a tale of two bagpipes

[OC Richard]

I'm fortunate, I suppose, because from the get-go, when I began playing in my first band in the late 1970s, I was around people playing lovely vintage pipes.

I had been playing only around three years yet I had been exposed to what vintage Hendersons, Lawries, MacDougalls, Glens, etc looked like and sounded like. 40 years on, and I've owned pipes from most of the well-known vintage makers.

SPOILER ALERT don't read the following if you want to make your own educated guesses. That's what vintage pipe ID is all about, educated guessing. There are pipes which numerous experts have examined and it's still unclear who made them.

These two pipes aren't like that. They're in the category of the obvious, for pipers who have held, examined, heard, and played vintage pipes.

Top pipe:
1. Sialkot Pakistan

2. one of the numerous makers there, there are hundreds, the largest being Geoffrey.

3. hard to say exactly, as they've made the same type for decades, but probably 1970s to 1980s.

4. the wood is Sheesham wood. The Pakistani makers call it Rosewood, it is not. The mounts are aluminium alloy.

5. the sound would be sh!te, if you can get reeds to go in them at all.

6. you could get a set like this new from the maker, back in the 1980s, for $40.

Bottom pipe:

1. Edinburgh

2. James Robertson. The huge fat ivory mounts are unique to him; no other sets look remotely like Robertsons.

3. he made pipes 1908-1948 though the business continued for some years after. I would guess this set was made in the 1930s or so; to nail down the exact year one would look at the hallmarks on the mounts.

4. As I recall Robertson was in the forefront of using African Blackwood, so sight unseen I would guess the materials are ABW, ivory, and sterling silver. These mounts are chased with the thistle pattern and will likely be hallmarked "D&N" which is Dalman and Narborough, Birmingham. Due to these being a silver-mounted set I would assume that the projecting mounts are genuine ivory. However Robertson made many pipes, generally their less expensive sets, mounted with casein, an odd early imitation ivory made from milk protein. By now these casein mounts have badly degraded, literally disintegrating before your eyes, and it's common practice for modern pipers to send these old Robertson sets to have the casein removed and replaced with modern imitation ivory or other substance.

5. Robertsons are renowned for their wonderful huge bold tone and their consistency. I've heard pipers say a couple things about Robertsons:
"Lotsa wood. Lotsa ivory. Lotsa sound."
"You never hear a bad Robertson." (There are good Hendersons and bad Hendersons. Good Lawries and bad Lawries. But Robertsons always sound great.)

6. The market for used pipes fluctuates along with the general economy, but I've seen sets like this go for $4000 to $6000. Robertsons are renowned for their tone and you'll see them in the hands of good pipers, thus the demand for Robertsons, especially silver-mounted ones like above, is high.

Helps when world-famous pipers are playing a particular make of pipe, to increase its value.

Here is Pipe Major Terry Tully of St Lawrence O'Toole Pipe Band playing his silver & ivory mounted set of Robertsons. Too bad the video is poor quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UhOWBzTSlY