a meer on ebay

[Fr_Tom]

This meer was listed on ebay, and I have never seen a meer so completely colored!

 

[Anonymous]

That pipe was "jarred," Padre. Smoked with the bowl in a jar so that the smoke colored it from the outside as well as the juices coloring it from the inside. People used to do all kinds of stunts like that with meerschaums. There were even professional "colorists" then. It was a big deal aspect of pipe smoking back before briars took over center stage once and for all.

It's one of any number of little forgotten history deals.

Even worlds as small as Pipe Smoking have them.  

:face: 

 

[Anonymous]

Turkish is predominantly white; other areas of the world produce meer of different colors. I have a tan one that is in the meer. Great smoker until I dropped it and cracked the stem.

 

[Fr_Tom]

You learn something new every day. I was trying to imagine just how many bowls would have to be smoked to get a color so deep and uniform. I guess I don't get out much.

 

[Anonymous]

It's more like how much of your life you "waste" reading obscure old stuff :lol!: 

:face: 

 

[pepesdad1]

'Tis a beauty....interesting bowl shape.


Thanks for the info. Yak...didn't know that or about the "colorists"...fascinating!

 

[monbla256]

It also could be made from African Meer as many of those are solid black.

 

[Idlefellow]

I'm guessing monbla nailed it. I have seen a number of meers colored by smoking them inside an enclosed space to hurry the process, but never one black like that.

 

[BigCasino]

i have one made by barling that is on ebay right now that has been stained black

 

[williamcharles]

That pipe was "jarred," Padre. Smoked with the bowl in a jar so that the smoke colored it from the outside as well as the juices coloring it from the inside. People used to do all kinds of stunts like that with meerschaums. There were even professional "colorists" then. It was a big deal aspect of pipe smoking back before briars took over center stage once and for all.

It's one of any number of little forgotten history deals.

Even worlds as small as Pipe Smoking have them.   

:face: 

Jarred or boiled in tobacco? Both can produce very dark finishes.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

To my knowledge, African meer doesn't come out of the ground black, it's a greyish color. It gets painted or artificially treated in order to make it more uniform and pretty. I hear-tell African meer has different (and preferred) smoking qualities over even the Turkish stuff...or it's just people trumping up a product that's no longer extracted for pipes. Who knows.

That pipe is still cool.

8)

 

[BigCasino]

so this is probably an african meer? this is the one I have on ebay

Black rusticated Meer

 

[Anonymous]

Probably.

:face: 

 

[ftrplt]

This meer is a product of the Wilke Pipe Shop, late of NYC. As the tab inside the case says "Warranted Genuine Meerschaum," my 2 cents says this started life as a Turkish white block meer. As to how it got so black, I can buy into Sir Yak's explanation. "Colorists" were the rage way back when. I own several old, old meers that are just to beautifully and evenly colored for it just to be happenstance. Meers "tend" to color first at the bowl bottom and shank, the color working its way up the bowl . I've known larger-bowled meers to start at the top of the bowl, but in those cases, the smoker was loading aromatic 'baccy ( Middleton's Cherry Blend in one case!!) in his pipe. FWIW:cheers: FTRPLT