SOLD – This bagpipe was presented to me as a Glen instrument because the J & R Glen name was engraved on the chanter sole (visible in the picture below). However, the deeply cut beads on the wood are the most distinctive feature on pipes made by the Henry Starck company. Henry Starck, a German woodwind maker living in London, was convinced by William Ross, the Queen’s Piper, to make bagpipes for him. And what a bagpipe he made from the late 1880s onward! Early Starcks are superbly made and very toneful.

It would appear that at some point this set had the engraved German silver caps and slides added, almost certainly by the J & R Glen company, given their stamp (but no hallmark) on the chanter sole.

All pieces appear to be original, but for the mouthpiece sleeve, which is a match for the thistle engraving but is actually hallmarked silver. The chanter is a J & R Glen, which must have been acquired along with the engraving. The chanter sole is detached from the chanter and can be installed on any modern chanter.

The pipes came crack free and in great shape, requiring only a clean-and-polish on the lathe.  They were robust and rock steady on my shoulder, with a great chanter blend.