James Upshall Acclaim Magnum Apple w/ Les Wood Silver Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

James Upshall was, along with Ferndown and Ashton, part of a new wave of British handmade, 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.

The Acclaim was a relatively late addition to the James Upshall catalog, but one that has, nonetheless, found plenty of fans, especially given the pipe-cultural environment it was born into. In its beginnings, the Tilshead Pipe Company only offered smooth finishes but, as time went by, James Upshall diversified its output to include sandblasted and rusticated finishes. Given that this move coincided with, arguably, the zenith of modern English sandblasting (via Ashton) and rustication (via Ferndown), the market was ripe for Upshall-brand examples of both. “Acclaim” was the name given to both sandblasted and rusticated finishes within in the Empire Series, which was exclusively for magnum-sized James Upshall pipes. Such pipes were produced on a far more limited basis than the workshop’s other pipes, with customers often needing to enquire directly as to their availability and price. This Acclaim is a stout and sturdy English apple, and while its chamber is fairly conventional in volume, its thick bowl walls should mean that heat dispersion is not going to be any kind of issue. The pipe also features a silver collar fitted by Les Wood, who was the go-to silversmith for James Upshall pipes.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

 

Details:

Length: 7″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.82 / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 1.52″ / 38.60mm

Weight: 3.6oz / 104g