James Upshall B Grade Group 4 Smooth “Ritz” Dublin (Unsmoked Estate)

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.

During the workshop’s lifetime, most James Upshall pipes were either Tilsheads (which functioned as an “entry level” pipe), or they were “S,” “A,” or “P” grades (which were the workshop’s “standard” grades). But, if a pipe was extraordinarily well grained, it had a chance to become one of James Upshall’s “high-grades.” Given that a “standard” James Upshall was already quite exceptional, these high grades were very special indeed. The “B” was the first rung on the high-grades ladder, one which the late Ken Barnes considered roughly equivalent to a Charatan Executive grade (presumably a Lane era example, as he left Charatan during its acquisition by Dunhill).

This “B” grade takes the form of a nice Dublin-pot hybrid, one that recalls a rather old Charatan shape from Reuben’s time, the “47” “Ritz.” Dublins were Reuben’s favorite shape, and catalogs from his time were littered with variations on the theme—something I imagine Barry Jones will have picked picked up by osmosis of a kind.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. Some slight scratches on the bowl and minor residual oxidation on the mouthpiece.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm

Bowl Depth: 1.35″ / 34.29mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 54g