James Upshall A Grade EXL Smooth “Winston” Rhodesian 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. James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the finest hand-turned British pipes continues to endure.

The “Ex.L,” or “Extra Large” was the second largest size designation accorded to James Upshall pipes, though it should be noted that the only James Upshall pipes that exceeded their stature were the very rare, magnum-sized Empire Series. One could think of the James Upshall Extra Large as comparable to a Charatan Extra Large freehand, for example, with the Empire Series being more like if there was a such thing as a Charatan Extra, Extra Large. In the case of this Ex.L, there’s another Charatan connection worth mentioning, this time as regards the shape. It’s a curious hybrid, combining elements of the Dublin and the Rhodesian—as if one had taken the bead-line of the latter and raised them significantly. Back at Charatan, the shape was known as the “323,” aka the “Winston.” Barnes and Jones had a habit of making James Upshall homages to classic Charatan shapes, whether it was diamond shank pots or the “Newmarket” stack, and in this instance it looks to be the much the same. I can’t fault them for it; as James Upshall’s US distributor once noted, James Upshall itself was the true heir to Charatan, after all.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. The coating has been slightly over-applied at the lip of the chamber, though I wouldn’t consider it an issue.

Details:

Length: 6.9″ / 175.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.87 / 22.09mm

Bowl Depth: 1.84″ / 46.73mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 80g