Shellcraft

Shellcraft is a series that emerged in the American pipe industry of the 1920s, known for its hand-carved exterior surface. The maker of the series, Reiss-Premier Pipe Co., had also absorbed the company that owned the Kaywoodie brand in the same years. Because of this tie, Shellcraft today draws mainly the interest of collectors tracking early Kaywoodie and pre-Kaywoodie production.

Its Maker and Period

Reiss-Premier was born in Chicago from the merger of Reiss Brothers and the Premier Briar Pipe Company; sources place its founding at different years between 1920 and 1922. The company registered the "Drinkless" name in 1926 and, in August of that same year, purchased the firm Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy. A year later, the Drinkless suction mechanism began appearing in Kaywoodie pipes. The company was taken over by S.M. Frank in March 1955.

Shellcraft is a product of exactly this transitional period. The series was offered under the wording "The Drinkless, Shellcraft" just before the Drinkless name became widespread across the Kaywoodie line. The brand name should therefore be understood not as a company but as a particular surface treatment and sales line.