This unassuming looking instrument was one of the more exciting suprises of my career. I purchased them as a David Glen set, which I duly thought they were. I reeded them, plugged them into my own stocks and played them, as I do all sets here. I expected the rich but “mellow” (quieter) sound David Glen’s pipes are renown for. Instead, I was greeted with an incredibly robust set of drones. I was shocked and taken with them immediately, both by their rich volume and blend with the chanter, as well as their incredible steadiness.

Further research finally determined them — most likely — to have been made by the Edinburgh firm of J & R Glen, likely around 1880.

John and Robert Glen were the sons of Thomas Glen. Thomas was the brother of Alexander, who was David’s father. It was with Thomas and Alexander that the Glen family branched into two very different firms, each with their distinct strengths, but with one common element:  exceptional craftsmanship. Thomas Glen’s pipes were very much on a par with, Duncan MacDougall’s. They are rare and high prized by knowledgeable vintage aficionados. John and Robert also made exceptional pipes, quite different from their cousin David. John and Robert took over Thomas’s firm in 1867, while David took over Alexander’s in 1873.

After John and Robert died (in 1904 and 1911 respectively) the company continued, but the pipes of that time and later never exhibited the robust and remarkble tonal quality of the earlier J & R sets.

When one tenor stock cracked shortly after I acquired these pipes, I replaced all three drone stocks with blackwood Glen stocks that date from roughly the same period.