The Thow pipemaking company made instruments from 1861-1953, starting with the patriarch, John, and followed by his son David, who took the company over when John died in 1879. The chanter is labelled “David Thow, Dundee.” David died in 1916, so these pipes could have been made anytime between 1879 and 1916. David and John Thow were superb pipemakers, contempory with the MacDougalls and Centers, and made pipes of comparable quality.

These pipes have been in storage for who knows how long, as evidenced by the very uneven staining on the ivory. The pipes are ebony with full ivory mounts and plain silver slides, unhallmarked.

There were no cracks in the pipes themselves, though the chanter had been broken and primitively whipped. This has been completely restored, but the drones required no work at all, not even refinishing. There is some spider-cracking on the ivory, but this is cosmetic, and none of the pieces is threatened. As seen in the photos, the cord guides and the sleeved ivory ferrules on the tuning chambers are quite distinctive, the latter being adopted by William Sinclair.

The pipes are not as full as a MacDougall set, but not as mellow as most David Glen pipes. The tone is rich, refined and steady without being overpowering. The drones tune slightly lower on the pins that some other sets, so this set would be particularly suited to someone playing a flatter pitch. The chanter plays, but would be a challenge to reed consistently.

Thow pipes are rare, and are should be viewed as one of the prime pipes made in their day.