A visit to James Smith & Sons a pictorial essay

[alden]

A classic London shop and atelier that is a must for Elegant visitors:

[RWS]

I've passed Smiths' innumerable times over the years, but I'd never before remarked the American flag over the entrance.

[alden]

[cuffthis]

I will add this to my list of must visit places

[Mark Seitelman]

Fabulous.

[BenedictSpinola]

I love the place.

[Trilby]

It's a wonderful place, with a great deal more character than Swaine Adeney. Their products are first rate.

They will also cut umbrellas to an exact length based on the purchaser's height, which is as close as most of us need to a bespoke umbrella. After you select an umbrella, they trim the end of the wooden shaft to the appropriate length and then attach the ferrule.

I recommend it highly.

[E. Tage Larsen]

For a number of years New York was without an umbrella store. I was very happy when a trip to London last year left me with enough time to visit James Smith. There is little greater glory than having an umbrella cut to size in a city of constant rain.

I do recommend that if you're flying with it that you have them ship the umbrella to your destination. I was forced at Heathrow to purchase a bag to check the item because they wouldn't let me travel with it.

Also of note, Brella Bar openned up recently in New York on Elizabeth street. It's much more Parisian in flair but it's better than nothing.

[le.gentleman]

Fantastic - does anyone own such a piece of art? I think we all would appreciate pictures.

[E. Tage Larsen]

le.gentleman,

Below are 3 images of the two James Smith umbrellas I own. Of the two, the Apple wood stick (top image, bottom umbrella) is my pride and joy. Because the umbrella is one piece of wood it's very heavy and extremely reliable. The middle and bottom image show it open. You can barely see that it fastens twice. It took a little time to get used to the heft but now i feel uncomfortable with anything lighter. Hope this helps. I think they have beautiful silhouettes.

[BirdofSydney]

Swordsticks? Are these legal in the UK? Or is it a really old sign, or maybe an intentional anachronism...

[rjman]

Another signage question: What do they mean by "Life Preserver"? I recollect a similar life preserver playing a role in a Holmes story where it was used like a blackjack. As the only life preservers I know are the foam kind, do illuminate me.

[TVD]

Before the advent of today's highly policed and relatively safe society, London streets used to be somewhat dangerous for the rich and unwary. Remember that the Metropolitan police force was only introduced by Sir Robert Peel in 1829.

Gentlemen carried all sorts of weapons for defence, and James Smith appears to have been a supplier of choice. Examples include sword sticks, lead filled cane handles, or a "life preserver" which I believe is also known as a cosh. The problem was to carry them unobtrusively, therefore most of these were concealed in one way or another.

Since then, Europe has chosen to make its streets safer by banning the carrying of arms of any sort, and especially concealed weapons. I am not a lawyer, but I believe that one actually needs a special licence to even collect these things.

[uppercase]

Monsieur Larsen,
Indeed a very attractive umbrella!
I am surprised to read that you could not carry your umbrella on board a plane!
Is that still the case?
Regarding the proper measurement for a bespoke umbrella; how is the length determined?

[E. Tage Larsen]

M. Uppercase,

At Heathrow my girlfriend and I were informed that both sticks would not pass security. I forget if we were traveling via a US carrier or BA, however the concern was mostly about the check point. We purchased an oversized case at a travel store and 10 Sunday papers to wrap the sticks in. I heard mixed reports about whether my blunt tipped umbrella would have passed through security or not. But when you love an object that much do you really want to be caught out on a fuzzy rule?

The measurement of the stick was a bit informal in my case. The gentleman that sold me the umbrella was roughly the same height. I tried a couple of other pieces in the shop and he cut the stick to the new size that he was already familiar with. Roughly speaking, the stick sits just slightly higher than where your arm hangs so that you don't have to stretch to touch the ground nor does your arm have to crook to accommodate. It's a wonderfully secure feeling. My other Smith umbrella was bought for me as a gift and is sized all wrong.

Another note about Smith is that they often carry different and varied woods that aren't in their parsimonious catalogue. A trip there is even more rewarding for the new treasures on hand.

As a side note, as i mentioned previously, the Brella Bar has now moved to their uptown location in Manhattan. They even have a blog now. Good people. I've talked to them about cutting umbrellas to size and it may happen. http://www.brellabar.com/