Vintage Bagpipe Archive

Henderson, Hallmarked 1907-08, Silver and Ivory

SOLD – This spectacular Henderson bagpipe is currently in Australia. It will be shipped to a buyer from there. The set is hallmarked 1907-8 and it is extraordinary. African blackwood with beautifully aged ivory mounts, this is the pinnacle of Hendersons. All parts are original but for the chanter, which is a 1969 Hardie with appropriately hallmarked silver sole. The mouthpiece bulb is ivory and the sleeve is hallmarked 1913. All hallmarks contain the “PH” maker stamp. The bagpipe is in mint condition with original finish.

The tone of this instrument is reported to be as magnificent as its appearance. The best Hendersons are known for their power, their seamless bass/tenor blend, and their legendary steadiness. This instrument has it all.

Robertsons, Full Ivory, Circa 1950s

SOLD – This brilliant Robertson set came to me in excellent condition. We gave it what Rick Pettigrew at Dunbar Bagpipes now calls the “full McGillivray refurb”: basically a strip and refinish with a check for cracks after the strip. Any loose mounts are reaffixed and the tuning chambers are gently reamed to even up the tuning action.

She cleaned up nicely: this may be one of the nicest full ivory Robertsons we’ve had on the site. It was made during what vintage expert Ron Bowen calls some of the best years of the Robertson company; the ivory patina is lovely, showing just the slightest aging. And the bagpipe played like a dream:  full, steady, seamless. This set comes with what appears to be its original chanter, not really playable with modern reeds, but nice to have.

The stocks have tapered bores, a practice adopted by the company in the 1950s and thought to improve air flow to the drone reeds.

James Robertson made pipes in Edinburgh from around 1908 until his death in 1948. The company continued with quality unabated until it ceased operations in the mid-1960s.

Robertsons, Silver and Ivory, Hallmarked 1933-34

SOLD – This complete Robertson set came to me in superb condition, requiring only a clean and polish on the lathe. The tuning chambers were gently reamed to recalibrate the tuning action, and the massive blowpipe was shortened by two inches.

The 1933-34 hallmarks make it the oldest hallmarked Robertson set on this site, though we’ve had non-silver sets that were older.

The set played as all Robertsons do: robust, seamless, and as steady as you might like.

James Robertson made pipes in Edinburgh from around 1908 until his death in 1948. The company continued with quality unabated until it ceased operations in the mid-1960s.

Robertson, Post-1950, Full Ivory

SOLD – James Robertson’s company made pipes from around 1908 until the mid-1960s with never a drop in production values or tonal quality. Even after Robertson’s death in 1948, not only did the company maintain its quality but the pipes produced in the 1950s and ’60s were arguably the best the company ever made.

This set is in excellent condition, still sporting its original finish. It’s difficult to date ivory Robertsons specifically, but this set is certainly from the 1950s-60s period. The set had no cracks and needed no repairs. The stocks, as visible in the photos, have tapered bores — a common trait in Robertsons from this period. This was said to ease air flow and reduce turbulence in the stocks.

Like virtually all Robertsons I’ve ever played, these drones were robust, rich and steady with my Canning drone reeds. Robertsons are always a pleasure to play.

Robertson, Circa 1920s, Ebony, Nickel, Holly

SOLD – The scribe lines in the middle of the nickel ferrules on this old Robertson bagpipe tell us it was made in the 1920s. The wood is ebony, quite visible by the wee channels and fissures noticeable in the wood.

The set originally had casein caps, but this material deteriorates so the previous owner had it replaced with holly.

The pipes were in very good shape at acquisition. One small crack on the heel of the chanter stock was repaired, and it’s possible the chanter stock is a blackwood replica with the original mount.  The finish on the set was excellent, needing only a polish. The blowpipe has had a thin brass or copper lining inserted into it at some point. The tuning chambers were reamed to even up their action.

Robertson was one of the most consistent pipemakers of all time. The company’s reputation for tone and quality of manufacturing was exemplary, and this set is no exception.  It locked nicely into tune and stayed there, with a robust and seamless sound.

Henderson, Circa 1920, Cocuswood, Ivory, Silver Slides

SOLD – This gorgeous Henderson set is thought to date from around 1920. The wood is cocus. The drones are mounted in ivory. The engraved silver slides were added by a previous owner in 2008. A subsequent owner had the slides gold plated.

The ivory stock ferrules have been replaced at some point by high-quality imitation ivory that is an excellent match for the rest of the set. The mouthpiece has matching imitation ivory and silver.  The chanter is thought to be the original Henderson chanter. The cord guides are all stamped “P. Henderson.”

The blowstick had a previously repaired crack that we re-enforced. Aside from that, the set is in splendid condition. The tuning chambers were reamed to even up the tuning action. The set had been refinished some years ago and that finish is still pristine.

The drones played beautifully for me. They tuned in the right places, they were robust, rich, and locked right into tune with my Canning drone reeds. It’s a special set.

Inveran, 2002, Reclaimed Silver and Ivory

SOLD -In the year 2000, master player Brian Donaldson took over the Inveran Bagpipes shop founded by Jimmy Tweedie, a firm now resident in the United States.

This bagpipe was made by Brian Donaldson in 2002 using silver and ivory reclaimed from older sets. The ivory was taken from an early 1900s set — spider lines are clear on one of the bass projecting mounts. The ferrules and caps are silver, without hallmarks; the silver slides are hallmarked 2002. One tenor stock has been replaced using the original mount, and the blowpipe is a replacement with an imitation ivory mount. The top bass silver slide has some slight dents, and two of the stock ferrules have very slight splits in the seam that are stable.

The pipes have been refinished and hairlines under some ferrules fixed and the pipes now look splendid.

I played the drones for 10 minutes with my own Canning reeds and they were full, rock steady and showed great blend with the chanter.  This bagpipe would be comfortable on any stage or on any parade.

Center, Circa 1908, German Silver and Ivory

SOLD – John Center was a superb pipemaker (and photographer) who made pipes in Edinburgh from 1869 until 1908 before moving to Australia in that year. He died in 1913, but his son James (the subject of Willie Ross’s jig “Center’s Bonnet”) continued to run the business until his death from the Spanish flu in 1919. Pipes by the Centers are rare and distinctive both tonally and visually.

The fact that this set is African blackwood suggests it was made after 1900 as blackwood was coming into wider use over ebony and cocuswood. It may have been made in Australia.

The German may or may not be original to the set. The chanter stock looks distinctly like a Starck replacement, with the German silver ferrule retrofitted over top of ivory. The blowstick is a poly-lined/blackwood replica. The blowstick stock is not original, and the matching ferrule is split but solid and stable. The imitation ivory mouthpiece bulb is mounted with a Sterling silver sleeve. The drones and drone stocks are all original. There is some staining on the tenor projecting mounts.

The set was stripped and refinished; no cracks or hairlines were found.

Tonally, the set is magic. It’s a bold, seamless sound that held rock steady as I tested the pipes for 10 minutes with my reeds.

Atherton MD, 2009, Full Imitation Ivory

SOLD – This 2009 Dave Atherton “MD” set is modelled after a Duncan MacDougall set owned by the late Roddy MacDonald, Deleware. It is African blackwood and full imitation ivory.

Dave’s reputation as perhaps the premier modern pipemaker is well earned. His instruments are beautifully and meticulously crafted and display a bold and steady tone. Atherton pipes — in particular the MD — have been adopted by some of the world’s greatest pipers. The wood Dave used was exceptional, and these pipes are in demand.

This set came to me unblemished but for a very small chip in the bass ring, visible in the photos. Tuning chambers were still perfect. It played exactly like my own set, remarkably steady, full, and with lots of harmonics.

Some day this will be a premier vintage set. For now, it’s a premier modern set.

Lawrie, Circa 1905, Ebony, Full Ivory

SOLD – This Lawrie set is thought to date to 1905, give or take a few years. The fact that it is ebony supports the early date. The set is mounted in full ivory.

The pipes were stripped and a number of cracks and hairlines were found. These have all been invisible whipped and will give no more trouble. The blowstick stock is a poly-lined replica in blackwood with a mount that matches almost perfectly. The tuning chambers were evened up and the set was refinished.  The tuning slides were nickel and not in very good shape. These have been replaced by Sterling silver slides, hallmarked 2016. The odd tiny chip in the ivory, including a pea sized chip in one tenor ferrule, is pretty typical of a pipe of this age.

The pipes played like a dream. Not quite as robust as blackwood, old ebony offers a steadiness and refinement of sound quite specific to that wood. These pipes locked in at first tuning and needed no touching up in the 10 minutes I played them. It was an inspired sound.

Henderson, Circa 1915, Full Ivory

SOLD – This is a tonally spectacular set of Hendersons, likely made in the years around 1915. At first glance this appeared to be cocuswood, but upon stripping the finish it was found to be African blackwood. The pipes are mounted in full ivory.

All pieces are original. There were the beginnings of cracks in several places, but these have been invisible whipped. There were the beginnings of a couple of wormholes that were filled. None of these repairs is visible, and none of them will be problems again. The tuning chambers were evened out.

I loved this set when I played it with my Canning drone reeds. It was robust, rock steady, tonally captivating, and the chanter just latched right onto the drone sound. This is a special set.

Robertson, Silver and Ivory, Hallmarked 1961

SOLD – We had a set almost identical to this on the site a few weeks ago, hallmarked 1960-61. This set has pieces hallmarked 1959, 1960 and 1961, so clearly Robertson kept a large stock of ready-to-go engraved silver, and the pipes were probably made in 1961.

The set was in great shape, requiring only a polish on the lathe and rehemping. One tenor lower projecting mount has a narrow crack that goes right through in the middle, but is quite secure around the edges, so it shouldn’t be a problem. The original ivory mouthpiece bulb was missing, so an imitation ivory bulb was made and fitted with the original silver sleeve.

The stocks have tapered bores, a practice adopted by Robertson during this period.

The pipes played boldly, brightly and steadily for me; the tenors tuned a bit low on the pins, but the drones showed great chanter blend.