History of the Glass Bong For Smoking Marijuana
These aren’t just bongs, they’re works of art. 
Like kaleidoscopes, modern glass bongs are mesmerizing. The endless color combinations, shapes and designs don’t go unnoticed by marijuana advocates. After all, these aren’t just bongs, they’re works of art. Glassmaking is an ancient art form, but it wasn’t until recent history that glass bongs and pipes became as popular as they are now.
Today’s glassmaking differs greatly by way of technique. Due to the extraordinary skill level required to make glass, early glass was believed to have been as valuable as gemstones.
Glass manufacturing practices go as far back as 3000 B.C. in Egypt and Mesopotamia, where glass was molded from molten sand and other naturally occurring ingredients. For thousands of years, countries scattered along the Mediterranean Sea were the hub for master glassmakers.
The process was arduous and pieces were small and expensive. Mostly, they were used by priests and aristocrats. It wasn’t until 30 B.C. Rome that glass-molding became glass blowing. Romans began to shape glass when it was warm by blowing into it with a blowpipe.
Little is known of the glass pipe or bong before the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Though glass pipes existed well before that, they were not made for smoking. David Wright, pipe historian and author of The Pipe Companion: A Connoisseur's Guide, cites that glass pipes produced in the 18th and 19th centuries were “…designed as a an advertising medium for the tobacconist and glassmaker shops…in Nailsea and Bristol, England.”
Jimmy Siegal, owner of the established San Fransisco headshop Distractions, watched the later glass revolution unfold. Credited as a Glass Bong Historian in the Operation Pipeworks Documentary--a home-grown film that showcases all things glass bong. In it, Siegal discusses the first time he noticed glass bongs making an appearance in Height-Ashbury.
“…In 1982 we opened the shop called Distractions…we didn’t have very many choices back then…back then your basic choice of pipe was something made out acrylic. There were a lot of ceramic hand blown water pipes or lots of plastic things to choose from, or these little Indian-like hookahs…When I used to go to the stores in the ‘60s, Indian pipes were all you could see. Indian pipes were all brass with a little handle coming off and were about the only pipes you could find in the ‘60s…plastic or ceramic were the big thing in the ‘80s. The very first glass pipes that were ever available were probably around in the late ‘70s early ‘80s…they were without a carbonator and a very small bowl. From what I gather we were one of the first stores in America selling glass…I love glass.”
U.S. patent records indicate that William V. Erickson, Paul K. Jarvie, and Fred L. Miller filed one of the first patents for the glass bong in 1977. Whether this bong truly is the first of its kind is unresolved.
Lena, a glass aficionado from BC headshop Wunderland, credits the evolution of glass bongs to Oregon artisan Bob Snodgrass.
“I read that he was the granddaddy of glass made for smoking. He developed this technique in the ‘80s, where you take glass tubes and add silver and gold. It’s called fuming. The metals change color when they get hot and the gold and silver turn into these bright blues and oranges. People didn’t even know they changed colors until they smoked out of the bong or pipe! Even if it wasn’t Bob who invented the technique, he was a pioneer in the field,” she says.
Glass manufacturing techniques have come a long way since the days of molding. Eventually Pyrex, flameworking, the use of oxides, sulfides and other innovations like the inside-out pipe became regulars in the market. Glass bongs are now a favorite for smokers and their popularity continues to grow. With glass pipe expos in Las Vegas, art exhibitions all over North America, and coveted collector pieces traveling worldwide, the art of the glass pipe can only grow.
