James Upshall (c. 1980s) P Grade Smooth Oom Paul Sitter 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.

The Oom Paul is not a shape typically associated with James Upshall, nor indeed with Charatan, out of which the former was ultimately born. Granted, both James Upshall and Charatan’s freehand workshop put out designs that were, more or less, subject to the whims of their respective workers than a fixed shape chart, but even then, Oom Paul renditions from either are especially uncommon. Then again, it’s not an especially easy shape to make. Judging by the nomenclature, specifically the absence of a size group or an “FH” stamp, I would assume this very beautiful specimen to have been made during the 1980s, or the early 1990s at the very latest, as those designations were added to the standard James Upshall nomenclature a few years later. The grade, which is noted in the nomenclature, is that of the “P,” modeled on the golden contrast finish of Charatan’s Perfection line, though with a much higher standard of grain (around the level of a Charatan Distinction, per Barnes). In this instance, a cross-cut approach has been adopted for the shaping, rather than one focused on vertical lines. The result is a bowl decked out in bird’s-eye, as the grain passes from one side through to the next.

This pipe is completely unsmoked. Some slight handling marks, though nothing major.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.99 / 25.14mm

Bowl Depth: 2.02″ / 51.30mm

Weight: 2.5oz / 72g