309. “Like the 309”: An Appreciation of the Dutch Billiard, Shape 4
For the 309th post, what more appropriate than an appreciation of the 309, one of the most quintessential Peterson shapes? Known from the beginning as bowl shape 4 in the catalog from 1896 to 2013, the 309 has had a lot of pipe shape numbers: 4S, 4B, 4AB, 79, 309, 359, 1309, POY21 and XL339. It’s probably been used in more System and Classic Range lines than any other shape given its longevity and standard size, which is the reason I chose it for the “By Any Other Name” collage on p. 243 of the Peterson book. Like other pipe makers—artisan as well as craft shop—K&P's bowl shapes, once established, are pressed into every conceivable service in terms of mount, finish, stain and stem. Bent Dutch Shapes 1, 3 and 4 (1906): clenching angle (top row) and horizontal rim (bottom) Bent Dutch Shapes 7, 7 and 8 (1906): clenching angle (top row) and horizontal rim (bottom) Shape 4 appeared with its five siblings as part of the “Straight Bowls” group in the 1896 catalog. In addition to the six seen above, the group included two oom pauls, the Extra Large O.1 and the 6, and the dutch Extra Large O.3.* Shapes 3 – 8 bear such a strong family resemblance to the 4 that it’s often difficult to distinguish them from each other without long practice, a ruler, a copy of the 1896 catalog or all three. (Scott Forrest Collection) Scott Forrest, CPG shares my fascination with the dutch group and sent these photos to help get an idea of size and shape differences. In the photo above, the Extra Large oom paul at the top is the O.2 from 1904. On the second row, a 4B from 1923 (left) and 7B from 1917 (right). Third row left is a really unusual 5SC (Saddle, Short stem)from 1929. [I have to say based on this photo alone that I think I'm in love with this one. It's even better than the 4 (egad, did I say that?)--a bit taller, certainly a heftier shank. Could it be a chubby version of the 4?] ...and on the right is the 8 ½ ABC from 1912, certainly more interesting than its shape 8 sibling... in my opinion... (Scott Forrest Collection) In the photo above, Scott has placed a 2021 4AB POY (top right) for comparison with the 1923 4B ("notice the taller bowl on the 1923," writes Scott), 1929 5SC and the 1911 8 ½. While other, much larger English pipe companies were producing scores of shapes by 1896, K&P initially issued only a handful at their startup. Indeed, there were actually only 10: oom paul, dutch, billiard bent, ball bent, dublin, straight billiard, dublin heel, and three half-bents (heeled dublin, bulldog billiard). The remainder of the total number of 31 bowls had to do with size / shank variations of the bent straight, ball and billiard Systems. K&P made these numbers seem much greater by adding nuance in the five different ways…