Shipwreck in the Dordtse Kil near Dordrecht, the Netherlands

By Don Duco

Abstract: A shipwreck in the Dordtse Kil river near the town Dordrecht brought up 24 pipe fragments that give insight in the smoking and the cargo of that particular ship. The pipes that belonged to the personal possession of the ship owner are the long stemmed Gouda styled pipes with oval bowl and heelmark. All of them were well smoked, which means that they were in use during the evening hours when the ship was at rest.

In contrast, the cargo contained the best quality Gouda styled clay pipes marked on the heel VS under crown. Quite unexpectedly these pipes were not of Dutch origin but are copies from a local Belgium pipemaker that reached a very high leval of quality. On the ship, the sailor also smoked a pipe of that make, however slightly cruder and it is not unlikely that this pipe was the last pipe he smoked before the ship wrecked.

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© D.H. Duco, Pijpenkabinet Foundation, Amsterdam - Holland, 2008.

Illustrations

1.The fragments of the clay pipes from the shipwreck in the river Dordtse Kil near Dordrecht, the Netherlands.

2. Pipe bowl with oval Dutch shape, heel mark fisherman. Gouda, widow Hendrik Sparnaay, 1840-1850.

3. Pipe bowl with oval Dutch shape, heel mark 81 under crown. Gouda, Willem Marinus Weyman, 1840-1855.

4. Pipe bowl with oval Dutch shape, heel mark DVA. Province of Brabant, Den Bosch ?, 1840-1855.

5. Pipe bowl with oval Dutch shape, heel mark VS under crown, first quality. Belgium, Andenne, Charles et frère Smet ?, 1840-1860.

6. Pipe bowl with oval Dutch shape, heel mark VS under crown, second quality. Belgium, Andenne, Charles et frère Smet ?, 1840-1860.

7. The wreck called "Jacob" coming out of the water. Photo: Ministery of Traffic and Water Affairs, 2006.

Notes

1. D.H. Duco, Merken en merkenrecht van de pijpenmakers in Gouda, Amsterdam, 2003, p 134, no. 151.

2. Duco, (Merken), 2003, p 196, no. 1023. Active 1825-1863.

3. Duco, (Merken), 2003, pp 50-51.

4. Duco, De Nederlandse kleipijp, handboek voor dateren en determineren, Leiden, 1987, p 78, ill. 376, 377.

5. Duco, (Merken), 2003, p 167, no. 604.

6. Henri Javaux, La pipe en tere d’Andenne, Namur, 1935. Charles-Joseph Smet 1813, Charles Smet 1819-1840.