Publisher's Synopsis
The latest volume in the BAR series The Archaeology of the Clay Tobacco Pipe is the first to be devoted entirely to the history and products of a single firm. When Edward Pollock opened his pipe works in Manchester in 1879, he laid the foundations of a family business that was to flourish for three generations. The company passed from father to son for 111 years until 1990 when Edward's grandson, Gordon, finally sold the business. During this time, a great deal of archive paperwork and old stock accumulated and it is this material that has allowed the author to provide one of the most detailed records of a pipemaking family and their factory ever published. The book includes dozens of illustrations and photographs showing the family, manufacturing process, pipes, advertising material and letterheads from the archives, and will provide a mine of information of relevance to a variety of different audiences. For archaeologists, museum curators and collectors there are illustrations and dating evidence for the various marks and patterns of pipe that were used by three of the main Manchester firms. For industrial historians, practical potters or those with a technical interest there are detailed accounts of the manufacturing and firing processes. For social and economic historians there is information on production figures, pay and labour conditions, trade unions and manufacturing costs. For genealogists and local historians there are details of how the family was intimately connected with the business, the names of employees who worked at the factory and a mass of dated correspondence with other companies and individuals from all over the country - transcribed with examples of printed letterheads. Above all, this work addresses the nature and evolution of traditional pipe making during the course of the twentieth century, a period that has hitherto received very little attention. This book makes a significant and lasting contribution to our understanding of the clay tobacco pipe industry and provides a detailed case study from which broader comparisons, both geographical and temporal, can be made.
