Name/Title
Meershaum McKinley PipeEntry/Object ID
95.01.121Description
Meershaum pipe with case. According to the Niles Daily Times:
"Nye, Ellison, "Unusual Meerschaum Pipe Given for Relic Room Display." Niles Daily Times, July 13, 1966. 15. Retrieved 11.1.2017 from http://mckinley.advantage-preservation.com/Viewer/?by=1966&bdd=1960&bm=7&bd=13&lnsm=between&fn=the_daily_times_usa_ohio_niles_19660713_english_15&df=11&dt=20&tc=28&pn=The%20Daily%20Times
Years ago, the late area theater tycoon, Herman Robins, lent a sizeable sum of money to a business acquaintance.
As security he was given an elaborate pipe bedded on the blue plush lining of a black leather 'presentation' case.
The pipe has been a part of the memorabilia of the late President William McKinley's life, then displayed at the McKinley birthplace.
The borrower was the owner of the privately-owned building, which had been moved from its original site on Niles' Main Street and was being operated as a paid-admission tourist attraction in McKinley Heights.
In April 1937, and early morning fire of unknown origin leveled the historic old building.
Much of its contents were either burned or almost immediately stolen by scavengers, according to newspaper accounts of that day.
But, because the debt to Herman Robins had never been repaid, the pipe was safely resting in the Robins family safe at that time.
Inherited from his maternal grandfather by Dr. A.R. Cukerbaum, "I felt it rightfully should be with the other McKinley things on display in the McKinley Memorial building," the Liberty Township resident and Youngstown dermatologist says.
Thus he recently presented it to the McKinley Memorial Association.
In almost mint condition, the pipe is just slightly larger that currently-standard size. Its white meerschaum bowl is carved in a minutely-detailed likeness of the martyred 25th president of the United States. Its amber stems arcs in a graceful downward curve.
It now lies in its original case in a prominent spot in the Relic Rooms on the second floor of the Memorial building.
Photo caption: Carved in McKinley's likeness-a meerschaum pipe is now displayed in the McKinley Memorial Relic Rooms. Arthur Webber (left) secretary of the McKinley Memorial Association and secretary-treasurer of the Niles Bank Co., holds its case, while Dr. A.R. Cukerbaum (right), Liberty Township resident and Youngstown dermatologist who recently gave the pips to the Memorial, holds it."Collection
unknownAcquisition
Accession
95.01.121Source or Donor
UnknownAcquisition Method
Gift