James Upshall Empire Series Tradition Magnum Smooth Rhodesian Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked
Out of stock
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.
The James Upshall grading scheme is a little complicated, in part because some grades were named after places (i.e., the Tilshead), some using letters (e.g., S, G, E), some simply using descriptors for the finish used (e.g., Bark, Sandblast, etc.), and some using words that evoked, variously, things like history and excellence (e.g., Executive, Old England etc.) This would be an example of the latter, a Tradition grade, which fell under the umbrella of James Upshall’s Empire Series. The Empire Series was exclusively for magnum-sized pipes, 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.
This Tradition is a very English, and also very much unique, rendition of a Rhodesian, with an unconventionally long shank in the vein the of Charatan freehand workshop and its successors. With its towering bowl, perhaps Rhodesian isn’t quite the right word for it—more like a “stack with Rhodesian characteristics.”
This pipe is completely unsmoked. Some very light, minor scratches on the bowl.
Details:
Length: 7.2″ / 182.8mm
Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm
Bowl Depth: 2.13″ / 54.10mm
Weight: 3.4oz / 98g