James Upshall A Grade EXL Smooth “Keel” 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, along with many of the other major makes of the era. James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the finest hand-turned British pipes continues to endure.

While all Charatan freehand pipes were unique, certain forms and motifs were used regularly—or, at least, periodically—in their designs. It was much the same with James Upshall pipes and, given that James Upshall grew out of Charatan, it was only natural that some of the forms and motifs commonly found in Charatan pipes would make their way into the Tilshead Pipe Company. For example, the Newmarket (technically an old Charatan catalog shape), the Countryman and the Cup and Saucer shapes were first nade at the Mansell Street factory in London, but would ultimately reappear in new guises at the workshop in Tilshead. This pipe, from the latter, is another example. Owing to its peculiar, paneled protrusion running underneath and to the front of the bowl, it is sometimes referred to as a “keel,” owing to its resemblance to the stabilizing fin found on the underside of a ship. In this case, the keel motif has been incorporated into a beautiful, Extra Large bent billiard, whose straight grain somehow manages to be even more striking than the form it resides in.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. Some minor handling marks and superficial scuffs on the bowl.

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.72″ / 43.68mm

Weight: 2.4oz / 70g