Drop-stem Smoking Pipe

Drop-stem Smoking Pipe

<< >>
Usage conditions apply
Downloads
Description
Drop-stem smoking pipe with bowl carved into a bird's claw. According to Carol Benes Miller, the donor, "The pipe was from Montgomery Ward's as Dad worked there 27 yrs. as their gunsmith." She recalled her father, Josef Benes, smoking it from 1900 until 1915 when he passed away. Her parents had immigrated from Chocen, Bohemia in 1882 to Chicago, Illinois, where they brought up four daughters. The pipe bowl is made from meerschaum, a clay material whose name translates into “sea foam” in German for it is often found floating in the Black Sea. Meerschaum was a popular pipe-making material in Germany and is frequently carved with German motifs.
Object Name
Pipe
Object Type
pipes
Date made
c. 1875
date made
ca 1900
user
Benes, Josef
Measurements
overall: 23 cm x 4 cm; 9 1/16 in x 1 9/16 in
ID Number
1982.0767.02
catalog number
1982.0767.02
accession number
1982.0767
Credit Line
Gift of Caroline Benés Miller
subject
Smoking
Immigration
See more items in
Home and Community Life: Ethnic
Many Voices, One Nation
Exhibition
Many Voices, One Nation
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.   

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.

Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.