Vintage Bagpipe Archive

Circa 1900 Cocuswood Henderson, New Artificial Ivory Mounts

SOLD – This lovely cocuswood Henderson came to me with the ivory mounts badly chipped and broken, though the sticks were in fine shape. Profiles and mount shapes suggested a date of manufacture as early as the 1890s.

I had the damaged ivory replaced with Dunbar Bagpipes non-chip artificial ivory. The blowstick stock and chanter stock were cracked and required some invisible whipping. The blowstick was broken beyond repair and was replaced with a poly-lined blackwood blowstick.

Some readers might be familiar with the late John Kidd, an American whose knowledge of acoustics and skill at wooodworking led to his being in demand by pipers to make adjustments to their pipes to improve their tone and steadiness. John rounded out the ends of the tuning pins, rebored the stocks to a conical shape and made all bores perfectly parallel from the top to the bottom of each drone. His clients have included some top players who swear by his work. John’s touch is evident on this set.

The pipes display classic, bold Henderson tone and steadiness, suitable for pipers from the bottom to the top of the tree. I’m a big fan of cocuswood. Both of my personal Henderson sets are made of it.

This would make an ideal top-drawer travel set.

Robertson, Circa 1960, Engraved Silver Alloy, Ivory

SOLD – These Robertsons were purchased new sometime around 1960. They are in superb condition.

This set was owned by a gentleman whose wife owned a set of Robertsons as well with the same silver pattern. One of the sets was much older. At some point it’s possible that one or two of the stocks got switched around. The ferrule on one tenor stock is the same pattern, but much older, though the stock appears to be original. The bass stock is a Robertson, but with a tapered bore typical of older Robertsons. However, the ferrule on the bass is orignal to the set.

Suffice to say that all parts are Robertson and the set suffers no tonal or visual ill effects from the inadvertant switch!

One unusual characteristic about this set (and this may be more common than pipers think):  while the set is not hallmarked, any piper would call this set “silver and ivory.”  However, I had the silver professionally tested. Here are the results:  Copper: 61.42%.  Zinc: 22.95%.  Nickel: 8.3%.  Silver:  4.67%.  Strontium: 2.7%.  It is absolutely lovely material, as the photos show, with just enough silver to give it the remarkable sheen and the softness to take hand engraving.

The pipes were refinished about 3 years ago and all of the mounts are in immaculate condition. The pipes play with typically bold Robertson timbre — rich, steady and with a dominant bass sound.

This is really a gorgeous and exceptional pipe, free of cracks or blemishes, though missing the original engraved mouthpiece and ivory bulb.

Unknown Ebony, Circa Pre-1890, Ivory, Nickel Ferrules

SOLD – This is a really neat bagpipe. Tonally, it is one of the best instruments I’ve had in my hands in some time. The sound is huge and room-filling. When I put my own Ezeedrones into them and plugged the drones into my own stocks and with my own chanter, I tuned them and immediately played 4 minutes of 4/4 marches without the slightest wobble. They locked like they were digital — but with life and boldness.

They came to me as unknown, though educated guesses range, in order, from Henderson to early Lawrie to Donald MacPhee, the latter being Ron Bowen’s considered assessment. Certainly in the Glasgow tradition. The sticks are ebony and quite massive. The pipes are noticeably heavier than other such mounted pipes, confirming the amount of wood used, especially in the drone tops.

The ferrules are quite distincive — a bit in the old Robertson tradition — and may well be later additions. The lovely old ebony shows sapwood here and there, adding to the visual character. As with any 125-year-old ebony, there were a couple of hairline cracks. I take no chances and have all of these filled or whipped, whether they look threatening or not. This set needed no whipping. The two tenor stocks are quite noticeably different lengths. This is not uncommon among pre-1900 pipes of various makes (especially Glen), though no one is quite sure why. The bass bottom joint is worn almost smooth.

The set was stripped (which is how we find the wee hairlines) and refinished. The tuning chambers were reamed perfectly even.

A first-class set of pipes which may live out their lives unnamed.

Henderson, Circa 1900, Ebony, German Silver and Ivory

SOLD – This old Henderson set could pass for silver and ivory, but is in fact German silver, a high quality precursor to what we now call nickel.

The wood is ebony. The pipes are beautifully made and the ivory is in excellent shape for its age, showing only a few spider lines here and there.

The set underwent a major refurbishment with hairline cracks, particularly under ferrules, in several pieces. All were invisible whipped.

Very few are visible except in one or two places where the browner shade of ebony couldn’t be perfectly matched on the bead.  Invisible whipping is foolproof. Those cracks will not reopen.

Two of the five stocks are not originals. The drone stocks are all original, the chanter and blowstick stocks are replicas with the original mounts affixed. The ivory projecting mount on the blowstick was replaced with a matching Henderson mount. You would not know it isn’t original. The set was refinished.

The pipes display a fabulous, ebony Henderson tone, full but refined in a way only ebony can offer. The drones are steady, vibrant, full of blend, and tune in the right places.

This pipe could be played at any level.

Lawrie, Circa 1905, Ebony, Silver and Ivory

SOLD – This is one of the earliest silver and ivory Lawries we’ve had on the site in a long time. All of the pieces are original except for the blowpipe, which is a poly replica with internal valve and the original mount. The chanter is an old Hardie fitted with the original engraved silver sole. The blowpipe bulb is modern polypenco, and the sleeve is engraved nickel. The blowpipe mount has aged more than the rest of the ivory, but does appear to be original. I suspect an owner at some point used a different blowpipe and stored the original in a damp place. One lower projecting mount has a rice-grain-sized chip.

The set was dated by the previous owner, and external evidence and profiles support a date that could indeed be as early as 1905.

As with any 100+ year old ebony, there were three or four hairline crack on the outside of the wood. None threatened any of the pieces, but I prefer to have all of these sealed or invisible whipped as required. No whipping was needed on this set.

It should be noted that this style of Lawrie bagpipe with engraved, tapered, metal ferrules, are usually called “silver and ivory.” In fact, the silver is plating only. But Lawrie executed the best plating I’ve ever seen. Even after years of terrible tarnishing on the mountes of an unplayed pipes, these buff up to a gorgeous sheen.

The drones are a tonal masterpiece — big, bold and steady. This is a prize set.

Lawrie, Circa 1915, Full Ivory

SOLD – This beautiful set of Lawries were sold to me as Hendersons. It comes from the Great War era when Lawries and Hendersons were quite similar in appearance, but especially in tone. Vintage Lawries and Hendersons have always had very similar tonal characteristics, but it is no surprise to me that the previous owner pegged these as Henderson.

It is one of the loveliest ivory sets we’ve had here in a while, both visually and tonally. The pipes are seamless and rich in quality, with a bass that cradles the whole bagpipe. The ivory patina is quite stunning and the pipes are a visual treat.

There were hairline surface cracks in one tenor top, the bass mid-joint and two of the stocks, but these have been sealed and are undetectable. Two of the ivory ferrules had open cracks. These have been sealed, though the difficulty of matching ivory patina means they are visible.

The ivory bushing from one one of the tenors was missing, but I had a perfect match in my box if miscellaneous bits, and you would be hard-pressed to detect the difference. One tenor ring has a small chip out of it: pretty standard with a set of this age.

This Lawrie set is really a classic from the golden age of pipemaking in Glasgow.

Suspected Macdougall, Circa 1850s, Ebony, Full Ivory, Brass Lined

SOLD – I love this set. It is one of the oldest and most distinctive we’ve had on the site.

I acquired them as MacDougall, and other opinions support this. Having said that, they are not exactly like any other MacDougall set I’ve ever seen. They may be too early for Duncan, and may be his father John’s, though the possibility of them being made by Thomas MacBean Glen — easily an equal maker — has also been raised.

The set is brass lined and very MacDougall-like in tonal character. I’ve played them for the last three months, and am taken with every aspect of them.

As is usually the case with brass-lined ebony, there were some cracks adjacent to the brass. These have been invisible whipped and will never be trouble again. The set came without stocks. By pure coincidence, several days after I purchased this set a friend approached me about a box of parts that contained one complete set of stocks — ebony and from likely the same period. They were a near perfect match for the pipes.

The blowstick is a poly-lined blackwood replica. The set has been stripped and refinished.

Though the identity of this set may not be positive, there is no doubt they are the exquisite product of a high-end mid-19th century maker.

Henderson, Circa 1912, Blackwood, Ivory, Nickel

SOLD – This is one of several Henderson sets of this vintage to appear on the site in recent months, though the seamed ferrules on this set suggested they might be earlier than the 1920s. Additional information provided recently by a reader who has seen an identical set with the same bass stock engravings suggest they were made prior to the Great War and spent time overseas during the war with the 236th Battallion in New Brunswick.

The pipes were in fantastic shape, requiring only a polish on the lathe. The blowstick was missing completely, so a poly-lined blackwood replica was made and a perfectly matching Henderson ivory blowpie mount was found in my stock of “otherwise useless” parts.

The tuning chambers were a bit uneven, so they have been gently reamed to perfection, and of course the set was rehemped.

An inscription on the ferrule of the bass drone stock reads, “Donated by Miss Louisa F. Murray, Douglas Avenue, St. John.” There is a number “16” inscribed on the chanter stock ferrule.

There is nothing more to be said about this set. It is a top-drawer, vintage Henderson bagpipe: steady, rich and full, easy to reed, with a big, solid sounding bass.

Hamish Moore Scottish Smallpipe in Key Of D, Circa 2004

SOLD – Hamish Moore is well known as one of the great makers and revivalists of the Scottish smallpipe. His pipes are played around the world by perhaps the majority of top smallpipe players.

This bellowsblown set is in the key of D. It was made around 2004. It is made in blackwood with cocobola ferrules. The common stock is hallmarked Sterling silver, so I suspect the ferrules are silver as well, though too small and troublesome to hallmark.

I’ve owned this set for a number of years and had great pleasure out of it. Because of the extreme winters in Ontario I’ve sometimes found Hamish’s cane reeds finicky. Recently I sent this bagpipe to John Walsh in Antogonish, Nova Scotia, a great smallpipe maker in his own right, and had John reed it with his plastic reeds. This has made the smallpipe totally steady and reliable, even when my Ontario relative humidity is at 15%. The chanter reed is slightly higher pressure than most smallpipe reeds, so has great volume.

The set does not come with a bellows. You’ll need to provide that yourself! This would be a great set for someone who may already own a bellowsblown set in A and wants to expand their horizons!

David Glen, Circa 1900, Cocuswood, Nickel

SOLD – David Glen cocuswood pipes like this circa 1900 set can be a visual delight. The tone is extremely rich, with great locking ability and chanter blend. Glen pipes do not generally give a booming drone sound but are steady and subtle. This set has great character both tonally and visually.

These pipes were on the site a few years ago with visible external whipping on the tenor tops. This has now been augmented to invisible whipping. While it’s impossible to hide the whipped combings completely given the variations in cocuswood colouring, the overall effect is excellent, as seen in the photos of the tenor tops.

The blowpipe stock was badly cracked, so a poly-lined cocobolo replica was made. In all other respects the set is in great shape.

The chanter actually plays quite nicely, albeit at a very low pitch. The ivory sole suggests it is not original to the pipes, though it is a more than suitable match. The pipes themselves are free of ivory.

Thow, Circa 1910, Ebony, Ivory, German Silver

SOLD – Kudos to my friend Ron Bowen for identifying this set as Thow of Dundee. Once he gave me the lead I was able to match up the style of projecting mount with a documented 1909 silver and ivory Thow set I sold a few years ago. This set lacks the iconic Thow scribe line on the cord guide, but, as Ron reminded me, Thow “was all over the map” stylistically.

This is a beautifully made bagpipe with lovely overall aesthetics. The pipes were purchased from an estate dealer. Other items in the estate were a hat badge and sash belonging to a warrant officer in the Highland Cyclist Battalion 1908-1918, as well as some literature with connections to the Clan MacRae Pipe Band.

The only notable fault is that the ring caps appear not to be original, though the German silver matches that on the rest of the pipes. The ivory bush inside one of the tenor caps is set slightly askew. The cap could not be removed to fix this without risking damage. Given that this would have no effect on the sound, it was decided to leave it as is.

As is often the case with old ebony pipes, there were slight hairline cracks under a number of the metal ferrules. Though no immediate threat, these can spread years down the road, so the ferrules were removed, the tenons whipped, and the ferrules reaffixed. The mouthpiece bulb doesn’t appear to be ivory, and the mouthpiece is almost certainly not original to the pipes. The set will be shipped with this mouthpiece as well as a standard plastic mouthpiece.

The pipes were stripped and refinished and the tuning chambers were reamed slightly to even out the tuning action.

Tonally, this set is much like the 1909 silver and ivory set previously mentioned: full, steady, and with a great blend with the chanter, unlike some Thows I’ve had that can be quite mellow. The sound reminded me a great deal of a Sinclair set I played during my competitive years in the 1980s, though the set is certainly not Sinclair. I like this bagpipe a lot.

R. G. Hardie, 1970-71, Hallmarked Engraved Sterling Silver, Ivory

SOLD – The original R. G. Hardie firm in Glasgow was the most successful pipemaking company during the 1960s and early 1970s. A great player and pipe major, Bob Hardie’s standards were high. The company used superb, well-seasoned wood, and the pipes were steady and easy to reed.

This set came to me in excellent condition. It is common to see hairline cracks begin to form beneath ferrules due to the pressures of swelling hemp. They can be found in most pipes. I prefer to have these fixed to circumvent future trouble, and two such pests were whipped under the ferrules on this set. Aside from that, the pipes were simply cleaned and polished on the lathe and rehemped.

Hardie pipes are sought in many circles for their mellower tone. They are not bold like Hendersons, but they are just as steady. This set fits that pattern and comes with all original pieces, including the chanter, engraved sole, and ivory mouthpiece bulb and silver sleeve. In truth, while it’s nice to have, a 1970 Hardie chanter can be difficult to reed. But it can be done if you’re a fan of the 1960s pitch.

This is a beautiful set in great condition, perfect for a hobbyist who has always longed for a sparkling and steady high-end bagpipe.