James Upshall (c.1980s) Tilshead Natural Smooth Bent Billiard (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.

The Tilshead was the first rung on the ladder of James Upshall’s grading system, named for the English village where the company’s workshop was located (a naming practice that is something of a tradition in English pipe-making). They were made the exact same way as the various grades above them, but their graining was deemed not quite perfect enough for them to qualify as a James Upshall proper.

This particular Tilshead is an old one, from around the 1980s. Back then, Tilsheads did not carry the same “JU” logo as their James Upshall counterparts, and they were, furthermore, dressed a little differently to the Tilsheads that came later. The latter were available in plum red and chestnut tan finishes, whereas early Tilsheads were also available in a much lighter finish, known as the Tilshead Natural. The Tilshead Natural was not stained, but simply waxed, which I suppose is one way that the Tilshead Pipe Company demonstrated that even their “seconds” could compete with a high-end pipe from one of the other major English makes.

The condition is very good. Some minor inner rim darkening and slight scratches on the rim.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 21.84mm

Bowl Depth: 1.63″ / 41.40mm

Weight: 1.9oz / 56g