Northumbrian Small-pipes

This set of Northumbrian bagpipes was made by Robert Reid, from North Sheilds, Tyne & Wear in England around 1810. It comprises of an ebony chanter with six brass keys with square covers, stamped R. REID in three places, a later ivory sole, and a later stock, four ebony drones with brass and ivory mounts, one brass tuning bead with knurled collar on the large G drone. The blowpipe, its stock and the drone stock are all original. The bag is of a later date, most likely made out of mackintosh, a waterproof material developed in the first half of the 19th century (Britannica 2023). It was probably fitted to the set in the 20th century during a restoration campaign. The bag cover is of dark green velvet with ribbon ties. The mahogany bellows are of a later date, and features flat boards as well as an ivory valve bush. Although Reid regularly used similar highly figured mahogany for the outer boards of his bellows, he usually stamped his work. The unstamped wood and the presence of a brass nozzle follows Jack Armstrongs’ work, a maker and assembler of Northumbrian small-pipes in the mid-twentieth century (b1904 –d1978). The chanter reed has FOR/STER penciled on it, and could potentially have been made by John Forster Charlton (1915-1989), a well-known figure in the Northumbrian small-pipe revival, especially active in the 1950s and 1960s.　

Robert Reid was born in Newcastle 1784 (baptised 11th　April at St. John’s, Newcastle) and died in North Shields on 13th January1837. He was the most acclaimed, inventive, and prolific of the early pipe makers. He was responsible for most of the major developments to Northumbrian small-pipes since the first addition of keys to the chanter circa 1805. At first, four keys were added to the instrument by John Dunn of Newcastle who was almost certainly responsible for teaching Reid to make pipes. Reid then took this up to seven keys 　(and later to seventeen keys) indicating that the present chanter, with six keys, is an early piece. This, together with the plain and unshaped key touches and square key covers places the chanter early in Reid’s career (Wood, 2013).

The device which prevents other drones sounding while tuning another particular drone is called a piston stopper. The drones have ivory stoppers turned in one piece, a hangover from much earlier three-drone sets with keyless chanters where the drones vented through their end and their stoppers were just plugs. On the majority of Reid’s later pipes, the piston stoppers have a metal shaft (brass or silver) with a brass/silver or ivory knob as appropriate. A tuning bead is a revolving mount with a vent which retunes the hole vent to a different note, in this case A　making it possible to play tunes in both the keys of G and D. This set has a single brass tuning bead on the long g drone. Reid rarely used this type of metal tuning bead but there are a few examples in existence.　

These pipes were a gift to the Museum by the musician and actor Burl Ives in 1963. It is understood that he acquired them from Jack Armstrong, then Piper to the Duke of Northumberland. Armstrong was known to put together sets of working pipes from parts he acquired over the years or also made himself. While the main parts of the current set are largely original and the work of Robert Reid, the later parts (chanter ivory sole and ferrule, bellows and bag) are very much in the style of Armstrong and are thus likely to be his work. United Press released four short articles in 1955 entitled ‘All for a song’, linked to Burl Ives’ adventures. The first of these describes how Burl Ives discovered the ‘Northumberland pipes’ in Scotland during his 1952-3 tour. The press item tells the following story: ‘There were only two such instruments in all of Scotland when a Burl Ives fan first showed it to the singer. Ives tried to buy it at once, but he was told that the 17th century instrument was not for sale. However, the enthusiastic praise heaped on the rare piece by Ives impressed the owner so that he presented the bagpipe to him as a gift. Ives spent an additional three weeks in Scotland, learning how to play it’ (United Press 1955). While this is a highly romanticized account of how Burl Ives came across the Northumbrian small-pipes, it supports the fact that they were acquired in the United Kingdom while he was on tour. The Library of Congress holds photos of Ives with Northumbrian pipes, of Ives with Jack Armstrong, and of Ives learning the Northumbrian pipes in Newcastle upon Tyne during his 1952/53 tour of England, Ireland and Scotland (Burl Ives Collection [finding aid]. Music Division, Library of Congress).

(Graham Wells and Cassandre Balosso-Bardin, 2023)

Technical description

Single wooden chanter, 27.3 cm, with cylindrical bore, closed at bottom end with ivory plug;
7/1 holes unevenly sized and spaced, 6 square brass keys on block mounts;
Short, broad cane double reed on aluminum(?) staple, 5.2 cm long, lapped with waxed hemp;
4 drones each in 2 sections with tuning slides: 19.3 cm, 22.4 cm, 29.3 cm, 34.6 cm including tenons and Ivory knobs at closed end, single upcut cane reeds with tuning bridles, one tuned with wax on tongue; lengths: 7 cm, 6.25 cm, 5 cm, 4.5 cm; lower ends stopped with wax;
Single-fold black leather bellows, with 2 wooden boards tipped in brass, leather body and arm straps, leather hose with intermediate joint fitting into stock in bag;
Mackintosh/synthetic bag covered with black velvet with 6 black ribbons mounted in pairs on underside seam;
3 cylindrical stocks, drone stock having 4 holes for drones;
Sounding pipes mounted with ivory and brass, stocks with brass, ivory ferrule at intake valve on bellows;


Grooved turning on wooden parts of pipes and on brass and ivory mounts;

With wooden case containing an unrelated blowpipe.





References

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Charles Macintosh".　Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Jul. 2023, https://www britannica.com/biography/Charles-Macintosh. Accessed 2 August 2023.


Wood, Francis, 2013. Research notes for #63.221.2, March 2013. Musical Instrument Department archives. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

United Press, 1955. All for a song (first of four), Credit: United Press, March 4, 1955. ICON. Buffalo and Eric Co. Historical Society.