James Upshall P Grade Group 3 Smooth Prince w/ Silver 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 “P” was the highest of James Upshall’s “standard” grades, and one notable for its excellent grain patterns. Taking its name from Charatan’s “Perfection” grade, the “P” was Barry and Ken’s attempt to create their own version of the warm, walnut contrast stain used by Charatan on such pipes. The Upshall boys were a little bolder when it came to comparing the “P” to Charatan in terms of quality, however. As Ken Barnes would later recount, the “P” was, rather, much closer to Charatan’s “Distinction,” presumably those of the quality Barnes and Jones saw first-hand when working there (under Reuben Charatan and Herman Lane, and Herman Lane, respectively).

This one is something of a rarity. For one, it is fitted with an engine-turned, sterling silver collar, turned and mounted by Ferndown’s Les Wood. Les provided silver mountings for various English pipe outfits in the 20th and 21st centuries, and was good friends with many pipe makers in the scene, including Barry and Ken at James Upshall, though in the case of the latter these adornments were far from standard. The second uncommon element to this pipe is its shape. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a James Upshall prince rendition before, especially given that James Upshall pipes tended to be substantially larger than the average Anglo-French briar. It’s a welcome change of pace, however, not least because of how light, elegant, and nicely grained the pipe is.

This pipe is completely unsmoked and comes with its original sleeve.

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.66 / 16.76mm

Bowl Depth: 0.94″ / 23.87mm

Weight: 0.8oz / 24g