James Upshall A Grade EXL Bullmoose w/ Cumberland Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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 British briars lives on.

The “bullmoose” is one of the most distinctive shapes to have emerged from traditional, Anglo-French briar pipe design. And, as far as shapes go, it is a genuine cult classic a collectors’ favorite, no doubt in large part due to the iconic renditions created by makes such as GBD and Peterson. In terms of design, one way to think of it is as a bulldog (or, technically, a Rhodesian) on steroids, hence the association with an even more muscular and powerful creature. I’m pretty sure this is the first bullmoose I’ve ever seen from James Upshall, and frankly it is of a size and stature that makes GBD’s “9438” and the Peterson “John Bull” look more like doe deer. It’s an impressive specimen, which I would imagine went a ways into the decision to give it a cumberland, rather than vulcanite, stem—something that was a premium back when James Upshall was still in business.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It also comes with its original leather sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 6.7″ / 170.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.72 / 18.28mm

Bowl Depth: 1.45″ / 36.83mm

Weight: 3.1oz / 88g