Collections Database

Description:
Wrought iron pipe rack or pipe sweetener or pipe kiln, used to lay clay pipes on to freshen or "sweeten" them near the fire. Communal pipes were usual at small meetings and social events well into the 18th century. According to Seymour Lindsay: "When the pipes became foul with tobacco juice, they were not thrown away, but were laid, as many a 2 or 3 dozen at a time, in a rack and placed in a very hot oven until thoroughly baked, when they would be taken out quite clean and more agreeable to smoke than a new pipe. These kilns also served to hold pipes that were in no need of baking." The rack has four pronged cross bars on which to lay the pipes, and andiron-like legs at each end with penny-like feet with slight bulges on the tops. There is a wire bail handle at one end.

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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+54.072

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