Vintage Bagpipe Archive

Wm. Sinclair & Son, Circa 1960, Ivory Mounted with Engraved Silver Slides, Stock Ferrules

SOLD – This great old set of 1960s Sinclairs is in mint condition. They were originally mounted full ivory. In 1977, the pipes were sent to Sinclair to replace a cracked blowpipe and blowpipe stock. The silver slides were added then. It’s possible the stocks were replaced at that time or the silver was added to the existing stocks. A slightly different finish on the stocks would suggest they were replaced. The stocks and blowpipe have now been refinished to match the pipes.

A matching engraved silver mouthpiece tube was added in 1977, as well as the imitation ivory bulb. The pipes display the unique one-piece ivory caps Sinclair was known for. Close-up photos of the silver below show it to be a lovely and intricate pattern.

The set is virtually perfect now. The ivory is absolutely pristine, as the photos show.

Full, rich, and very steady, Sinclair pipes were the leading modern instrument of the 1960s, and the Edinburgh firm has enjoyed a solid reputation for excellent since its inception in the 1930s under the first William Sinclair.

Henderson, Engraved Silver and Ivory, Hallmarked 1928-29, D.R. Maclennan’s Bagpipe

SOLD – This is a pretty spectacular set of blackwood Hendersons. The engraved silver and ivory are in nearly pristine condition, and the pipes play beautifully. The ferrules and caps are hallmarked 1928, and the slides 1929. The stocks are perfect blackwood replacements with the original silver ferrules. There is a barely visible crack in the blowstick just above the projecting mount, so at some point the blowstick was bored out and a thin copper sleeve was inserted.

There have been no repairs to the drones or silver. The ivory bulb has cracked at some point, but the crack was filled and the piece is stable. The bottom bass joint was replaced using the original mounts by Brian Donaldson in 1985.

The Peter Henderson company was, of course the premier pipemaker of the 20th century, perhaps of all time. Their best pipes were made before 1950, and their pre-1930 pipes are the most sought after of all. Their tone is full and rich and they are renown for their remarkable steadiness. This set is no exception.

UPDATE: Since this set was posted, they have been identified as set purchased around 1984 by Brian Donaldson of Inveran Bagpipes from Brigadier MacLennan, the son of D. R. MacLennan, the half-brother of G.S. McLennan. D.R. died that year, and the pipes were his. Donald Ross MacLennan was very prominent piper and piping figure in his own right. He is one of the few players to win the Gold Medals at Oban and Inverness in the same year (1956). Whether these pipes are the same as those in the photo or are the pipes with which he won the Medals with is not yet certain.

Henderson, Circa 1900-1910, Cocuswood/Blackwood, Full Ivory, Silver Slides

SOLD – This very old set of Hendersons is a mix of cocuswood and blackwood. The two tenor drone bottoms are blackwood, and while makers at this time were known to mix woods, it is possible that these two pieces were later Henderson replacements. Visually, this is indiscernible.

It is thought that the pipes date from between 1900 and around 1910. The ivory shows some spider cracking, none of which threatens the mounts. There is some staining and chipping on the ivory, consistent with a set of pipes that is over 100 years old. The slides are hallmarked silver, added in the mid-1970s.

The Henderson stamp is visible in all the cord slots.

One tenor top and the bass mid-joint had hairline cracking that has been invisible whipped. These repairs are indiscernible.

The blowpipe and blowpipe stock are complete replacements and have been fitted with non-chip imitation ivory.

The tone of this set is outstanding — great Henderson boldness and steadiness. The tuning chambers are very even and the drones are easy to reed, also a Henderson trait.

Unknown Cocuswood Set, Pre-1920s, Ivory, Nickel

SOLD – This set is an unusual visual misfit, but with an absolutely brilliant tone. I purchased it as an ebony set of unknown make. When the pipes were stripped to be refinished, they were found to be made entirely of very high quality cocuswood.

Not all the pieces or mounts match up externally, yet the overall visual effect is good. The projecting mounts and rings are ivory, the ferrules are nickel, likely added later. There are some chips in the ivory and some small splits in a couple of the ferrules. One of the bass projecting mounts is clearly a retrofit. The bass drone mid-joint had a surface crack which has been invisible whipped. The blowpipe is a new poly stick with the mount that came with the pipes.

Despite outward appearances, this set is tonally superior, very much in the Lawrie tradition:  robust, rich, steady and easy to reed. If you’re looking for an affordable vintage set with a high-end sound, these are your pipes.

R. G. Lawrie, Pre-1920, Silver and Ivory

SOLD – Here is a set of Lawries from the company’s prime, likely from the time when John MacColl managed the pipemaking. The silver is not hallmarked, but the small bead on the ivory and upper profiles suggest very early Lawrie, perhaps even earlier than WW1.

It is difficult to tell what wood has been used since the lacquer finish hides it, but I suspect it is blackwood since the pipes appear to be free of cracks. The ivory has some minor dents, but overall the pipes are in superb shape.

The make of the chanter is unknown, but it plays well and appears fairly modern. The lack of a maker’s name on it suggests it might be a “back-door” item, likely a Sinclair.

The pipes are classic Lawrie: big, bold, steady, and with a velvety richness that permeates the room.

They appear to have lived their life in Scotland, and were played in the Muirhead & Sons band in Grade 1 during the 1960s and, more recently, the Boghall & Bathgate Grade 1 band.

These are classic vintage Lawries at their best.

David Glen, Stamped, Circa 1900, Cocuswood, Ivory, Button Mounts

SOLD – If you want a David Glen bagpipe, cocuswood is the way to go. This set is in great shape, and has a vivid “David Glen and Sons, Edinburgh” stamp on the bass drone stock.

The pipes are mounted in ivory, with button projecting mounts. The caps are wood — cocus or ebony. The ivory is in supurb condition.

The drones and stocks are in great shape with no cracks. The blowstick has at some point cracked, but has been sealed and fitted with a copper sleeve. It was bored before the sleeve was installed, so there is no blowing restriction.

The chanter is original and was cracked, but has been completely restored. It plays well, albeit with a 1900 pitch.

Glen pipes are known to be “mellow” — another way of saying quiet. This set isn’t as mellow as some, and the rich buzz Glen gets from his drones makes up for any lack of volume. Glen’s steadiness is legendary. Showing David Glen’s outstanding craftsmanship, this is an outstanding set of pipes, and they sit on your shoulder as light as a feather.

Lawrie, Circa 1900-1920, in Ebony, Ivory and Celluloid Mounted

SOLD – This set came from the estate of Captain John A. MacLellan in Edinburgh and is a lovely but curious instrument. The sticks are ebony, and the profiles are early Lawrie. The two tenors don’t match exactly. They certainly came out of the same shop, but maybe not quite at the same time. It’s possible at some point in its history, a number of the mounts were replaced, resulting in, for example, ferrules that are not typically Lawrie in design.

As has been noted often on this page, celluloid was a brilliant ivory substitute, complete with a grain and the right hue. The projecting mounts on this set appear to be ivory, as do most if not all of the ferrules. It can be difficult to tell, such is the quality of celluloid as an ivory copy.

It is possible that the chanter stock is a replacement, though the mount is original. The blowstick stock is also a replacement, including the mount.

The projecting mounts were made in two pieces: a method used by early pipemakers in order to save the wider pieces of ivory only for the widest part of the projecting mounts. The seams are visible in the photos, though the joins are solid. This implies an earlier rather than a later date. John MacLellan purchased these pipes from the Glen shop in Edinburgh and was told they were circa 1900.

The tone is rock steady, but not quite as full as the typical Lawrie. It is not a quiet sound by any means, but more toward the MacDougall than the Henderson/Lawrie sound. They may have been custom-bored for a client wanting a more refined sound. The pipes are quite distinctive in appearance and very lightweight to carry.

They are free of cracks and needed no refurbishment.

Henderson, 1952, Full Ivory with Plain Silver Slides

SOLD – This is a big, happy set of Hendersons made in 1952 and very well taken care of ever since. They are mounted fully in ivory and have hallmarked, plain silver slides. There are 1952 hallmarks on the plain silver slides.

They were most recently owned by an American serviceman who played them in Iraq for some time before his retirement. He owned them since the early 1980s and originally acquired them from Jim McIntosh in Pittsburgh.

One tenor top appears to be a replacement and does not bear the usual Henderson stamp in the cord guides. The pipes are in superb condition, though they have some slight staining on the ivory here and there.

The sound is classic Henderson. They are very full and very steady and are easily reeded.

They have been refinished.

R. G. Hardie, Hand-engraved Silver and Ivory, Hallmarked 1956

SOLD – Bob Hardie was a lovely, quiet, modest man and an icon of 20th-century piping. He was a leading soloist in the 1940s and 1950s, and his band, Muirhead and Sons Ltd., won five straight World Pipe Band Championships in the 1960s. In 1950 he and John Weatherston founded one of the most successful bagpipe making companies of the time. The company continued until 2005, though Bob died in 1990.

This Hardie bagpipe was made in 1956. It is mounted in hand-engraved Sterling silver and ivory. All parts including the chanter are original except the mouthpiece bulb, which is an imitation ivory replacement. The blowpipe had a slight crack but has been glued and sealed.

Hardies were renown for using well seasoned, high quality wood. Even after 55 years, all pieces in this set are straight and true. The finish on the pipes has not been touched except for the bass bottom, which has been refinished to match.

The drones are mellow, steady and easy to reed. The chanter is flatter pitched and a little more difficult to reed because of its age, but the Hardie chanter was the chanter for both top bands and soloists during the 1950s and ’60s.

This is the loveliest Hardie instrument I have seen.

Circa 1880s Henderson, Ebony, Ivory, Engraved German Silver

SOLD – This is one of the most unique sets to come to McGillivray Piping in some time. The pipes are Peter Henderson, in ebony, thought to date from the 1880s. The projecting mounts and bushes are ivory. The drone ferrules, slides, caps and mouthpiece tube appear to be what has been called “German silver,” which was an alloy of copper (60%), nickel (20%) and zinc (20%). It was hand engraved (except for the turning slides) and then silver plated. The stocks are Sterling silver, likely cast, and quite ornate. Though the combination of two kinds of ferrules is unusual, other sets known to be from Henderson’s early years do exist like this, though in at least one other case it was the caps that were cast. For example, there are strong similarities in engraving between this instrument, and the one show on Ringo Bowen’s site as Calum Piobaire’s 1866 Prize Pipe. Of particular interest are the ornate caps.

The tuning pin on the middle bass drone joint and the chanter stock were cracked and both have been replaced with ebony reproductions. One tenor bottom had a hairline crack, so three combing sections were invisibly whipped to prevent spreading.

While all bores ran perfectly true, some had shrunk slightly and were re-reamed to original Henderson specs by Dunbar Bagpipes.

The drones are bold, steady, and blend beautifully with each other and with the chanter.

This is a remarkable instrument and artifact in superb shape.

Henderson, Hallmarked 1926, Silver and Ivory

SOLD – This is one of the most stunning looking Hendersons to appear on this site, and their tone easily matches their appearance. The wood is African blackwood, mounted in ivory and Sterling silver with a gorgeous relief pattern. The silver hallmark dates the pipes to 1926.

All pieces are original except for the mouthpiece bulb, which is an imitation ivory replica. The original bulb is still with the pipes, though it is cracked.

The set is virtually pristine though hairline cracks in the bass top and bass stock have been invisibly whipped and are indeed invisible.

The pipes play like a dream and even the original chanter plays well, though close to Bb.  If you’ve been waiting for THE set of Hendersons to come around, this is it!

Lawrie, 1950s, Imitation Ivory, Nickel

SOLD – This African blackwood set was made by the R. G. Lawrie company, likely in the 1950s or a bit earlier. The drones are mounted fully in imitation ivory, while the stocks have classic Lawrie nickel ferrules.

All pieces are original except for the blowstick, which is a blackwood mounted replacement. The blowstick stock had a small crack, which has been whipped, almost imperceptibly. The original chanter comes with the pipes — a thick old stick typical of 1940s or 1950s chanters.