James Upshall Grade A Group 6 Smooth Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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 Dublin is ubiquitous within pipe making. One could make the case that there are more possible Dublin renditions than any other shape, or, as I heard somewhere recently, that all shapes have a little Dublin in them. Though the Danish pipe makers of the post-war period novel, popular genres of the shape that continue to captivate today, the English had plenty of purchase on the Dublin long before that, in large part thanks to Charatan. The Dublin was Reuben Charatan’s favorite shape, and his own preferences for shaping, such as that of the “Bell Dublin,” continued to have a place in English pipes long after he’d passed. Part of that continuation occurred at Charatan under Herman Lane, and part of it occurred at the Tilshead Pipe Company under the Barneses and Jones, and indeed after. I’d consider this to be a Charatan-esque Bell Dublin of sorts, albeit a slightly squat one, given the distinctly wide flare of the bowl. Either way you look at it, though, it’s a beautiful rendition, with plenty of good vertical grain rising under a subdued, walnut finish.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. Some light scuffs and slight scratches on the bowl, but nothing major.

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.94 / 23.87mm

Bowl Depth: 1.66″ / 42.16mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g