Harem Pipe: an American Tabletop Smoking Apparatus

Harem Pipe is a tabletop smoking apparatus patented in the mid-1930s and brought to market in the United States in the mid-20th century. It is not a pipe in the classical sense. It is built from three parts: a holder into which a cigarette or cigar is set at an angle, a metal ashtray base to which the holder is attached, and a flexible, braid-covered hose running from the base with a plastic mouthpiece at its end.

The smoker watches the tobacco burn from a distance and draws smoke only through the end of the hose. The stamp on the underside of the base reads, alongside the product name, the slogan "The Smokers Robot," the patent number, the trio "COMFORT — LUXURY — SAFETY," and the phrase "Jonathan Law, New Haven, Conn."

The Patent Behind the Design

The number on the stamp refers to US Patent No. 2,093,760, titled "Cigarette and Cigar Holder." According to the document, the application was filed on 20 June 1935 in the name of James P. Kiernan, resident of Derby, Connecticut, and the patent was registered on 21 September 1937. The purpose section of the text comes down to three points: keeping the smoker away from the burning tobacco, preventing smoke from reaching the face and eyes, and eliminating the fire risk of smoking in bed by placing the apparatus on a side table or nightstand.

Mechanical details are also described in the document. The holder tilts toward the base's vertical axis, so that once accumulated ash reaches sufficient weight it breaks off on its own and falls into the base. When the holder's outer tube is pressed back to compress the spring inside it, the stationary inner tube holds the cigarette butt in place; the outer tube slides off over the butt, which then likewise falls into the base. The interior of the hose is lined with rubber, its exterior covered with silk or a similar weave. The patent further notes that the holder can be replaced with a bowl for smoking pipe tobacco, and that several holders can be attached to a single base so that several people around a bridge table can share the same apparatus.