Illustrations of antique pipes

The remarkable variety in style and design of tobacco pipes inspired many writers and illustrators. This page shows a selection of the varied collection of illustrations now in the Pijpenkabinet collection in Amsterdam.

The first historic pipes published and illustrated in Holland date from the year 1860 in a book by Dr Westerhoff. He writes a thesis on the history of the tobacco pipe, illustrated with two folding plates showing pipes from the Netherlands and from America. Other publications incorporate early American Indian pipes, a beloved source of inspiration.

A beautiful series of antique pipes in six prints can be found in the 1879 edition of the book on costumes by Racinet. This series shows a remarkable choice of pipes from all parts of the world. The European ones mainly originating from the famous Rothschild collection, the ethnographic pipes possessed by various museums.

Another famous publication is the book by Robert Pritchett dated 1890, entitled Smokiana. Racinet and Pritchett inspired makers of encyclopaedias and illustrated magazines many times. Even in early twentieth century encyclopaedias the pipes can be traced back to their originals

A special edition is a series of publicity cards inserted in boxes of cigarettes, illustrating all types of pipes from various parts of the world. We can discover pipes copied from older publications, although also some new specimens are illustrated. Anyhow, they show an ongoing interest in the antique and ethnographic smoking pipe.

 the earliest Dutch publication on pipes, Dr. R. Westerhoff, Groningen, 1860 exotic pipes from the publication of Westerhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands, 1860
two remarkable pipes of American Indian origin, book illustration, c. 1820 beautiful catlinite pipes from the Amerikan Indians, book illustration, c. 1820
Asian smokers' paraphernalia brought together from various sources, Racinet, Paris, 1879
European pipes from the collection of the Rothschilds, lithograph, Racinet, Paris, 1878
selection of African pipes, lithograph, Racinet, Paris, 1878 collection of African pipes, lithograph, Racinet, Paris, 1878
North-American Indian pipes in various shapes, Robert Pritchett, Ye Smokiana, London, 1890 a beautiful hookah with long flexible tube, Robert Pritchett, Ye Smokiana, London, 1890
the earliest type of a water pipe with pear shaped bottle, Robert Pritchett, Ye Smokiana, London, 1890
illustrations dedicated to the Japanse kiseru, Robert Pritchett, Ye Smokiana, London, 1890 beautiful bronze Batak-pipes from Sumatra, Robert Pritchett, Ye Smokiana, London, 1890
print from an illustrated magazine showing various pipes, wood engraving, England, 1878
a curious collection of pipes, wood engraving, Illustrated London News, 1873 collection of tobacco pipes from an encyclopedia, steel engraving, the Netherlands, c. 1910 collection of tobacco pipes from an encyclopedia, steel engraving, the Netherlands, c. 1910
cigarette plates edited by an English tobacco firm with a choice of pipes from all parts of the world, Bristol, 1927 two plates from te series with Eskimo-pipes, Bristol, 1927
Illustrations on this page from the Pijpenkabinet collections
Amsterdam - Holland © copyright Pijpenkabinet