James Upshall Empire Series Executive Smooth Magnum Apple 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.

Those who are more familiar with Charatan than they are with James Upshall may be wondering, “Was the James Upshall ‘Executive’ the same as the Charatan grade of the same name?” The short answer is “kind of.” See, James Upshall’s Executive was a grade used specifically for the workshop’s magnum-sized “Empire Series” pipes, and each Empire grade corresponded with one of the grades used for standard-sized pipes. The Empire “Tradition” was a magnum “A” grade, “Old England” was a magnum “P,” and the Executive was a magnum “B.” The “B” itself was one of the higher grades among an already very high-grade output and, according to Kennedy Barnes, it was roughly equivalent to Charatan’s “Executive” (presumably during the make’s Lane era, when Kennedy and Barry both worked there). A James Upshall Executive can, therefore, be considered about the same as a Charatan Executive, though given the size of the former, it’s probably better to think of these pipes along the lines of a Charatan Executive Extra Large. As for shaping, this one also bears something of a resemblance to Charatan’s freehands from the renowned Lane years, especially its more bulbous, bowl-forward offerings.

The condition is good. Some rim darkening. There was a small fissure inside the chamber, which has now been professionally filled. A new bowl coating has also been applied. I’ve adjusted the price to reflect this, though it shouldn’t impede the pipe’s performance.

Details:

Length: 7.6″ / 193.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.93 / 23.62mm

Bowl Depth: 2.05″ / 52.07mm

Weight: 4.6oz / 132g