James Upshall B Grade Smooth Panel Acorn 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.

During the workshop’s lifetime, most of James Upshall’s pipes were either Tilsheads, or they were the “standard” grades of S, A, and P. But, if a pipe was extraordinarily well grained, it had a chance to become a “high-grade”—which, given the exceptional quality of Upshall’s standard output, meant the latter were pretty special. The Upshall “B” was one of these high-grades and, per Ken Barnes, was roughly equivalent to a Charatan Executive grade. This one is a very unique panel acorn sitter, which uses its distinctive form to bring its straight grain even more to the fore. Judging by the minimal stamping, this Upshall is likely to have been produced in the workshop’s first decade, before Kennedy Barnes’ departure at the end of the 1980s.

The condition is very good. Some rim darkening and minor handling marks.

 

Details:

Length: 6.6″ / 167.6mm

Bowl Width: 1.01 / 25.65mm

Bowl Depth: 1.84″ / 46.73mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g