Tucked into a glass display box were several clay smoking pipes carved with the heads of Black boys on the bowls. Latimer left no information about these items. Where did she acquire them? What was her interest in collecting these smoking pipes? Was it mere curiosity about the stylization of Black images in novelty items? Was it a tangible representation of Black faces that appealed to her interest in anything related to “Black” history? We can only speculate.
Clay pipes were common until the 1900s when they were replaced by cigars and cigarettes. The iconography of the “negro’s head” featured on these clay pipes can likely be traced back to the popularity of such images in tobacconist advertisements. Many pipes from this period were mass-produced from templates. Some of the pipes collected by Bibbins-Latimer can be reliably identified as having been created in Holland and England. One pipe in her collection bears a shank mark attributed to Charles Crop, a pipe maker in London during the mid to late 19th century. Another pipe has markings from a manufacturer in a part of Holland known for its pipe-making. Additionally, one pipe closely resembles an item from an auction house that dates back to the Civil War era. Similar pipes can be found in the Gail and Stephin Rudin Slavery Collection (1728-1973) at Cornell University. The pipes in Cornell’s collection are made of meerschaum rather than clay; one depicts a female with a detailed coiffure and headdress, while another shows a male with an earring. These pieces may originate from an earlier, more colonial period when depictions of Black and Indigenous persons resembled Blackamoor imagery rather than the offensive caricatures of Black individuals that dominated the antebellum and Jim Crow eras.
Blackamoor imagery, characterized by elaborately detailed robes, turbans, and head-dresses, originated in Italy as an artistic depiction of a blend of African “Black” and Muslim “Moor”. As the age of exploration transitioned into the age of conquest, figures carved in intricate textiles often became semi-nude, reflecting the European perception of these peoples as uncivilized. Blackamoor figures became ornamental stands, tray holders, and decorative furniture, typically depicted kneeling or in other deferential poses, emphasizing their servitude and docility. Blackamoor imagery commonly appeared in jewelry, such as the Drake Jewel, which was given to Sir Frances Drake by Elizabeth I in the 16th century.
Tobacco, initially noted as a significant aspect of Native culture, garnered major European interest. Images of the Native Americans who introduced the plant and the enslaved Africans who cultivated and harvested it for European markets featured prominently in colonial tobacco advertisements. Before the emergence of the “Cigar Store Indian,” Blackamoor carvings and images represented a hybrid of dark-skinned African and Indigenous persons, depicted with feathered crowns, kilts, earrings, and other exotic traits, sometimes referred to as “Red Indians,” “Black boys,” or even “Virginians.” The Blackamoor, or ‘Black boy,’ became almost synonymous with tobacco in colonial advertising and production.
These figures were carved as tobacco holders, appeared on tobacco trading cards and print advertisements, and adorned snuffboxes. The Tobacco Pipe Maker’s Guild in England even featured the Blackamoor image in its coat of arms. Such visual imagery was often referenced in the names of tobacconists’ shops, such as the Blackamoor’s Head, owned by John and Simon Cater in London.
Despite the hierarchical imagery perpetuated by dominant colonial culture, tobacco consumption was a shared practice across cultures. Extensive documentation indicates the significance of tobacco in Indigenous culture and ceremonies, observed by explorers and traders long before colonization. Enslaved Africans, who were essential for producing the crop, were often given tobacco leaves and pipes, which alleviated their fatigue after a day of labor and served as a tool for managing their enslaved labor.
Archaeological excavations indicate that tobacco use was prevalent among African populations in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa. Findings from the Chesapeake region reveal that Native American, African, and European populations all consumed tobacco in their own distinctive ways. Each culture developed unique styles, ornamental patterns, motifs, and symbols for their pipes, with places like Chad still producing decorative pipes with stylized bowls. Interestingly, pipes discovered at some archaeological sites, including those in the Chesapeake region, demonstrate such extensive cultural exchange that certain colonial-era pipes cannot be attributed to any single cultural style or creator. As a result, tobacco and the pipe became integral to cultural practices and rituals throughout the Transatlantic world. The pipes in Frances Bibbins Latimer’s collection—likely made in Europe and carved with images of Black and African heads—now residing in the collection of a Black historian in the United States, reflect this history in tangible form.
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