No 28. A nice quintet of Pipe Tampers

 

As these blogs progress, you know you will be seeing some legs that are a bit similar those I have already covered in my previous 27 Posts, so it is not always easy to find something significantly different.

But I included 5 bottle openers in my post last month, so I’ve dug out another 5, this time some more Pipe Tampers. I have previously covered 19 of the 48 legs in my collection, but as it is only in exceptional circumstances that I repeat a style or size, or shape or material, I have found another 5 which will have SOME variations!

   

No 1. This one I bought in Stafford in 2016 and it is the cheapest of the Tampers – just £15. Made of Brass, it’s a left leg, nicely shaped and with 5 clear cut toes. The top is cross hatched, confirming it as a tamper and not a seal, and a simple pattern around the top looks like a garter.  – all adding up to a lady’s leg. No date was provided but I would say mid-19^th century.

Just as a recap, Brass is a mixture of copper and zinc, and this leg will be produced using a mould into which a mixture will be poured. The mould will be in 2 pieces, joined to hold the liquid brass mix inside; it will set, and any required engraving and fettling (removing rough bits) plus polishing will be carried out to produce the end product.    So, it’s solid – well this one is. In other words, it is the mould that the artist creates, not the end product.

 

                                

No 2. Going to the other extreme the next one is one of my two most expensive. (I’m not saying how much!!) This one (No 36 in my collection) I bought at the NEC in 2012. It is made of Bone as can be seen by the dark flecks in the surface. I’m afraid I do not know what the 2 black sections are but I believe we are looking at the result of joining 5 pieces, of which 3 are bone. I need to talk to an expert and I will let you know when and if I get any better information. You will also notice the 2 white dots on the right side, and I think that these are small pieces of ivory or mother of pearl. Again ??

I have bought several tampers from a firm Wooden Bygones and they describe this one as:-

“Bone pipe tamper carved in the form of a woman’s leg, French. Made by a  Prisoner of War c1810.”

With the holes on the right of the boot, as are the two white dots, this is a right leg and the height of the heel all add up to being a lady’s boot.  Right at the top below the cross-hatching there is a thin band of orangery discolouration of the bone. I think this could either be nicotine colouring from 200 years of tamping tobacco (think nicotine-coloured fingers of smokers), or it could possibly be due to constant exposure to heat (tobacco).

There is much of interest about this tamper,  and considering it was carved/created by a prisoner of war it all adds up to a very nice leg.

 

I suppose for No 3 leg that I bought at a fair in Uttoxeter in 2016 the question is “What is it?”  At less than 2 inches, no hatching, no holes, no engraving it is one of my legs that has no history.

 

                                               

The only sure fact is that it is Ivory, and the seller attributed it to 1850. Also with the heel, it must have been thought as a lady’s. Whilst it is in my tampers section, I must say that the business end was too small to be efficient for tamping. Having said that, 140 years ago, whilst ladies did smoke, pipes were very small without the diameter bowl that we think of today. So, Is possible!

 

No 4 is probably the oddest tamper in my collection. It is a mixture of brass and treen, in this case the wood being considered as Oak. This addition was again from the NEC with a date line of early nineteenth century.

                 

The wood has been hand carved to look like plus-fours! Not quite sure why, but the foot carving enables the tamper to stand upright.

The ½ inch brass top is well cross hatched but is proportionately much heavier than the 2 ½ inch wood. The brass section would as with No 1 and No 5, be created in a mould with the hatching cut by machine.

We can be sure this is a man’s leg, but there is no other identity, and in total it is a bit of a bodged end result!

 

Finally, the fifth leg is Bronze. Quite heavy for a tamper, but very well designed.

This was bought pre-covid in 2018 at Stafford and said to be dated 1880. (There is an awful lot of trust and questions about dates – unless there is some provenance dates can only be attributed to a style and a period – very like furniture. Dealers who quote say “late 19^th century” are hedging their bets and giving a 50-year span that an item would be correctly described.)

Examining this Tamper, it is not cross hatched, which is why some inexperienced dealers would say it is a seal. Could be. This one is modelled on a hunter’s boot, and the position of the buttonholes makes it a right leg, and the heels are so shallow as to be a man’s boot. Think back to the Brass boot above – this one is solid and would be produced in a 2-part mould.   As I said it is heavy and would weigh in a jacket pocket.

 

I have enjoyed writing about this block of 5, incorporating 5 different materials, and illustrating whether the creator carves/creates the actual leg, or uses design skill in making the moulds. Leaves a few unanswered questions as well!!!