Colossus Pipe Factory (C.P.F.)

Colossus Pipe Factory is a pipe brand used in New York over a period stretching from the last quarter of the nineteenth century into the early years of the twentieth. It is known less by its name than by the three-letter stamp struck on the shank end of the pipes: C.P.F. Rather than an independent workshop, the brand existed as a product line run by the firm Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy.

Working Out the Name

What the letters C.P.F. stood for went unknown for a long time, and different readings circulated among collectors. The letters' meaning has been documented thanks to a question-and-answer exchange preserved in the trade press: in the 23 August 1899 issue of The Jeweler's Circular, a reader asks who makes the briar pipe stamped C.P.F.; the answer given states that the letters stand for Colossus Pipe Factory, and that the work is carried out in New York by Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy. This single line is the clearest period record confirming the tie between the brand and the firm.

A different reading of the letters has nonetheless been debated. In an archaeological study on Pacific Northwest fur trade and clay pipes, it has been suggested that the letters could also be read as "Colossal Pipe Factory," or might even point to C.P. Fenner, a figure in the tobacco trade of the era. For this reason it is accepted that the same letters seen on tobacco products other than pipes cannot always be tied to Colossus, and that the question calls for further research.

Relationship with Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy

Exactly when the brand was born, and whether KB&B bought it or founded it themselves, is not certain. Surviving trade paperwork nonetheless gives a lower bound: an 1898 KB&B invoice carries the letters C.P.F. in its top corner, with a "trademark" notation directly beneath. Records indicate the brand was already in the firm's hands by the mid-1890s. Registration documents researchers have located also show that KB&B formally registered the C.P.F. trademark on 9 October 1917, and stated in the application that the mark had been in use since 1883.

Examples exist bearing both the C.P.F. and KB&B stamps on the same pipe; these are believed to date from before 1900 and to have been meant to show the buyer the kinship between the two names. The firm itself would go on in later years to be known under the Kaywoodie brand, eventually coming under the roof of S. M. Frank & Co.

Pipes and Stamps

Surviving examples show that the C.P.F. line covered both briar and meerschaum bodies. Most known pieces carry decorative elements such as metal bands or worked mouthpieces; in this respect the brand shared shelf space with the products of rivals working in the same city, such as William Demuth Company.

Collecting records show that, besides the plain C.P.F. lettering, a frequently seen arrangement places the letters inside an oval frame, with the words "FRENCH" and "BRIAR" arcing above and below. Use of the brand came to an end sometime between 1910 and 1920, and in the years since, the C.P.F. name has survived only on old pipes.