The smoking pipe has been around for millennia as an early form of primitive technology, and the art of glass blowing (or lampworking) is at least 2,000 years old, but not until the 1970s did these two ancient crafts synthesize to create the glass pipe. Since then, lampworkers have revolutionized the smoking accessories industry with artistic fervor.
History of the Smoking Pipe
Today, movie buffs can find glass pipes shaped like their favorite characters, UFO enthusiasts can purchase smoking pipes that look like aliens, and nature lovers can locate animal pipes for sale online with a quick internet search. But in ancient times, smoking pipes were cruder, valued more for their use than their aesthetic appeal.
Primitive crafters sourced local materials such as these and used hand tools to carve, cast, or mold their medium.
- Copper
- Corn cobs
- Clay
- Horn
- And wood
Some primitive smoking pipes included rough artistic motifs, but many went undecorated.
“The Godfather of Glass”
The reasons for the pipe’s survival through the ages are practical, not aesthetic. But Bob Snodgrass, the first person to innovate the glass blowing techniques used to make many pipes today, didn’t let the pipe’s simplicity of function stop him from turning a simple tool into an endlessly variable art form.
When Bob started making his revolutionary new designs while on tour with the Grateful Dead, he probably had no idea that his techniques would reshape the pipe-making craft so profoundly. Whether he was familiar or not with the ancient Roman roots of glassblowing, Bob single-handedly synthesized two of the world’s most time-tested inventions into one that would be his claim to fame in the modern smoker’s subculture.
When his glass pipes started selling faster than he could make them, he opened his studio to apprentices. The rest is (modern) history. Now known as “The Godfather of Glass,” thousands of lampworkers use Bob’s techniques to bring the two ancient crafts of pipe-making and glass blowing back to life and deliver fresh designs to smokers worldwide.
Glass Pipes as Collectible Art
As glass pipe design evolves, glass blowers draw on many sources for design inspiration, from pop culture to fringe interests to nature. These artists sell their best work at smoke shops, festivals, and online for hundreds of dollars per piece.
Starting as a humble tool made by ancient cultures for medicinal, ceremonial, and possibly recreational purposes, it was only with the integration of lampwork that the smoking pipe became an object valued as much for its aesthetic qualities as for its practical use.
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