James Upshall Empire Series Old England Magnum Smooth Rhodesian (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. James Upshall pipes are no longer made, but their reputation as some of the finest hand-turned British pipes continues to endure.

Similarly to their contemporaries in the English workshop scene, James Upshall pipes were, on average, larger than traditional Anglo-French factory pipes. Even larger were James Upshall’s “Ex.L,” or “Extra Large” pipes, which were of a comparable size to the Charatans which bore much the same designation. And larger still were the “Empire Series” of James Upshall pipes. Comprised exclusively of magnum-sized pipes (or, at the very least, mini-magnum pipes), the Empire Series showcased the mastery of the Tilshead workshop’s craftsmen when it came to shaping and to chasing natural briar grain patterns. This necessitated so much time and energy per pipe, as well as the large, consistently high-quality blocks of briar needed to make them, that production was extremely limited, to the point where waitlists for established for them.

As with James Upshall’s other pipes, the Empire Series was divided into grades, which also corresponded with the grades used for their standard-sized counterparts. The Old England, seen here, was essentially a super-sized “P” grade, whose graining was accentuated by a contrast stain inspired by the old Charatan Perfection line.

This one takes the form of a giant Rhodesian rendition, with its wealth of flame grain patterns accentuated even further by the Old England’s contrast finish. Interestingly, this particular example features an original, brindled acrylic mouthpiece, rather than an ebonite one. Mouthpieces of this kind were not common at the Tilshead workshop, but do nonetheless appear to have been an option for customers in its later years, especially those in the European markets.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. Some very slight scratches on the bowl, though nothing major.

Details:

Length: 8.1″ / 205.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.87″ / 47.49mm

Weight: 3.9oz / 112g