James Upshall P Grade Smooth Bent Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

James Upshall was, along with Ferndown and Ashton, part of a new wave of British hand-made, high-grade pipes in the late 20th century, with their founders largely coming from previous positions in the factories of companies such as Dunhill and Charatan. James Upshall was founded in 1978 by Barry Jones and Ken Barnes, both of whom had previously worked for Charatan and who had worked their way up to being carvers Charatan’s higher-end, non-standard shapes. Jones and Barnes’ pipes quickly grew to being something of a status symbol, and were enjoyed by King Hussein of Jordan, Anwar Sadat, Bing Crosby, Yul Brynner, Robert Wagner and Tom Selleck. The company also made house-brand pipes for Astleys in London. Sadly, James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the finest handmade British pipes lives on.

This particular James Upshall belongs to my favorite species of pipe from the Tilshead workshop: bent Dublins. More accurately, it is a freehand bent Dublin, just like Charatan used to make during the renowned Lane era. Barnes and Jones were employed in the Charatan freehand workshop at that time, so it makes sense to see that tradition carried on in Upshall pipes. Curiously, this pipe does not feature some of the more common stamps found on James Upshall pipes, but this will be because it is a relatively early production from the 1980s, back when Barnes and Jones ran the company together. During this time, size grades and the “FH” stamp were considered non-essential, with only the James Upshall nomenclature, a finish grade, a place of manufacture stamp, and an indication that the pipes were handmade, being present on all pipes.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening and slight handling marks.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.93 / 23.62mm

Bowl Depth: 1.69″ / 42.92mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g