Great condition set. In the same family since new in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Long history. Just ask.
Selling my Duncan MacRae pipes from the pre -1909 period. Ebony and natural caps. One original stock gone, with a slightly newer replacement made of ABW. Different ferrule as well on the spare. The base middle tuning chamber is lined with what looks like nickel. The original ferrules are on the new stocks. There is a set of Lawrie stocks and ferrules that are also ebony, but the blow stick stock is missing. I believe these Lawrie stocks were used in the pipes until 15 years ago. The pipes have been sitting for at least 15 years when the bag was tied on, as per the receipt in the box from James Begg and the previous owner. The nickle slides are the hallmark of Duncan MacRae. Not having a patent mark predates them to 1909, as that is when the patent was applied. The pipes belonged to the previous owners mother who played in an all-girls band in Glasgow in the 1950s. More pics available of her and the band, “the Crawford Ladies”. Can only fit 10 pics here, ask for more. These were bought by the grandfather when new as best I can tell from the previous owner. Their family name is MacRae, but I don’t have the detailed history past the mother other than the sellers known history. The Custom metal box made by the father with the name tag J. MacRae, the ladies name. These also have a new set of ABW stocks and a new Beggs hide bag. James Begg supplied the stocks as well. There is an old repair on the base cap, where a piece of the wood top was broken and re-installed. Two tiny pins can be seen in the picture. In the pic of the ladies band, “The Crawford Ladies”, the owner is to the our right of the base drum. You can see the pipes laying on the drum.
The ivory is less than 20% of the total weight of the pipes, so NO CITES cert required, according to the UK gov. website for this. They are on the way to me here in Thailand. I bought them while at a school in Scotland, and could not carry another set of pipes at the time.
Ron Bowen of the bagpipe museum has written a COA for them and all my info here is based on that coa and discussions with the previous owner. I am asking for $2700 USD, That includes shipping with insurance and tracking. PM for any questions. Thanks!
