoking was made all the more glamorous when icons of the silver screen “lit one up” and made it look good. It wasn’t just cigarettes that one could puff upon; cigars and pipes were also tools of the tobacco trade, though during WWI, cigarettes overtook pipe smoking as the most popular way to inhale nicotine because smoking a pipe could get you killed (well, killed faster, anyway). Pipes required that tobacco be kept dry, and they had to be relit frequently which attracted the attention of the enemy. No, “coffin nails,” “fags,” or “smokes,” all slang terms for cigarettes, were quick to light, easy to smoke, and often free since some were included with ration kits. Little wonder that during the war, the rate of smoking tripled.

We promise, we do get to dogs.

Over several generations, we’ve learned how harmful smoking can be to one’s health, and for that reason (plus, the astounding cost of a pack of cigarettes nowadays), one doesn’t see the accoutrements of tobacco smoking on a daily basis like we used to. We’d go so far as to guess that most households don’t contain a single ashtray, let alone a jet lighter, both of which were once easily found in the average home. These days, some folks will light up a cigar for a special occasion, but pipe smoking has really declined. Between 1965 to 1991, the prevalence of men lighting up a pipe in the United States dropped from over 14% to 2.0%. Statistically speaking, by 1991, pipe smoking was found among men older than 45 years. These days, the hobby seems limited to certain demographics, other groups more attracted to vaping.

A decline in the numbers of people who smoke has been good for collectors. Dog themed ashtrays and lighters will be covered another time because in this post, we touch upon a smoking accessory that is even less common than an ashtray, and that is a pipe stand.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Most pipes are more fragile than they look, but they were really delicate in the 17th century when they were made of clay and shattered into tiny pieces if dropped.

Some dog fanciers got a sense of this if they had the pleasure of dining at Keens Steakhouse while attending the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show when it was in Manhattan. The restaurant owns more than 50,000 clay smoking pipes which are displayed on the ceilings and walls of its various dining rooms spread over two floors of three connected townhouses. It’s very cool.

And we promise. The subject of dogs is still coming.

Since the 17th century, pipes have been made from silver, brass, wood and or pewter, but a pipe is still easy to break apart since it’s made up of several parts that include the bowl, shank, stem, and mouthpiece. Pipe smokers, then, stored their pipes in stands to keep them safe while allowing them to cool off without spilling the embers of tobacco or ashes.

Early on, pipe stands were pretty basic as you see in the photo which shows a multiple pipe stand. Human beings being, well, human, we got decorative and started to make pipe stands out of different materials that showed off intricate craftsmanship. Pipe stands became artsy as they incorporated elements of the natural world like …….(wait for it) ……..dogs!

These old “dog” pipe stands have become highly collectable even among non-smokers. Among the best known of the manufacturers is Ronson which started out as The Art Metal Works in 1897 in Newark, New Jersey.

This copper-plated dachshund metal single pipe holder made by Ronson is hallmarked with the 1933 date, a souvenir of the 1933 World Fair in Chicago. As we write, it is for sale on Etsy:

Another example of a “dog” pipe stand is below, this one a vintage solid brass Scottie single pipe stand also available for purchase on Etsy, As an aside, we noticed that many pipe stands are being marketed as “spoon rests,” no doubt to increase their appeal to a wider audience.

The Internet is loaded with sites selling dog-centric pipe stands, from Bloodhounds and Boxers to German Shepherd Dogs and sporting dogs. and most seem to be available for under $100.

But why collect anything when without even trying, dog owners have leashes and collars that seemingly reproduce and multiply all on their own?

At one time, research suggested that we collect things because we feel an emotional connection to what it is that we collect. As first time Puli owners in the 70s, we collected Puli-related items – or tried. Such things were very few and far inbetween for this then-rare breed, and we moved on to all things sheep. A 2014 study by Itamar Simonson, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, however, hinted that people are more likely to begin a collection once they realize they have two of one thing. Once this happens, we tend to associate owning more than one of the same type of thing with being wasteful, but neither do we want to get rid of something we actually like.

Since it’s hard to justify this kind of redundancy, our stuff now becomes A Collection, a term that implies purpose, dedication, research, and maybe even value.

And no one, we’ve noticed, ever complains about a collection when it has dollar-amount-value. Since we don’t always know what will have value a generation from now, we prefer the findings of the earlier research: We collect stuff we like. And besides, finding two Puli items in the 70s wasn’t a find, it was a miracle.

Top image: Soldier with a dog from Web umenia is in the public domain is is a free CC0 Image

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