James Upshall (c. 1979-84) E Grade Smooth Billiard 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. James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the finest hand-turned British pipes continues to endure.

Dating James Upshall pipes can be rather difficult. However, thanks to the recollections of Kennedy Barnes, generously provided on forums not long before his sudden passing, we do know certain things about the nomenclature and manufacture of these pipes that makes things a little easier, at least in some instances.

In the case of this one, it’s a rare example of a James Upshall that can be narrowed down to a production window of around 1979-1983/4. The very first pipes to be stamped with the James Upshall name were made in 1978. These pipes, however, were also also stamped “78,” a practice that was discontinued the following year. As it does not feature a date stamp, this pipe was not made until at least 1979. The pipe also lacks a size stamp and an “FH” stamp, something not added to James Upshall pipes until after 1989. That narrows the date down to a 10 year window, but it can be narrowed further. That’s because the majority of James Upshall pipes produced across the make’s lifetime were, technically, not stamped at all. Instead, their nomenclature was engraved using a pantograph, which is why one can see “naked” briar when inspecting the nomenclature on such pipes. This pipe, however, is stamped in the more conventional way. Barnes recounted that it was not until around 1983 or ’84 (whether it was late into the former or early into the latter, he could not recall) that James Upshall’s US distributor, Pete Siegel (of Marble Arch), suggested using a pantograph engraver rather than a manual stamp. Barnes and Jones were very impressed with the result and this method for branding bowls remained standard until the James Upshall brand was dissolved. Thus, the pipe will be from between 1979 and 1983, or 1984.

Now, onto the pipe itself. In addition to being a very early James Upshall, it’s quite a special one, on account of its grade. At the time this one was made, the grading system for pipes made by Barnes and Jones started at the “Tilshead” pipe (a sub-brand for pipes with very minor cosmetic imperfections [though no fills]), after which came the lettered grades, ascending as follows: “S,” “P,” “B,” “G,” “E,” “X,” “XX.” The system was far from intuitive, but as a point of reference, the grades had, per Barnes, counterparts in the grades used by Charatan, where Barnes and Jones had previously worked. The “P” was of comparable quality to a Charatan “Distinction,” for example; the “G” was comparable to a “Supreme,” or, at the least, a very good “Selected.” These were high estimations, though Barnes certainly knew a thing or two about grading pipes, given that it was one of his roles back at Charatan during the celebrated Lane era. What about the “E,” then? That was equivalent to a Charatan “Coronation,” according to Barnes. It’s a bold claim, but if anyone could match Charatan at its prime, it was James Upshall.

The condition is fair. Chamber slightly over-reamed, some inner rim charring, a couple of small scratches on the bowl, and some slight residual oxidation.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.91″ / 48.51mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g