Reflections on the Historical Background on CPF Pipes

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Blog by Steve Laug

One of the secondary hobbies to pipe refurbishing that I enjoy doing is to research the history of a particular brand or make. In a recent EBay lot I bought there were 3 pipes that were stamped with the CPF logo – CPF in an oval with the word FRENCH stamped in an arch above the oval and the word BRIAR stamped in an arch below the oval. I had heard that the CPF stood for a variety of names from Consolidated Pipe Factory to Colossal Pipe Factory and even Chesterfield Pipe Company. There was a wide range of conflicting information available on the websites and forums that I looked read while looking into the brand. One evening while I was talking with Chuck Richards about the lot (I know that over the years he has seen quite a few old CPF brand pipes) he suggested that I ask Robert Boughton about it. Chuck said that Robert had done some work on the brand when he was given an old Meerschaum to refurbish. I contacted Robert and he sent me a variety of links that he had found. He had looked into the history and background of the CPF brand stamp. He wrote that he had found in his research that “…CPF definitely stands for Colossus Pipe Factory, a late 19th and early 20th century American venture that in its short, happy life created some of the most beautiful briar and Meerschaum pipes ever made”. He sent me a link to the stampings and logos site (1) http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.htmlbelowwhere he had found photos that showed the curved circular printing of French Briar around the CPF oval as well as some with a space between where the customary CPF mark was stamped within an oval enclosure. He had also looked into a variety of EBay offerings of CPF pipes and also on Worthpoint.com. He found some amazingly beautiful pipes for sale.

Throughout this article I have inserted photos of some of the CPF pipes that I have refurbished as examples. All of them showed the marks of having originally had rim caps and shank caps. Some of the older ones that I have seen have had beautiful filigree decorations in these areas.

Figure 1 CPF Bulldog - restored by Steve Laug

Figure 1 CPF Bulldog – restored by Steve Laug


Armed with the information that Robert sent I decided to do some more digging into the brand. I found information on the CPF brand that verified his findings on the meaning of initials. CPF stands for Colossus Pipe Factory. There is not much known about the Colossus Pipe Factory. I learned that by the mid 1890’s CPF was owned by Kaufman Brothers & Bondy (KB&B). They operated the factory at 129 Grand Street, in New York City, New York. I had a faint memory of some connection between CPF and Kaufmann Brothers & Bondy. But was unsure where I had heard or read that. In the process of reading information I came across this post by Bill Feuerbach on the Kaywoodie Forum: “About 10 years ago I picked up two original invoices from KB&B. One is dated February 5, 1884 and the other December 9, 1898. Both have the address as 129-131 Grand Street, which is in Soho, adjacent to the Bowery in New York City. The 1898 invoice has in the upper left hand corner the initials CPF and Trademark. So by 1898 KB&B was making it known to the trade that they owned the CPF trademark. The 1884 invoice does not have CPF on it. Therefore I think we can assume KB&B acquired or started the CPF line sometime between 1884 and 1898.” (2)
Figure 2 CPF Bent Billiard - restored by Steve Laug

Figure 2 CPF Bent Billiard – restored by Steve Laug


Robert Boughton also provided a link to a scan of a page from a trade magazine called “The Jeweler’s Circular”, dated August 23, 1899.(3) http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=C…s_Pipe_Factory In scanning through it I found that at the bottom of the center row of the clip a question sent in by a reader as follows, “Please inform as who manufactures briar pipes with the trademark, CPF?” The answer that was given in the article was, “These letters stand for Colossus Pipe Factory, the business being conducted by Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy, 129 Grand Street, New York.” I did a bit more digging as I wanted to find out the source of the Pipedia clipping. I found that the original source of this information was also Bill Feuerbach. He wrote the following on the Kaywoodie Free forum, “Now as for what CPF means. About 5 or 6 years ago Gary Schrier, pipe book author/publisher and pipe collector from Seattle sent me a copy of page 30 from the Jewelers’ Circular dated August 23, 1899. I assume this was a publication for the jewelry trade. On this particular page they have questions for the editor. One question is “Editor of the Jewelers’ Circular: Please inform us who manufactures briar pipes with the trade-mark rude cut: C.P.F. Thank you in advance for your trouble and kindness”. The answer was “Those letters stand for Colossus Pipe Factory, the business being conducted by Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy, 129 Grand St., New York.”

The address in the scanned document referred to above is the same address as the one on the invoices that Bill referred to in the quoted post in the previous paragraph. This industry/trade magazine, published at the time the CPF brand was being made, reports that the C in the CPF brand means Colossus rather than Consolidated or Chesterfield. To me that answers the question quite definitively.(4)

Figure 3 CPF Billiard - restored by Steve Laug

Figure 3 CPF Billiard – restored by Steve Laug


Even with that clear information from Bill, in both the invoices and the article in the trade jounal there still is some disagreement among pipemen as to the meaning of the letters in the brand. In my research I came across a few divergent opinions on the brand and I thought it important to cite them. The following information comes from Samuel Goldberger of Finepipes Estate pipe website as referenced below. On the page on his site dedicated to CPF pipes Sam wrote, “I have not found any clear history of CPF, but I have developed some ideas about them, based upon my study of early American made pipes. By the turn of the last century, a number of small pipe making factories had collected in and around New York City, including the William Demuth Company (WDC) and Kaufman Brothers and Bondi (KB&B), later to become Kaywoodie. From the design and quality of execution of these pipes, I believe the factories must have been staffed by European immigrants, probably Jewish, who had been trained in the older traditions of pipe making in France, Germany and Austria. The pipes they produced were in a similar style. They were expertly cut from very old, air-cured Algerian briar in classical shapes or from the finest grade of Turkish meerschaum; they sometimes rather small; they often had amber or Bakelite mouthpieces, gold or silver fittings. It’s my suspicion that pipes from these small makers were at one time sold or marketed under the name “Consolidated Pipe Factory.” Alternatively, CPF may have been the name of the distributor.” (5) Personally, not to disparage Sam’s ideas, I find the information provided by Bill Feuerbach in the paragraphs above to be conclusive that CPF stands for the Colossus Pipe Factory.

Further, in my research I found that others commented on the fact that they had seen pipes with both the CPF logo and KB&B logo on them that date to pre-1900. I too have seen, refurbished and sold some that bore both stampings/logos. This has led me to wonder if the dual stamping may have been a way to let pipe smokers of the time know that the companies were affiliated. From my reading and research it seems to me that CPF brand was discontinued sometime in the 1910-1920 range. Again, turning to Bill Feuerbach I found that he notes the following, which pins down the time frame of the discontinuation of the brand more specifically, “I have a CPF Chesterfield in our office display that has a nametag from way before my time that says 1900 CPF Chesterfield. It looks like most other Chesterfields you’ve seen, including the military type push stem, except this stem is horn and not vulcanite. As far as I have gathered the CPF brand was phased out sometime around 1915.” (6) Interestingly, he noted that the Chesterfield name and style was later introduced in the KB&B, Kaywoodie and Yello-Bole lines. He says that the 1924 KB&B catalog shows KB&B Chesterfields.

I also came across the following photo that comes from Bill Feuerbach which shows the dual stamping of the logo on this display placard for CPF pipes. Note the familiar KB&B logo and cloverleaf at the bottom of the placard. (7)

Figure 4 From the collection of Bill Feuerbach

Figure 4 From the collection of Bill Feuerbach


From my research I believe that we can definitively assert that the CPF logo stands for Colossus Pipe Factory. The brand was purchased by KB & B sometime between 1884 and 1898 and that it continued until 1915. That time frame gives help in dating some of the older CPF pipes you or I might find. It can be said that prior to the dual stamping it is fairly certain that the pipe is pre-1884 to 1898. After the dual stamping it can be placed post 1898 until the closure of the brand line in 1915. CPF made beautiful pipes. I believe Sam Goldberger was correct in his assertion of the potential carvers that made the pipes being of European training and the classic shapes and well aged briar. That coincides with all the CPF pipes that I have come across.
_____________________________________________________________
End notes
(1) http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.htmlbelow
(2) http://kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org/archive/cpf__o_t__t_161.html
(3) http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=C…s_Pipe_Factory
(4) http://kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org/archive/cpf__o_t__t_161.html
(5) http://www.finepipes.com/pipes/american/consolidated-pipe-factory-cpf
(6) http://kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org/archive/cpf__o_t__t_161.html
(7) http://kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=161&start=0

64 thoughts on “Reflections on the Historical Background on CPF Pipes”

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  6. Rick's avatarRick

    Once again my search for an unusual pipe and its history has led me to your site, and provided invaluable answers. Very unique and beautiful pipes.

    I bought this as a supposedly unmarked pipe (for $12!) but noticed the CPF on the (unfortunately cracked) band. The band seems much less ostentatious than all the other examples I can find but it seems to match their stem type and eccentric carving. I’m wondering if you have any opinions or comments on mine. I guess it must be pre 1898 due to only having no other logos.

    I’m a novice when it comes to pipe restoration and pipes in general. I’m guessing the stem is bone/horn. I’ll have to look at your other posts and what you do to make sure I don’t muck up the job of cleaning this fascinating old pipe.

    CPF pipe

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    2. rebornpipes's avatarrebornpipes Post author

      Thanks RIck. I just went through the photos on the imgur site you attached. It is a gorgeous pipe. I think you are right about the dating on it but I am not sure you can get much closer. The horn does appear to be stem. Just proceed slowly as it is a great piece of history!

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  19. Adam Loveless's avatarAdam Loveless

    Great read as always. I recently got into pipe collecting and came across a CPF pipe at a local antique store and bought it at a fairly low price (Below $50). It is very ornate and is far from your “typical” style of pipe. It has the oval logo with CPF stamped inside and the silver band with the hallmarks and the oval logo again below them. Does anyone know anything about ornate pipes from them or about this particular pipe? It is a tiger (I think) head showing its fangs and very, very detailed. Very large pipe as well. I’m 6’3” with large hands and it makes my hands look small. The stem is very ornate as well. The pipe is briar I’m guessing. Thanks!

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    2. Robert M. Boughton's avatarRobert M. Boughton

      As Steve noted, CPF made many of the finest briar and meerschaum pipes of its time — really magnificent craftsmanship. Since you describe yours as being the shape of an animal, probably a tiger, I picture a meerschaum. I don’t recall ever seeing any CPF wood pipes that ornate, but it’s certainly possible. I’m finishing up part 2 of a series of blogs here on declining materials and expertise for restoring very old pipes and will feature a CPF Best Make turned lion’s head meerschaum with gold band and real red amber stem that took five years to restore. I’ll post it soon or you can email me at rakntur@yahoo.com. I also would love to see pics of your pipe!

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          1. Robert M. Boughton's avatarRobert M. Boughton

            As soon as I saw the first picture I remembered reading it at some point, probably after 2016 when you wrote it! Thanks, though, because I’d forgotten that one. Sorry! But it’s now the only “elaborate,” i.e., animal CPF I can find online at the moment. I also re-evaluated the year of manufacture of my turned lion’s head meerschaum and concluded it was probably made prior to c. 1883 when KB&B took over for various reasons, which I’m bringing up in part 2 of my Decline of Restoring Old Pipes series showing the restoration of my CPF: 1) when KB&B entered the scene, all of the CPF ads, official documents and even the pipe nomenclature (including meerschaum cases) immediately started including KB&B’s name and except in the nomenclature and cases, the address; 2) my Best Make, like yours, has only the very old leather covered wood case to identify it as a CPF — and mine also reads Best Make, or I wouldn’t have known — without mention of KB&B despite the definite room for the extra info inside the top of the case; 3) the only animals I’ve seen depicted on CPFs seem to be on the very old ones, and 4) from what I’ve observed, the higher number of ornate briar pipes from CPF seem to have begun in the very late 19th century after the KB&B takeover and increased in the 20th century until briars were more the rule rather than the exception to meerschaums. Now, having said all that, I recognize that Bakelite wasn’t invented until 1907. So that’s obviously a problem, to say the least! But that tenon on yours is exceptional. As I understand it, it’s actually carved from the meerschaum block. I’ll wrap this up now with a question I realize may be pushing it: despite the fact that the Bakelite stem and spacer are clearly very old and threaded, could they have been replacements for an original amber stem, albeit a huge one? Maybe there were just some CPFs in the “KB&B era” that didn’t get marked anywhere as such, and I’m wrong. But I have trouble with KB&B selling such a special pipe with a Bakelite rather than amber stem.

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      2. Adam Loveless's avatarAdam Loveless

        Hello Robert! Thank you for your insight and knowledge. I spoke over email with Steve last night and sent him many pictures of the pipe. Maybe he can post them on here. It is currently in route to briarville.com for Rick to refurbish and restore. Also sent a vintage Savenelli System pipe I got yesterday from a friend.

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          1. Robert M. Boughton's avatarRobert M. Boughton

            Nice! But doesn’t that look pre-1883 or so to you? I’m still looking for animal pipes from CPF and finding some, but they’re all ancient looking other than mine, which is in great shape with traditional materials like a gold band and amber stem that make dating difficult. Well, I’ve been wrong before and may be now, but I’d still like to see a good argument to that effect!

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            1. Adam Loveless's avatarAdam Loveless

              From the information you and Steve have provided on this thread I’d say it is definitely pre 1898 because of the lack of the second stamp “KB&B.” Also it does seem to be pre 1883 as well. The older gentleman who owned the Antique store didn’t know anything about it and I got it for a steal as it was less than $50. I am having a hard time finding any animal themed briars from CPF and not many briars from them period.

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        2. Robert M. Boughton's avatarRobert M. Boughton

          Thanks. I got your email with the great pics and just replied. I want to emphasize I could be wrong in my reasoning about the ages of CPF pipes. I’m just trying to make sense of the mess, which is typical to the pipe world! Forward new pics after Briarville is done slicking it up!

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  33. The Pipe Monk's avatarThe Pipe Monk

    I own several CPF pipes, I always thought they were discontinued around 1920. Glad to know that it was 1915 and not 1920. That means any CPF you now own is a Centennial or even more.

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  36. Larry Bausch's avatarLarry Bausch

    Like to show you a picture of my great grandfathers c.p.f. pipe. It has a hunter aiming his gun and his dog is carved below him ready to retrieve, they are carved on white yellowed bowl. The stem is the color of reddish pine sap resin. It is nested in its black leather case with with a green velvet with the letters C. P. F. I have not seen any thing like it on the internet. I would provide a picture

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  37. raconteurion's avatarraconteurion

    At this late date, I just came across this wonderfully thorough work of research and conclusions, having no idea I had been quoted but of course happy as always to be of help. Steve and I share a penchant for getting the facts right which has, if I may say so, bonded us somewhat. I know the habit came to me from my experience as a freelance news reporter and photographer. I can’t say where Steve acquired the good habit, but he certainly has it down.

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    1. rebornpipes's avatarrebornpipes Post author

      Thanks Robert. It is good know there are more of us. I would say that indeed makes us kindred spirits. Jacek is another fellow who has the bug. He has written several articles for the blog. He has a passion for digging out information.

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  38. Cynthia Williams's avatarCynthia Williams

    I found a tiny 2.5” black carved bird foot bowl w/ ivory stem marked C.P.F. in an oval . After reading everything I could and looking on Ebay , not Worthpoint yet , I cannot find out it’s value and I want to sell it . I believe it might be plastic because it has a seam on both sides . It has ” MICHIGAN CITY , IN .” but most of the ink is gone from the Y,I &N . Do I need to post a picture ?

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    1. rebornpipes's avatarrebornpipes Post author

      Sounds like a neat little pipe. It sounds like a little souvenir pipe though I am not sure of the value. Its value would depend on the person who collects that kind of thing. Sorry that I cannot be of more help.

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  39. M. Starke's avatarM. Starke

    I just bought a huge pipe with a carved bowl sporting the CPF Chesterfield logo as well as the word “Selkirk” beneath the logo on the bowl. I haven’t been able to find anything about Selkirk other than it’s a city in Canada. There is also a chimney pipe manufacture by that name. Curious!

    The pipe cleaned up nicely and I’m looking forward to smoking it soon.

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  41. John A. Smith's avatarJohn A. Smith

    Hello. I currently have for sale on eBay the 1908 C. P. F. Kaufmann Bros & Bondy CATALOG OF PIPES Colossus Pipe Factory, item no. 400515430229 which removes any doubt as to the correct name and gives the reader a virtual tour of the Colossus Pipe Factory.

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  43. Donald Gifford's avatarDonald Gifford

    I wrote the Pipedia Article. I remember when bill sent me that ad (a copy) as i had asked him on a pair of pipes i had acquired. The pipes belonged to a pipemaker who worked at CPF. One of them is an unsmoked “Stuyvesant” which has a large interchangeable bowl, vulcanite stem and a bakelite base)

    On Sun, Apr 14, 2013 at 10:33 AM, reborn pipes

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