Académie Internationale de La Pipe

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Acadmie Internationale de la Pipe

Newsletter No. 6 - December 2010


CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. News from the Board

1. Introduction
This Newsletter is, for lack of other contributions, nearly entirely dedicated to the
recent, well-attended and successful, AIP-conference in Grasse. However we keep
soliciting members to supply news items for future Newsletters.

3. Subscriptions 2010
4. Journal
5. The new website (a
message from the
President)
6. Report 26th AIPconference in Grasse/
France, 3-5 November
2010
7. Preliminary information
27th AIP- conference
in Novi Sad/Serbia 5-8
October 2011
8. Notes and Queries

2. News from the Board

26th Conference in Grasse


The theme North and South:- Tobacco Pipe Research and Collecting in the Western
Mediterranean and their northern European connections- proved to be an interesting
and informative subject. A wide range of papers underlined the reciprocal influences
of models and processes. The handling-session of selected pipes from the Alice de
Rothschild Collection was undoubtedly a highlight.
The Board owes Monsieur Yves Cruchet and his staff of the Bibliothque Municipale
de Grasse a great debt of gratitude for their assistance in organizing the Conference.
In particular, the indefatigable supply of trays with pipes, and their active participation,
during the handling session merits special mention.
A word of thanks also goes to Anglina Vinciguerra for arranging the local housekeeping
including the partners programme.
In the meantime the Board has agreed to publish the proceedings of the conference,
including a number of papers on the Rothschild Collection in cooperation with Grasse
Library, in Volume 4 of the Journal (Autumn 2011).

Membership
It is with great pleasure that we announce the application and acceptance of the
following new members:
Kath Adams
UK
Collector of Clays, Meerschaums and others.

CONTACT US

Bert Adams
UK
Collector of Clays and Porcelains

Acadmie Internationale
de la Pipe, c/o SACE,
Room B3,
12 Abercromby Square,
University of Liverpool,
Liverpool, L69 7WZ.
UK.

Michal Morawski
Poland
Collector of Meerschaums, Porcelains and Woods

admin@pipeacademy.org

On the request of some members we attach (see attachment I) an AIP-member E-mail-

We were delighted to welcome them in Grasse where they played an active role both in
the social as well as the subject-matter gatherings.

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list. This list will not be published on the web-site because it is strictly meant for members only in order
to facilitate mutual communication.
3. Subscription 2010
We remind some members that their contributions have not been received as yet. In this context we note
that only members having paid their subscription will receive the Journal.
4. Journal
Volume 2 (for 2009) of the Journal went to press just before the Grasse conference where page proofs
were on display. It is expected to be delivered in mid-December and distributed to members just before
Christmas. The volume represents a massive step forward for the Academy in that it consists of almost
200 pages in full colour and brings to publication a wide range of research activity being carried out by
our members.
The core of the volume consists of 19 national summaries of the clay pipe industry which have been
written and assembled by the clay pipe working group. These range widely around the world from
Canada to Australia and from Japan to Ireland. They provide a unique entry point for anyone wishing to
know the state of clay pipe research in those countries. There are also papers by Gilles Kleiber on pipes
used as a medium for advertising, by Hakon Kierulf on the Norwegian long pipe tradition, by Andr
Leclaire on ceramic cuvets used as ember pots for lighting and relighting pipes, by Arjan de Haan on an
18th century Dutch clay cheroot holder and by Peter Davey on an original c1920 pattern book for briar
pipes used by the Civic Company of London.
Volume 3 (for 2010) is largely the proceedings of the Budapest conference and is almost ready to be set
for publication in the New Year.
The editor and his team put in an enormous amount of work on this key element of the Academys activity
on which its reputation very much depends. They are to be sincerely thanked and warmly congratulated.
5. The new website (www.pipeacademy.org) - A message from the President
The site has been active for 6 months. Its original design was basic - only the most obvious and available
subjects were covered. The time has now come to develop the site in order to make full use of its
potential for creating a showcase for the work of the Academy to the wider world. There is extensive
scope for publishing information, primary material, notes and news over the whole field of pipe studies.
One suggestion I have is that instead of having one page devoted to the working groups we dedicate
a single page to any bona fide pipe related subject and ask for volunteers to draft structure, text and
illustrations for the page. Where working groups already exist they can decide how best to do this, but for
other subject areas volunteers will be needed and sought!
If you have any ideas about the development of the website of are prepared to volunteer assistance with
it, please get in touch with me at: pjd1@liv.ac.uk.
6. Report of 27th AIP-conference in Grasse/France, 3-5th November 2010
A. North and South: Tobacco Pipe Research and Collecting in the Western Mediterranean and their
northern European connections.

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November 4th, Morning at the Palais des Congrs


Peter Davey, President of the Acadmie, welcomed the guests and members, in particular those attending
for the first time, and subsequently opened the conference.
Next a series of highly interesting and revealing presentations were read (for abstracts see attachment II):

SESSION 1: The Alice de Rothschild Collection

The Pipe Collection of Alice, Baroness de Rothschild, Peter Davey, Michel Garreau, Andr Leclaire and
Felix van Tienhoven
Porcelaine pipe production in Paris, Andr Leclaire
A freemasonry pipe in the Rothschild Collection and Hungarian parallels, Anna Ridovics
Four Meerschaum pipe Iconographies, AIP Working Group Meerschaum, presented by Hakon Kierulf

November 4th, Afternoon at Bibliothque Municipale

SESSION 1 (Continued)
Full afternoon study session. Handling, determination and photographing of pre-selected pipes from the
Collection. This was an extremely interesting and rewarding event.
An informal dinner in a local restaurant brought this most interesting day to a close.
November 5th, Morning at the Palais des Congrs

SESSION 2 : Regional pipe studies

Local pipe production and export in Provence and Languedoc between the 17th and 19th Centuries
from written, archival and archaeological sources, Lucy Vallauri, Universit de Provence-CNRS
A collection of pipes from La Ciotat (Marseille) and some discoveries in Nice, Vronique Abel, Institut
National de Recherches Archologiques Prventives, Marseille.
Ceramic pipes found in Barcelona: production and trade from the 16th to 18th Century. Julia Beltrn
de Heredia, Nuria Mir, Mikel Sobern (Museo Historia de Barcelona).

WORKING GROUP MEETINGS


The last part of the morning had been reserved for working group meetings. The following plenary
discussion centred on the future of working groups. It was generally felt that the present set-up along
material-structure lines only needed to be reconsidered, with the possible exception of the clay-group.
Therefore it was suggested forming working-groups based on themes across materials. This proved to be
in line with the conclusion of the meerschaum working-group which had decided to change its current
form of working and, through a questionnaire, to determine Themes.
Ruud Stam presented a paper relating to the future of clay pipe research outlining the many areas which
still deserve attention. (Attachment III).
Peter Davey rounded the discussion off with the conclusion that we henceforth should concentrate on:
themes
internet (forum)
November 5th, Afternoon at the Palais des Congrs

SESSION 3: Symposium on the WM stamped pipes in England and Italy.

Pipe finds from the site of the 18th Century Manifattura Tabacchi, Fondamenta della Penitenti,
Cannaregio,Venice. Albert Halmos.
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William Manby II, clay pipe-maker of Limehouse, London (1719-63). Jacqui Pearce, Museum of London.
(read by Susie White)
Deciphering the letters-the problem of the WM Mark. David Higgins
The phenomenon of numbered initials at St Quentin and other French pipe production centres.
Andr Leclaire.

SESSION 4: North and South; East and West.


Morelli and the Tophane pipe. Arjan de Haan ( work in progress!)
Southern European elements in Gambiers products and design. Arthur van Esveld. ( read by Arjan de
Haan)
The mass production of briar pipes: an entente cordiale? Peter Davey.
In his closing words Peter Davey looked back at the two very interesting and rewarding days and thanked
speakers as well as participants for making this such a successful conference.
B. Annual General Meeting at the Palais des Congrs, Grasse, France , 5th November 2010
Present: 27 members; Apologies: 10
a) Opening remarks
Peter Davey briefly reviewed the state of affairs for the 2009/10 period and formally introduced the
following new members: Kath and Bert Adams (UK), Andrew Yoshihiro Aoba (Japan), Arthur van
Esveld (Netherlands), Albert Halmos (Germany), Masayuki Handa ( Japan) and Jan Kwint (Netherlands),
who were subsequently duly elected.
b) Reports from Officers
1) Finance (Dennis Gallagher)
A summary statement of the financial activities for the year ending 31 December 2009 and a provisional
statement of the position for the current year at 28 October 2010 were presented (Attachment IV). A
GBP 5000 donation pertaining to 2010 was in the pipe-line but not included in the data yet.
Our financial situation remained healthy but a better balance between income from subscriptions and
publications, and current expenditure required attention.
2) Publications (David Higgins)
An overview of the current status of the Journals 2 (Country summaries) and 3 (Budapest-papers) was
given. It was expected that Journal 2 would be distributed before Christmas and Journal 3 in Spring
2011.
Ruud Stam asked whether new country-summaries would be included when they become available in
Journal 3 or 4. The answer was in the affirmative.
Furthermore he mentioned the desirability of publishing an index. Ren Delon offered to contribute
an index he had written to the French titles of articles in the Pipe Yearbook (he has since done so). The
Board would consider whether a full index was realizable and if so when.
3) Web-site ( Susie White)
The new office-equipment was running fine. Therefore the web-site could gradually be further
improved.
4) Membership (Felix van Tienhoven)
In the beginning of 2009 340 circular letters were sent out to individual researchers, collectors and
pipe-clubs in the context of a membership-drive.
Museums, research-institutes etc. were left out on purpose at that stage because we had no product to
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show them. He believed that after the publication of Journals 1 and 2 the time would be appropriate
to approach them as well.
We repeat the request to members to let us know of anyone who they think might be interested
becoming a member and who could make a real contribution to the future of the Academy.
5) Preparation 27th Conference (Divna Gacic, Anna Ridovocs and Peter Davey)
Divna had already distributed a nicely designed Welcome-folder and elaborated briefly on the venue.
The theme of the conference will be Turks in Europe and dwell on Turkish pipes, their production
and workshops outside present Turkey. (see section 5 for further details).
c) The Contemporary Briar Pipe as an Art Form (Peter Davey)
Although this subject is very important, in particular in view of the growing new generation of pipesmokers and collectors, the Academy has not been able to muster sufficient keen interest amongst the
current membership to carry the project forward. Unfortunately the Board itself can not cope with the
required research due to its limited resources. Therefore much to its regret the project has been placed
on hold in the hope that in the near future it can be infused new life.
d) Resolutions.
1) The Annual Report and the Accounts for 2009 were unanimously approved.
2) The election of the Board for 2010/11, proposed by John Adler and seconded by Sharkey Peckus
was approved and therefore will be:
- Peter Davey (Chairman)
- Felix van Tienhoven (General Secretary)
- Dennis Gallagher (Treasurer)
- David Higgins (Editor)
- Anna Ridovics (Member)
3) An increase of the subscription-rate to 35 per annum (and an equivalent rate in Sterling- at present
GBP 30), to take effect in 2011, proposed by Arjan de Haan and seconded by Sharkey Peckus, was
approved
4) No other business came to the meeting and the Chairman closed thanking the members for their
support.
The day, and conference, ended with a gala-dinner at the Palais des Congrs attended by the Mayor
of Grasse, his Deputy and the staff of the Bibliothque Munipale. Speeches by the mayor and Peter
Davey highlighted the importance of the Alice, Baroness de Rothschild Collection, its future and the
role of Grasse in this respect being more than just the Perfume-city. The evening was a worthy closing
of the memorable AIP-conference in Grasse.
By the way, your reporter did learn from reliable sources that, greatly thanks to Anglina, the partners
program was also a success.
7. Preliminary information 27th AIP Conference in Novi Sad/Serbia, 5-8 October 2010
At the kind invitation of the City Museum of Novi Sad, our 2011 conference will be held in Novi Sad,
capital city of Vojvodina in Serbia .The City Museum is located in Petrovaradin Fortress. The conference
will focus on Turks in Europe- Turkish pipes, their production and workshops. For the occasion a
special exhibition of pipes from Serbian collections will be organized.
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Furthermore an interesting partners programme visiting the rich cultural-heritage monuments in the
vicinity has been drafted.
Members willing to present a paper are invited to contact Peter Davey (pjd1@liv.ac.uk), Anna Ridovics
(anna.ridovics@gmail.com) or Divna Gacic (divnag@sbb.rs) with the title and a brief summary of what
they like to offer.
A detailed programme and joining instructions will be circulated to members early in the Spring.
In view of rate-negotiations with the hotel etc., we would appreciate receiving preliminary bookings
(admin@pipeacademy.org) in order to get the earliest possible idea of the likely approximate number of
participants.
8. Notes and Queries
Giovanni Bastianini, Florence
The following enquiry was recently received from Professor Anita Moskowitz from Stony Brook
University, New York:I am an art historian working on a nineteenth-century Italian sculptor whose name is Giovanni Bastianini
(1830-1868). He produced numerous neo-Renaissance sculptures in terracotta and marble as well as
works in a contemporary mid-19th-century style. In addition, he designed various types of household
objects/furnishings, such as fire places. There is a reference in an early study (R. Becker, Die BenivieniBueste des Giovanni Bastianini (Schriften des Wissenschaftl. Veriens zu Breslau), Breslau, 1889, p. 38), to
a clay pipe he made and it is described as follows: a clay pipe, which had the form of a coal pan used in
Florence; in front of it sits a naked lad who blows on the cinders and extends his arm as though to warm
himself. There are no images and the object itself is lost. I wondered if such designs were common
or unusual. Has anyone ever come across a pipe with the motif described for Bastianinis pipe. Was
there a pipe manufactory in Florence in the 1860s? Could this have been a single example made by one
individual for a private commission or for his own pleasure rather than a design for a pipe factory?
If anyone can help Professor Moskowitz can they please contact Susie (admin@pipeacademy.org) who
will pass any information on.

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