1.0 Introduction
Pipesmokers who were born before 1950 have probably, at one time or another, smoked a Kaywoodie Pipe. As recently as the early 1970's, many local drugstores had extensive Kaywoodie Pipe displays. These later Kaywoodies, however, were generally lacquered "hand-burners" that probably did more to discourage pipesmoking than any recent anti-smoking campaigns. Unfortunately, it is this image of later Kaywoodies that is most prevalent with the majority of pipesmokers/collectors today. Contrary to this perception of all Kaywoodies as "drugstore pipes", many of the early Kaywoodie Pipes were quality briars that were available in an extensive range of shapes.
In recent years, many collectors have "re-discovered" Kaywoodie Pipes. Ads for Kaywoodies, and/or requests for information concerning these pipes, have appeared in pipesmoking and related journals with increasing frequency in recent years. Readily available and reliable information on Kaywoodie Pipes, however, is virtually non-existent. It is unfortunate that with the increasing popularity of pipe collecting in this country, U.S. pipe smoking history has largely been ignored. In its heyday, Kaywoodie Pipes was the world's largest consumer of briar and, contrary to popular belief, produced some extremely high quality smoking pipes, many incorporating innovative design features.
This monograph is an initial attempt at documenting the Kaywoodie story. This should be viewed as an "initial attempt" in that it is based on information extracted from only a few catalogs and correspondence with a limited number of Kaywoodie collectors. The catalogs reviewed in this research span the period from 1936 to 1969 in roughly ten-year increments. Because of the gaps in catalogs, it is highly likely that there are many "holes" in the information presented here. The information available on pre-1936 Kaywoodies, for example, is particularly vague and is largely speculative in nature. It is hoped that this initial attempt will provide a useful point of departure for future, more exhaustive research on this important, interesting, but neglected era in American pipesmoking history.
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"on the town . . . . on the campus . . . . for leisure and pleasure, smoking a Kaywoodie Pipe is, more than ever, the badge of the modern masculine male" (Kaywoodie ad, circa 1960).