Summary

This clay tobacco pipe bowl, spur and partial stem was excavated at the Commonwealth Block site between 1988 and 2003. It was manufactured by Thomas White & Co. between 1823 and 1876.

A pipeful of tobacco was long-lasting and its aroma disguised the stench of Melbourne's streets. The short clay pipe favoured by working men was called a 'cutty'. Being made of brittle clay, these pipes broke easily, explaining the abundance of fragments uncovered at Little Lon. Of the pipes excavated, many were decorated with slogans, patriotic symbols, even jokes and caricatures, hinting at the identities of those who smoked them.

Physical Description

This is the bowl, spur and part of the stem of a clay pipe. A maker's mark has been impressed on the bowl and stem.

Physical Description

Description for Parent Record: Clay tobacco pipe bowl, spur and part of the stem. Impressed initials on bowl reads 'TW'. Fragment of a second pipe stem with impressed lettering in an oval reads 'THO. WHITE & CO. EDINBURGH'. Thomas White & Co., Edinburgh, made pipes between 1823 - 1876.

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