The English Tavern Pipe is based on the style used in England in the 18th century when smoking tobacco was a popular pastime. The marbled English tavern pipe is a modern variation on this theme. Red clay was used for pipe-making especially in Virginia, but it is unlikely that the white and red clays were mixed in a slurry to produce a marbled variation.
The tavern pipe would often be available for free at Inns and local Public Houses where patrons would enjoy a smoke with their tankard of ale. This one being only 8-9 inches long would not have been the kind of pipe that patrons would smoke and pass on to another customer. The long 15 and 16-inch pipes might be used that way with the tip being snapped off to provide a clean pipe to the next smoker.
This one would more likely be a personal pipe that a smoker would bring to the tavern or one that could be bought on the premises.
