James Upshall Empire Series Tradition Magnum Smooth Long Shank Bent Billiard with Cumberland (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, 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 Empire Series of James Upshall pipes was exclusively for magnum-sized pieces (or “pocket magnum,” at the very least), and were furthermore exemplars for the mastery of the workshop’s craftsmen when it came to shaping and to chasing the finest grain patterns around. 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, and prices—especially at the workshop’s peak—were exceedingly high.

This one comes from the Tradition series, which was a magnum-sized analog to James Upshall’s “A” (and, sometimes, “S”) grade. It takes the form of a sizeable long shank bent billiard—the long shank being a recurrent motif in the James Upshall portfolio, just as it had been in Charatan’s during the Lane era. Unlike most James Upshall pipes (and unlike any Charatan pipe), this one features a hand-cut, red and black brindled cumberland mouthpiece, something infrequently offered by the Tilshead workshop during later years.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. Some slight scratches around the bowl.

Details:

Length: 8.1″ / 205.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.84″ / 46.73mm

Weight: 3.2oz / 92g