Meerschaum in Literature: a Favorite of Poetry and Prose

Meerschaum in literature is a rarely discussed but surprisingly wide branch of pipe history. Meerschaum in the 19th century wasn't only a bowl material; it was also the subject of essayists, poets, and painters.

According to compilations surveying the period's printed record, the number of poems and essays devoted to the material exceeds what was written about briar, which came to dominate the market in the second half of the same century; briar's own literature, by contrast, remained largely confined to trade, technical, and historical subjects.

Guides Devoted to Coloring

The first cluster of texts grew directly out of the craft. That meerschaum turned from creamy white to amber and then to deep brown with use was a process that fascinated the era's reader, and small booklets were printed devoted purely to this process. Records mention, among these, a twelve-rule coloring guide published under the signature of an "old smoker," and Meerschaums and How to Colour Them, published in London in 1871 under the pen name "Amator Fumi." Today these publications read like a kind of user manual; for the pipe owner of the period, they were a handbook for a pursuit that demanded patience.