For #FindsFriday we have a stunning piece from the late 19th century—a beautifully moulded and enamelled clay tobacco pipe made by the renowned Paris company, Gambier. It’s a very rare find for London.
This pipe features the “Student” (Etudiant) design shown in their catalogues, a motif that was both fashionable and symbolic of the era’s social trends.
It was recovered during an ongoing excavation in Tower Hamlets. The East End was a melting pot of different cultures, particularly with the influx of immigrants during the 19th century. The nearby Tobacco Dock excavation produced at least one continental porcelain pipe that might have been associated with late 19th-century German refugees who owned shops there.
