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jaingorenard

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 11, 2022
744
3,401
Norwich, UK
A question for you Upshall fans - did they ever sell rejects? I recently bought a job lot of pipes (for a completely different pipe - a Barling) and it contained this Tilshead (not much to look at yet, but hopefully it will clean up nicely). It also contained two pipes stamped 'Reject' with the same 'Made by Hand' stamp, and similar styling. I was just wondering if anyone had come across Upshall rejects before.IMG20240729170946.jpgIMG20240729170951.jpgIMG20240729171007.jpgIMG20240729171004.jpgIMG20240729171030.jpg
 
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simong

Lifer
Oct 13, 2015
2,747
16,590
UK
A question for you Upshall fans - did they ever sell rejects? I recently bought a job lot of pipes (for a completely different pipe - a Barling) and it contained this Tilshead (not much to look at yet, but hopefully it will clean up nicely). It also contained two pipes stamped 'Reject' with the same 'Made by Hand' stamp, and similar styling. I was just wondering if anyone had come across Upshall rejects before.View attachment 327169View attachment 327170View attachment 327171View attachment 327172View attachment 327173
I’ve never seen one & as far as I know they never did.
Your rejects look like Charatan or Ben Wade to me.
 
Dec 10, 2013
2,617
3,347
Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Not to my knowledge, never seen one, and I own JU and Tilshead pipes both.
The Tilshead are very fine pipes, often with only one tiny flaw . By no means seconds !
Never seen Charatan rejects ; F&T rejects plenty.
Simong could of course be right though.
 
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jaingorenard

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 11, 2022
744
3,401
Norwich, UK
I presume with the LONDON MADE and MADE BY HAND stamps, and the style, that these are Charatan rejects from the late 50s/early 60s, which would put them around the same age as all the other pipes in the job lot except the Tilshead.
 
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greysmoke

Can't Leave
Apr 28, 2011
380
1,799
South Coatesville, PA
www.greysmoke.com
I haven’t bought a pipe in ages. A couple of years maybe? But sometimes a pipe just demands to be bought. That first happened around 1997 in Chief Catoonah’s wonderful B&M in Ridgefield, CT. I was browsing his wall o’ pipes when an unusually thick, long shanked bent billiard leapt off the display hooks and thrashed me soundly on the head like a scene from Harry Potter. I turned it over in my hands, still wriggling, saw the Upshall stamping, and bought it.

Something similar happened recently: the online version, courtesy of Blue Room Briars. Yes, another Upshall. Damned things are aggressive. It’s mine now. Clicked a button and in my hands a couple of days later.

Scalp is still bleeding, but I’ll get over it.

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Professor Moriarty

Can't Leave
Apr 13, 2023
466
1,380
United States
I have 3 Upshalls, added to my collection decades ago, all great smokers and lookers

This is my favorite, with plateau top
B JAMES UPSHALL (circled) TILSHEAD ENGLAND MADE BY HAND
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This was an estate purchase, large eighth bent squat bulldog
P JAMES UPSHALL (circled) TILSHEAD ENGLAND MADE BY HAND
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This is one of the few sandblasts in my collection, note the excellent vertical grain and growth rings
JAMES UPSHALL (not circled) FH HAND MADE IN ENGLAND
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Professor Moriarty

Can't Leave
Apr 13, 2023
466
1,380
United States
oops, forgot a recent acquisition, an estate purchase from smokingpipes.com, Sept 2023

"While much attention and devotion is paid to the great English marques and factories of yesteryear, it's easy to forget that there exists some fine British briars made by hand, like those by James Upshall. This Apple is a robust rendition of the classic shape, placing a plump, curvaceous bowl atop a rounded heel at the fore of a comparatively slim round shank an tapered vulcanite stem. Dressed in a rich chestnut finish, the stummel boasts fine flame grain all around the bowl."

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Dec 10, 2013
2,617
3,347
Nijmegen, the Netherlands
oops, forgot a recent acquisition, an estate purchase from smokingpipes.com, Sept 2023

"While much attention and devotion is paid to the great English marques and factories of yesteryear, it's easy to forget that there exists some fine British briars made by hand, like those by James Upshall. This Apple is a robust rendition of the classic shape, placing a plump, curvaceous bowl atop a rounded heel at the fore of a comparatively slim round shank an tapered vulcanite stem. Dressed in a rich chestnut finish, the stummel boasts fine flame grain all around the bowl."

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Congrats; this is a very fine B graded, so Straight Grain graded pipe.
Very sweet :)
 
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