James Upshall 1980s P Grade Smooth Stack Dublin 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.

The “P” was the highest of James Upshall’s “standard” grades, and one notable for its excellent grain patterns. Taking its name from Charatan’s “Perfection” grade, the “P” was Barry and Ken’s attempt to create their own version of the warm, walnut contrast stain used by Charatan on such pipes. The Upshall boys were a little bolder when it came to comparing the “P” to Charatan in terms of quality, however. As Ken Barnes would later recount, the “P” was, rather, much closer to Charatan’s “Distinction,” a straight grain grade which, in Charatan’s own system, was considerably higher than the “Perfection.”
This one is an example of a beautiful large billiard shape from the Tilshead workshop, and one whose likening to a Charatan Executive is certainly deserved. Based on the lack of a size stamp, this will be an early piece, made prior to 1989 at least, back when Kennedy Barnes himself cut the briar used to make it and took part in its final grading before distribution. Judging by the height of the bowl, had it been made later, it would likely have been a group 6, or even an Ex.L, as this was the principal means of assigning size groups post-1989.

This pipe is completely unsmoked.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 1.77″ / 44.95mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 32g