None of this was by design. My curiosity concerning the history of the GHB and of the various different makes led me on journey that has now spanned 50 years with no end in sight. I’m learning all the time and documenting as much as I can in order to leave behind worthwhile information for future generations.
The wrongful identification of bagpipes is sometimes purposeful (misrepresentation) but more often the result of a lack of understanding or experience in these matters. Well-meaning folks are sometimes quick to offer up names like Henderson, Hardie, and Lawrie with limited knowledge of the profiles, proportions, and detail that separate them. It is not uncommon for individuals to focus on a particular detail and to make a determination on that basis alone.
I prefer to study profiles and proportions first. Let’s talk about James Robertson first. The profiles of the Robertson bagpipe were quite extreme. The profiles on his early bagpipes were angular and severe. Those from the 40’s and 50’s were straight-sided and more “conventional” in appearance. Those from the 1960’s were uniquely “bulbous” in appearance.
If you look at the necks of Peter Henderson bagpipes just above the tuning chambers, you’ll see that the neck begin as a very gradual taper from the top of the tuning chamber and continues to get small right up to the cord holders. At this point the “fountain” begins and carries up to support the bell. On Lawrie bagpipes the fountain begins about two or three beads below the cord holders. Robert Reid is somewhat similar, perhaps because he worked for Lawrie early in his career, shortly after WWI. On Hardie bagpipes, the profile is similar to Henderson however the cut-in atop the tuning chamber is much less gradual, and so on. The neck on Starck bagpipes is very straight. Glen bagpipes are more slender.
After you get a fix on the profiles, look at proportions. Even something as obscure as the ring-to-wood-to-bushing can help to narrow the field. Bore sizes are difficult as you’re often measuring a non-concentric bore or a bore that has shrunk over the years.
