For sale is a beautiful Henry Starck bagpipe, turned in the 1940s. The set of pipes is African blackwood, with nickel ferrules and iv&#y mounts and ring caps. The bass drone stock is stamped with the following text in 6 lines: “MAKERS, HENRY STARCK, LATE W. ROSS, 12 KENTISH TOWN RD., LONDON, NW1” (see photos). The same stamp appears on the neck of the chanter, in 5 lines (see photos). As far as I can tell, the chanter is original. The name “W. Ross” refers to William Ross, who was Queen Victoria’s pipe major in the later 1800s, and business partner of Henry Stark’s father. A quote about Henry Starck’s bagpipes, found is the bagpipe museum, reads: “Henry Starck made exquisite bagpipes. Their motto was ‘Only the best is good enough’ and this is reflected in the quality of Starck bagpipes. The attention to detail was simply exceptional.” Henry Starck was also the creator of the Dungannon bagpipe chanter, more commonly known as the Brian Boru chanter.
All parts of the bagpipe are original, except the blowpipe stock, which was made by bagpipe maker Keith Jeffers. The ferrule on the newer blowpipe stock is the original. (The original blowpipe stock is still part of the set [see photo of stocks]. It has a hairline crack but can be repaired.) The bass stock had a hairline crack in it, which was repaired by David Lindsay.
The bagpipe is in excellent condition for its age, with a couple small nicks on the projecting mounts and on the drones. I acquired it in 2017 and have been playing it regularly and have kept it well maintained. I am selling it because I’m trying to thin out the collection.
Price of chanter, sticks, and stocks is $1,700. PM me with any questions. No trades. Payment by PayPal or Venmo.
