James Upshall Tilshead Group 6 Smooth Poker 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 hand-turned British pipes lives on.

The Tilshead was the first rung on the ladder of James Upshall’s grading system, named for the English village where the company’s workshop was located (a naming practice that is something of a tradition in English pipe-making). They were made the exact same way as the various grades above them, being hand turned and having hand cut stems, and even shared similar finishes with these other grades, such as the A and S. The only difference was the grain patterns, but even then, it’s hard to consider the Tilshead a “second,” as one finds, for example with Dunhill’s Parker, or even Comoy’s Guildhall pipes. This one is a classic poker sitter, one not entirely similar from the mid-century Charatan 484 shape Barry Jones will have had plenty of experience turning. It looks like Jones turned this one to highlight the excellent bird’s-eye patterns in the briar, which cover the bowl’s flanks beneath a walnut finish.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. There are a couple of light scratches and two spots where the stain has bled at one point or another. These are minor, cosmetic imperfections, but the price will nonetheless be adjusted accordingly.

 

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.50″ / 38.10mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g