James Upshall Tilshead FH 6, Army Mount Bent Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked [SOLD OUT]

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, along with Les and Wood of Ferndown fame. Sadly, James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the best British pipes ever made lives on.

‘Tilshead’ was the lowest grade offered by James Upshall, named after the village in England where JU was based. It wouldn’t be fair to call these pipes ‘seconds,’ as they were sold alongside other grade Upshall pipes, and because the only thing that separated a Tilshead from a higher grade James Upshall pipe was “a slight imperfection” in the exterior of the briar. As you can see from this pipe, which has a vulcanite stem and a sterling silver army mount made for Upshall by Les Wood, Jones and Barnes took making their Tilshead pipes just as seriously as any other sold under their name. The pipe has a lovely wine-red stain and the design is very traditional, being a large, but simple and elegant army mount bent billiard.

Lastly, this pipe is completely unsmoked and has its original bowl coating that was typical for James Upshall pipes. Very few unsmoked Upshall pipes exist these days, so this one is a rare treat to hold and to behold.

 

Details:

Length: 6.5″

Bowl Width: 19.3mm

Bowl Depth: 1.75″

Weight: 2.3oz / 68g