Description:
Wrought steel pipe tongs or tobacco tongs (the contemporary term) stamped with a rectangular touchmark "SPOMROY", for Seth Pomeroy (1706-1777) of Northampton, and engraved "Lyman[?] / 1752" (perhaps for a member of the prominent Lyman family of Northampton). General Seth Pomeroy, a blacksmith and gunsmith, was the third generation of Pomeroy's working in Northampton, trained by his father Ebenezer (1669-1754) in both trades. Seth was best known as a soldier who fought in the French and Indian Wars at Lake George and mustered troops for the Revolution; he was appointed brigadier-general in June 1775 and died in ill health at Peekskill, NY, after leading Northampton troops to join General Washington's army on the Hudson. Designed to pick up a hot ember from the fireplace to ignite the tobacco, tobacco tongs were one of the most ornate and complex iron forms made by New England colonial blacksmiths. As a result, most tobacco tongs owned in the Connecticut Valley were probably imported from England or Boston since very few local blacksmiths appear to have made them. Commonly, tongs were made by blacksmiths, and then filed, polished, and assembled by whitesmiths. These tongs have long circular arms with small round terminals continuing into decoratively wrought handle with applied tapering spring; medial hinge pin that extends through both arms with one end with a circular cap tamper used to tamp down tobacco and a sharp end on the other used to scrape the clay pipe clean; and handle with perforated large tamper used to press tobacco into the bowl.
Label Text:
A pipe of tobacco was a man’s fitting conclusion to a genteel evening. As much as any part of the meal, ritual and specialized implements defined tobacco consumption. These tongs, perhaps made for a member of the prominent Lyman family of Northampton, were designed to elegantly pick up a hot ember from the fireplace to ignite tobacco. The tongs, made of steel rather than the more common wrought iron, are fitted with a pick and two tampers to maintain the bowl of a fine white pipe of Devonshire clay throughout the evening. Like many rural craftsmen, Seth Pomeroy did not exclusively practice blacksmithing, but also worked as a gunsmith, armorer, and military officer during the colonial wars.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+96.033 |
