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R. G. Lawrie was said to have worked for Peter Henderson until 1890 when he started his own business.
Early Lawrie drones are very difficult to distinguish from Henderson drones of the same era. In 1911
John McColl became shop manager for Lawrie and excellent bagpipes were made until his retirement in 1935
or so. The quality of sound, performance, and workmanship declined in the years following and was never
re-captured. Lawrie stopped making bagpipes in the 1980's.
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I've studied hundreds of Lawrie bagpipes. Like most it's sometimes very challenging to establish a
probable age. In my experience, the very early Lawrie bagpipes had a very slender profile with somewhat
chunky projecting mounts. The mounts have a smallish bead close to the projecting plate. The stocks
were very "old profile" with rounded bottoms. Below are a couple examples of authenticated pre-1900
Lawrie bagpipes.
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Sometime shortly after WWI the style started to change. This was during John MacColl's tenure as manager
of the shop. The bead on the lower projecting mounts started getting bigger. The ivory ferrules were
also lengthened slightly. Overall the drones got a bit softer sounding and the bass became somewhat
tempermental. I should also mention here that the earlier Lawrie drones have a very low-pitched bass
that was prone to growling. Many owners swapped the bottom section out for one with a slightly smaller
bore.
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The set immediately below has silver hallmarked 1927. It was found in a basement and given to the present
owner.
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Following WWII the quality of Lawrie drones dropped dramatically. Much of the work was being farmed
out and there was little quality control. Various materials were brought together without concern for
the product or the consumer.
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