If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
Jockeying for Position: How Boxers and Briefs Got Into Men's Pants
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Blood, Sweat, and Steel: My Afternoon with the Ace of Swords
'The Great Gatsby' Still Gets Flappers Wrong
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
Forget TV Pickers, Meet the Real Mavericks of the Antiques World
Coveting The Craziest Cat-People Collectibles
Meerschaum is found in a handful of places around the world, but the most famous source for the stone is in and around the city of Eskisehir in western Turkey. A porous mineral, meerschaum is soft enough to be carved but hard enough to be polished, revealing the incredible skill of the artisans who began making pipes out of the material in the 18th century. By the late 19th century, an ornately carved meerschaum pipe or cheroot holder was a status symbol for the men who smoked them in their clubs and book-lined studies. But by the end of World War I, fancy meerschaum pipes had been superseded by the clean, geometric look that would become Art Deco.
During its heyday, from roughly the 1870s to the 1920s, pipe makers in Hungary and other Eastern European countries, many of whom were Jews who passed their trade from son to son, transformed blank blocks of white meerschaum into everything from the heads of figures from history and literature to angels in repose and hunters on horseback. Cheroot holders, which have smaller bowls than full pipes, feature some of the most intricate carvings, while cylindrical cigar holders are less detailed due to their small surface area. Some of the most popular subjects of antique meerschaum include depictions of leaders such as Napoleon, knights and noblemen, and sailors, who often appear inebriated, sometimes clutching a bottle as the lean against the pipe's bowl.
Beyond the appeal of their decorations, meerschaum pipes are popular with smokers for the quality of the smoking experience they produce. Unlike pipes made of briar root or cherr...
Today meerschaum is not allowed to be exported from Turkey in its raw, block form, which has spurred new generations of carvers there. In many cases, the characters and subjects of contemporary carved meerschaum are positioned between the bowl, which is often left unadorned, and the end of the pipe's stem. Other styles emulate the classical saxophone shape of a large carved bowl attached to a stem that angles up to meet the smoker's mouth. The pipes are considered handsome enough, but in general, the details on contemporary pipes are less ornate and more formulaic than those on their forebears.
Interviews & Articles
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes New!
The meerschaum pipes carved in Eastern Europe at the end of the 19th century are among the most bizarre and improbable concoctions… [more]
Where There's Smoke There's a Vintage Cigarette Lighter
At the very beginning, my interest in lighters was about the mechanism. I had my first lighter when I was 14. I saved up my nickel… [more]
Collecting Vintage Cigarette Lighters
Cigarette lighter collecting is a hobby that never gets boring. Just by browsing eBay auctions for ten minutes, for example, I rec… [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Match World
This ambitious site showcases the 20,000-item Rankei Library matchbook collection, owned by the Japan Match Manufac… [read review or visit site]
Kensitas Silk Flowers
Don Wearmouth and his wife showcase the 230 beautiful silk designs that were distributed free with Kensitas cigaret… [read review or visit site]
Matchbox Labels
Jane McDevitt's huge Flickr photoset of matchbox labels, primarily Eastern European, from the 1950s and 60s. These … [read review or visit site]
Truth in Advertising
This gallery of cigarette magazine advertising from the 1940s and 50s contains no surgeon general's warning, just p… [read review or visit site]
Matchbook Museum
James Lileks' gallery of 400 matchbooks from coffee shops, hotels, motels, bars, banks, restaurants and more. Lilek… [read review or visit site]
Clubs & Associations: Tobacciana
- North American Society of Pipe Collectors
- The Cigarette Pack Collectors' Association
- On The Lighter Side
- The Cigarette Packet Collectors Club of Great Britain
- The Rathkamp Matchcover Society
Other Great Reference Sites: Tobacciana
Top eBay Auctions
Antique Meerschaum Cheroot Holder Intricately Carved Cherubs,charriot Lion Etc
C1900 Victorian Meerschaum Pipe Of A Lady's Head
Victorian Amber & Carved Meerschaum Cheroot Holder / Pipe - Bearded Man In Hat
Vtg Sherlock Holme Big Gourd Calabash Austrian Pipe New Meerschaum Bowl W/stand 
Rare Victorian Amber & Carved Meerschaum Cheroot Holder / Pipe - Punch & Judy
Meerschaum Carved Tobacco Pipe Set Collection Fitted Case New
Sherlock Holmes And Mr. Watson Meerschaum Pipe Set By Cao
Vintage Meerschaum Pipe Bowl/figure In Profile/throne/white Metal/silver Mounts
Hilson "gubbels" Giant Calabash Pipe W./meerschaum Insert * Cleaned *
Vauen Pipe 3614 Hobbit Dwarf Style - Churchwarden Meerschaum Inlay Brand New
Vintage Meerschaum Pipe Lot Of 4 Nude, Sailor, Unique, Paykoc
Three Large Block Meerschaum Pipes With Cases - Pipestud
Meerschaum Pipe Spider Collectible And Smoking Pipe
Lot # 2308 Calabash Meerschaum Top Pipe ~ Sherlock Holmes ~ Excellent Condition
Lovely Cased Antique Carved Meerschaum Figural Pipe Of Lady In Hat (329)
C1900 Skull & Hand Shape Meerschaum Pipe
Genuine Meerschaum Sultan Long Pipe 18"
Vintage Meerschaum Smoking Pipe Carved As A Ram's Head / Custome Case
19c Antique Meerschaum Carved Skull Pipe
Antique Meerschaum Pipe, Highly Detailed Skull/ Yorick Complete
Smoking Pipe Sevket Meerschaum Deer Scene
Antique Cherry Amber Black Meerschaum Silver Cigarette Cheroot Holder Carve Bird
Vintage & New Estate Smoking Pipe Lot, Holder, Meerschaum, Briar ++
S.yanik Meerschaum Pipe Devil Woman
Vintage Meerschaum Bowl Calabash Gourd Sherlock Holmes Pipe Smoking Tobacco
S.yanik Meerschaum Pipe Pirate
Calabash Pipe Meerschaum Bowl, Unsmoked
Peterson Block Meerschaum Pipe Sterling Silver
Peterson Sherlock Holmes Poker Style Sterling Silver
Meerschaum Pipe By S. Yanik
Estate Elephant Exquisite Artisan Collectors Tanzania Meerschaum Pipe Brand New
S.yanik Meerschaum Pipe Lattice Bulldog
Gorgeous Sterling Silver / Meerschaum Large Smoking Pipe
Meerschaum Pipes - Made In India
Boxed Meerschaum Pipe Of The Head Of Bacchus
Floral Billiard Meerschaum Tobacco Pipe Pfeife Pipa Espuma Schiuma En 
Stunning "s Yanik Playing Dogs Design 10 Inch Meerschaum Pipe" Mint & Cased
S.yanik Meerschaum Pipe Skull
Nib-two Beautiful Hand Carved Turkish Meerschaum Pipes- No Min/no Reserve!
Antique 19th C Small Meerschaum Pipe Bulldog Boxer Pug Glass Eyes Fitted Case
Vintage Lot Smoking Pipes 14 Full Pipes Meerschaum Ben Wade Denmark Preben Holm
Estate Calabash Pipe Sherlock Holmes Style Gourd Meerschaum
Meerschaum Pipe Skull Inkl. Skeleton Finger Pipe Tamper By M.a. Birinci
Vintage Block Meerschaum Peterson Pipe
Antique Meerschaum Pipe
Meerschaum Lined Clabash Singleton & Cole Ltd
Whackymuseum Cigarette Cigar Holder Set Carved Meerschaum Vintage Original Case 
Vintage Meerschaum Smoking Pipe Sherlock Holmes Style With Stand
Amazing Antique Handcarved Meerschaum Work Jesus With Cherubs // France 1880
Block Meerschaum Bulldog Shaped Pipe With Silver Band & Amber Stem - Pipestud
Rare Old David P. Ehrlich Co. Meerschaum Tobacco Pipe Unused Estate Vintage Box
Antique Meerschaum Bird Claw Cheroot Cigarette Holder Smokers Pipe Horn Amber ? 
Antique Amber & Meerschaum Cigarette / Cheroot Holder Silver Collar Birmingham
Victorian Amber & Carved Meerschaum Cheroot Holder / Pipe - Farmers Wife & Tools
Vintage Carved Meerschaum "mastiff Dog" Pipe - W/ Case - No Res
A Large Antique Kalabash Meerschaum Pipe C1900/20
Meerschaum Pipe Skull In Skeleton Hand Inkl. Skeleton Finger Pipe Tamper By M.a
Fine Turkish Block Meerschaum Extra Large Smoking Pipe Unused Eskisehir Turkey
Meerschaum "lion" Carved Figural Pipe W/ Amber Stem In Wooden Case
Recent News: Meerschaum Pipes
Source: Google News
Smoke-Free Law Spokesperson Will Speak to Chamber
The Missourian, May 16thSince the law was passed, the council has made some changes, including allowing smoking, for demonstration purposes only, in a designated area of the Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe factory. The council also amended the distance that smokers...Read more
Forsyth 'drug' paraphernalia sellers under new scrutiny
NorthFulton.com, May 7thThe law would exclude the sale of cigarette papers, wrappers, blunt wraps and "traditional tobacco pipes (such as brand names Briar and Meerschaum), holders, cigarette rolling machines or tobacco in any form whatsoever." A county resident said the fee...Read more
No More Fakelore: Revealing The Real Pennsylvania Dutch Cuisine
KUNC, May 6thEnlarge image. Credit Courtesy of University of Pennsylvania Press. Cabbage was, and still is, essential to Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. This 1878 card caricatures a prosperous "Dutchman" with his meerschaum pipe and drumhead cabbage. Enlarge image...Read more
Rogue Philosopher, Great Communicator
New York Times (blog), May 2ndFor years, visitors to the Copenhagen City Museum wandered into a modest room that contains a few artifacts from the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard's life: portraits, meerschaum pipes, first editions and, best of all, the desk where he stood and...Read more
Irving Kamil, 86; Sherlock Holmes society founder
NorthJersey.com, May 1stPages: 1 2 > display on one page | Print | E-mail. From the meerschaum pipes, deerstalker caps and myriad other Sherlock Holmes memorabilia in his Cliffside Park home, it can be deduced that Irving Kamil admired the cold and calculating London detective...Read more
Hair: The Short and Long of It
New York Times, May 1stThe one I went to was run by a guy who puffed a Meerschaum pipe full of some strawberry-flavored tobacco that made your eyes water. Often a girl was getting her hair done at the same time you were there. Sometimes the barber would use a blow dryer on...Read more
Bill targeting sale of marijuana 'bongs' OK'd
St. Augustine Record, April 26thThe bill was amended to exempt “briar, meerschaum, clay or corn cob” pipes. Its supporters also assured that hookahs would not be taken off store shelves. Sen. Kelli Stargel, who sponsored a companion Senate bill, said she was hopeful that retailers...Read more
Florida 'Bong Ban' Passes, Doesn't Really Ban Bongs All That Much
Huffington Post, April 26thBut before passing, the bill was watered down to make it "unlawful for a person to knowingly and willfully sell or offer for sale at retail any drug paraphernalia... other than a pipe that is primarily made of briar, meerschaum, clay or corn cob...Read more