3.1 THE 1936 KAYWOODIE LINE OF PIPES
The 1936 Kaywoodie catalog lists only four grades of pipes (Table 1). These four grades, however, were available in 140 shapes (see Appendix). These 140 shapes included many that differed only in size (small, medium, large). For example, the "In-Between", "Colt" and "Freshman" shapes listed in the Appendix were merely smaller versions of the standard shapes, and the "E-Z-Set" shapes were "flat-bottom" versions of the standard shapes.
Grade
|
Price (1936)
|
Straight Grain |
$10.00 |
Super Grain |
5.00 |
Carburetor |
4.00 |
Drinkless |
4.00
|
As shown in Table 1, the Straight-Grain pipe was Kaywoodies' top-of-the-line, selling for $10.00 in 1936. The Straight Grain pipe did not appear again in the catalogs reviewed in this research until 1968-69 (see Section 3.4).
The 1936 catalog shows 3 Super Grain models, selling for $5.00 each. One model is introduced as the "New Banded" Super Grain. The banded Super Grain had the white Kaywoodie cloverleaf logo in the bit and a wide metal band. The non-banded ("original") Super Grain had the white Kaywoodie cloverleaf logo in the shank of the pipe and was offered in two finishes, virgin and miami (slightly darker than virgin). Due to the gap in catalogs used in this research, it is not known precisely when the practice of putting the cloverleaf in the shank of the Super Grains was discontinued (the 1947 catalog shows the cloverleaf on the bit). The Super Grain was later downgraded and many new grades appeared above it (see subsequent sections of this Chapter). The early (original) Super Grains are particularly interesting not only because they were high quality briars, but because they were the only Kaywoodies (in the author's knowledge) to have the logo inlaid in the shank of the pipe.
The 1936 catalog "Introduces an entirely new principle in pipe-smoking, the new Kaywoodie Carburetor". The carburetor device was basically a hole in the bottom of the bowl that was intended to control the mixture of smoke and air (drawn in through the bottom of the bowl), thereby affording a cooler smoke. With the exception of the 1947 catalog, the Carburetor appears in all the catalogs reviewed in this research4. The Carburetor was available in smooth or relief (sandblast) finishes.
The workingman's pipe in the 1936 catalog was the Drinkless Kaywoodie. The Drinkless Kaywoodie sold for $3.50 and came in the following four finishes: 1) Thorn (sandblast); 2) Walnut ("rich, warm brown that blends perfectly with brown suits, tweeds and brown hats"); 3) Suntan ("light summer-pipe color to go with light-color fabrics"); and 4) Dark ("rich cherry red").