James Upshall 1986 Grade B Billiard w/ 9k Gold 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 hand-turned 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. Looking at this one, made during the workshop’s very first decade, one has to wonder whether Barnes might have been under-selling it. Rather James Upshall’s archetypical Dublin shape, this B grade is a slender, almost Bing like, billiard, with genuinely remarkable straight grain. As such billiards tend to be, this one is also very lightweight, making for easy, good-looking clenching. I presume this is why Barnes & Jones sent the pipe out to be fitted with something extra special, in the form of an engine turned collar of solid, 9 karat gold. The collar itself was, of course, turned by Les Wood, also of Ferndown, who was James Upshall’s go-to goldsmith and silversmith throughout its lifetime (as well as a dear friend of both Ken and Barry).

The condition is very good. The top of the chamber is ever so slightly over-reamed, but nothing major. This pipe comes with its original box and sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.56″ / 39.62mm

Weight: 1.0oz / 30g