James Upshall P Grade Grp 4 Smooth Bent Billiard 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 handmade British pipes lives on.

The “P” was the highest of James Upshall’s standard grades, notable for its excellent grain patterns. Taking its name from Charatan’s “Perfection” grade, the P was also Barry and Ken’s attempt to create their own version of the warm, walnut contrast stain used by Charatan. The Upshall boys were a little bolder when it came to comparing the P grade to Charatan in terms of quality however. As Ken Barnes would later recount, the P was, rather, much closer to Charatan’s “Distinction,” which in Charatan’s system was considerably higher than the “Perfection.” This one is a very nice bent billiard shape, one which uses its contrast stain to light up its wealth of bird’s-eye and cross grain patterns. It is also lightweight enough to be a comfortable hanger.

This pipe is completely unsmoked with an original bowl coating. Some very slight handling marks from over the years, though it seems only to admire it.

 

Details:

Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.41″ / 35.81mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g