Henry Starck was part of a woodwind-making family that came to London from Germany in the early 1800s. Henry Senior began making pipes in 1889 after William Ross, the Queen’s piper, convinced him there was a good market. His pipes would eventually became renowned and sought after for their tone and for a level of craftsmanship at which modern makers still marvel.

Starck stamped many of his sets. This cocuswood set is not stamped, but the projecting mounts are turned in Starck’s very distinctive style, and these drone bottoms are identical in every respect (including the combing) to two drone pieces I have that are stamped “H. Starck” just below the upper projecting mount. These pipes are not as meticulously crafted as later Starck sets and are thought to be a very early example of Henry’s work.

The pipes are all original, except for one replaced tenor drone bush, and they are in immaculate shape but for some slight staining on the ivory.

The tone is superb cocuswood: steady, buzzy and full, though not as robust as a Henderson set. The tuning chambers are perfectly even and the tenor drones tune in a perfect position above the hemp line.

The cocuswood gives the pipes a deep, reddish-brown hue with great old-school character.