James Upshall "Old England" Grade

[ssjones]

Another mammoth Old England pipe brings in some big bucks:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUGE-UNSMOKED-MAGNUM-JAMES-UPSHALL-OLD-ENGLAND-PIPE-WITH-CUMBERLAND-STEM-/111482462256?autorefresh=true&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=PFxJlfv%252FZVyIkuJj3xxl4IRtpnI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

This seller takes photos from the oddest angles, but always seems to have some rare offerings available.

 

[ssjones]

Here's another high grade James Upshall that ended a few days ago, a Tradition. While P grades and such have declined a bit in pricing, these higher grades still do well.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOP-VERY-LARGE-JAMES-UPSHALL-TRADITION-TILSHEAD-HAND-MADE-VERY-RARE-LN-/381612358887?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=NMWvBlC7LPw4eMhnchcpV3qlXoI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

[jpmcwjr]

Beautiful!
On a year old statement by neverbend:

Briar grows outward from the stem of the plant so that the oldest part of the wood is always the outermost layer. As you move inward toward the stem the wood has less age. Thus every block is a range of age from it’s oldest growth to it’s newest.

So, briar grows differently from every other tree?

 

[ssjones]

I didn't catch that jpm. Perhaps Neverbend will comment.

 

[neverbend]

Here's another high grade James Upshall that ended a few days ago, a Tradition. While P grades and such have declined a bit in pricing, these higher grades still do well.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOP-VERY-LARGE-JAMES-UPSHALL-TRADITION-TILSHEAD-HAND-MADE-VERY-RARE-LN-/381612358887?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=NMWvBlC7LPw4eMhnchcpV3qlXoI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Al,
Beautiful pipe with an excellent hand-cut, rod vulcanite stem. Thanks for posting it.

So, briar grows differently from every other tree?

Hi Jpmcwjr,
Briar's not a tree.
It's not even a root as many believe.
Briar is a tumor that grows off of the root stem of the Heath bush (Erica Arborea). Briar is unique because it doesn't shrink when boiled.
Found mostly in sandy and/or rocky, arid soil, the outer edge of the tumor pushes through the ground, often enveloping sand, stones, etc., that we see as flaws and it can develop cracks. The tumor is a reservoir for the plant, bringing moisture through it's xylem (grain) to the pulpwood near the root stem.
Pete

 

[ssjones]

Thanks Pete, I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know that detail about briar.

 

[deathmetal]

Briar is a tumor that grows off of the root stem of the Heath bush (Erica Arborea).

Fascinating. Enjoyed your interview, Neverbend.

 

[neverbend]

...I didn't know that detail about briar.

The first pipe makers probably weren't aware of the distinction but if they were, smoking a 100 year old root sounds better than smoking a 100 year old tumor (even if it's benign ).

...Enjoyed your interview, Neverbend.

Thanks DeathMetal, Brian is good and he took out all my cussin'!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Also a thank you to Pete. I was surely as ignorant as can be regarding this. Good to know, though "tumor" does not have a nice ring to it!

 

[orlandofurioso]

A many good morrows to you all.

Neverbend; I've been reading and studying this amazing JU thread(s) over and over again.

I'm in awe, you're a fountain of knowledge, but who are you

Are you the pipesmagazine.com " stig " ?

Anyway; thank you and please keep helping us from going astray LOL.

I now own two JU's, one is a gorgeous A grade, carved by the great and kind Barry Jones himself and the next one is on its way from across the pond, an older P grade canadian with a Les Wood impeccable, elaborate silver band and good straight grain.
Cheers!

 

[kenbarnes]

I'm in awe, you're a fountain of knowledge, but who are you?

Pete (I hope that he does not mind me 'blowing his anonymity') was our passionate U.S. distributor of pipes in the 1980s. Apart from me and Barry, I don't know another person who was so passionate and involved with James Upshall pipes. The other day he recalled the times when we actually slept on the floor at the factory after discussing possibilities of improving the quality still further, shapes that sell well and so forth into the early hours, only to resume discussions in the morning before production started again. Pete was responsible for truly establishing the name James Upshall in the USA. He also acquired some of his knowledge from Barry Jones and possibly from me as well. What satisfaction and fun I had working so hard with this man!

 

[ssjones]

The PipesMagazine Radio show has interviews with Ken and Pete Siegel, both fascinating interviews.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Thank you for joining us Ken,it is always such a pleasure .

Who can enlighten me about the Les Wood silver band on my new P grade? It is an amazing mostly straight grained walnut pipe. Both elegant and solid, sheer beauty, I'm just over the moon. My educated guess about the JU logo is that it is stamped, not engraved, no size or Fh stamps.

 

[ssjones]

@kenbarnes - can you comment on this DS stamped James Upshall? There doesn't appear to be a reference to it on the Upshall webpage of grades. Some folks say the DS means Desmond Sauter, who was a tobacconist in Mayfair. The stamping font looks JU to my eye. The grain on this one looks like it would be graded higher than P and it is curious that it has no other grade stamp, so I think the DS is a grade?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIPE-JAMES-UPSHALL-D-S-/162191572679?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=2NwPiz4VdrbZ%252B3txIPEcJ62SVko%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Another Ebay vendor recently sold a DS and referred to it as the "Designer Series".
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JAMES-UPSHALL-DS-DESIGNER-SERIES-GRADE-PIPE-WITH-EXCEPTIONAL-GRAIN-/121752632600?hash=item1c5905bd18%3Ag%3AQNsAAOSw3ydV7Fb3&nma=true&si=NMWvBlC7LPw4eMhnchcpV3qlXoI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

[kenbarnes]

Yes, there were a few Upshalls that Desmond Sautter wanted his initials on. These are upshalls from the early eighties I think (poss 1982-3). We only did a limited edition of these pipes for him. I think it was at the time when Sautter was selling more James Upshall pipes in his 3 shops (Mount Street, Picadilly and Russel Square) than we were selling in the entire USA. This was before Pete Siegel arrived in the factory!I remember the Billiard in the above photo.

 

[pitchfork]

Thanks for that, Ken! (And Al for posting the question.)

 

[ssjones]

Thanks for clearing up that mystery Ken. That also explains why I've only seen two of these pipes come up in the past six years (and not surprisingly, they always bring big bucks).