THE REID PROJECT

AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

(Originally written for and published in Iris Na bPiobairi [The Irish Pipers' Review]; Volume XIV, Number 3, Summer 1995, Page 21)

For as long as I can remember, I have had two over-arching interests in life. First is a love of bagpipe music. It doesn't really matter what kind of bagpipes, be it Uilleann Pipes, Northumbrian Smallpipes, Highland Bagpipes, French, Breton, Italian, Greek or Polish, if I heard the sound of drones, I was interested. This interest has lead me to learn to play a number of these pipes over the years, and will probably lead to even more in the coming years. (Much to my family's continuing dismay).

The second great interest of my existence has been an interest in the study of history. It was my minor at university, and the lessons of history have provided valuable guidance in many instances. Since taking up the bagpipes, I have read as much as I could lay hands on about the development of this family of instruments, and the relationship of one type to another. Thus, I was particularly interested when I learned that the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. had a set of Uilleann Pipes that had been made by Robert Reid and someone called M. Dunn.

The name of Robert Reid was one with which I had a passing familiarity. Reid has the reputation now of having been probably the greatest maker and design innovator of the Northumbrian Smallpipes who ever lived. Reid took an instrument that had changed little since its invention, and advanced it's design and capabilities far beyond those a mere folk instrument. Before he redesigned the Smallpipes, it was a very simple bagpipe-that is, it was possessed of three drones and a simple nine note chanter. When he finished, the instrument had four drones with tuning beads to make alternate tunings possible, and a chanter with up to fourteen keys, enabling it to play the late baroque and romantic music of the era in addition to its native tunes. His son, James, later added three additional keys, bringing it up to the modern standard of seventeen

Reid didn't just make the Northumbrian Smallpipes, he is known to have made several sets of Uilleann (Union) Pipes. He was an umbrella maker by trade, who lived and worked in the area of Northumberland, England, in a village called North Shields, which is now part of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. James Reid later followed him in the pursuit of both umbrella and bagpipes making at the same premises. Both Reids apparently made instruments for a more gentrified class than the rural pipe makers of their day. This is evidenced by the numbers of Northumbrian Smallpipes made by them in solid Ivory and Sterling Silver, as well as the styling that went into the pipes' details.

The uilleann pipes made by the Reids show the same attention to detail, although there seems to be a greater variance in available options that they would include in their making. When examining the Reids' uilleann pipes, it becomes evident that their original dimensioning was probably taken from a set by Timothy Kenna of Mullingar and Dublin; although whether these great bagpipe makers ever met is a matter open for conjecture. It would be interesting to have been a fly on the wall at such a meeting. But, as with the Northumbrian Smallpipes, Reid turned his creative mind to improving and expanding the instrument that he first was given.

The uilleann pipes made by the Reids could vary in their outward appearance greatly. The sets ranged from half sets with comparatively simple turned details to more elaborate patternings of coves and combing on both wood and metal. The set in the Smithsonian is what we would now call a three-quarter set (three drones and two regulators), with relatively simple decorations turned in to the wood and metal. These decorations were typical of the turnings that the Reids incorporated into their Northumbrian Smallpipes design. Robert Reid was known for his more elaborate workings though.

One presentation quality set was known to have been made by Robert Reid in 1836 for a Robert Millar of Dundee, a music and dancing master. This set incorporated a single bored "fully keyed" chanter (having not seen the set, I'm not sure how many keys this would be referring to), two regulators (tenor and baritone), and six drones. The drones of this set are the most interesting feature. They are set in banks of three drones each, tuned to the interval of bass, tenor, and fifth; yielding Ggd and Dda. Additionally, each bank of drones possesses a separate on/off switch. The set is made of a black wood (possibly ebony) with mounts and keywork of Sterling Silver and Ivory.

Upon learning that the Smithsonian was possessed of a set of Reid's pipes, I decided to make a daytrip to Washington, and measure the set, with an eye toward reconstructing it out of historical interest, as well as examining-close up-the workmanship of one of the great pipe makers of history. I immediately submitted an application to be permitted access to the collections of the Musical History Collections in the Division of Cultural History that were not currently on public display. In due course, I received a phone call from collections manager, Elizabeth McCullough, discussing the dates and times that may be acceptable and mutually convenient for my visit. I was told that my visit would need to coincide with times that there would be museum personnel in the area that houses the Reid pipes. Additionally, I was told about the restrictions that would govern my visit and the methodology I was to employ in measuring the set. Major concern was given to the condition of the set, and assurances had to be made that measurement techniques would would not harm (or even mark) the set. I received another call the following day confirming the date and time for my visit the following week.

On the appointed day, I waited eagerly on Constitution Avenue outside the Museum of American History for the shuttle that would take me to the Smithsonian's Museum Support Center in Silver Hill, Maryland. Following a half hour shuttle ride, I was registered at the MSC, and shown to Storage Pod 4, where I would be working. The "object" was retrieved from the upstairs storage area, I was given a set of white cotton examination gloves, and allowed to begin my measuring.

The aspect of the instrument that most intrigued me straight off is that the chanter is not the original. The chanter that is packed with the instrument is a double chanter (Click HERE to see the Chanter), much smaller than the chanter of my own set of pipes. It is marked at three points along the top surface with the maker's mark. This is what appears to be a Masonic style square and compass with "M. DUNN" in a semi-circle over the mark. (Click HERE to see the Maker's Mark) I have been told that this mark was popular among pipes makers in Scotland during the late Regency and early Victorian periods, making the chanter possibly contemporaneous with the drones and regulators.

The overall dimensions of this chanter is 37 cm in length, 3 cm in width at the widest point, and 2.2 cm in depth. The bore is 34.45 cm in length, tapering from a throat of 3.5 mm to 11 mm at the bell end. The finger holes vary in diameter from 3.5 to 5 mm, varying from one to the other. Finger hole placement seems to be very accurate, with little or no up- or under-cutting of the holes. There is less than a millimeter difference in their longitudinal placement along the chanter. In each of the bores there were the remains of tuning rushes which extended almost the entire length of the bore. The rushes were held in place by pins made of twisted brass wire. (Click HERE to see the Chanter Sole, with one tuning wire in place) In discussing the dimensions of the chanter and the architecture of the bore with B.C. Childress, we have tentatively placed the key somewhere in the vicinity of "E", with the belief that the rush may have been the remains of an attempt to bring the key down to somewhere around "D", although this is still open to debate. (Any input from makers out there would be welcomed.) Despite this being a replacement, the maker obviously had access to the rest of the set or possibly the original chanter, as the decorative turnings on the ivory and metal parts were definitely made to match decorative work on the rest of the set's drones and regulators.

This conclusion is borne out by the dimensions of the Tenor Drone (click HERE to see the Tenor Drone). This drone has an over all length of just under 12 inches when fully collapsed, with a bore of approximately 3 mm along the full length. The drones are generally dimensioned at about the same size as a set of pipes made by Leo Rowsome over a century later, with the exception of the bore diameters. These seem to be only about half the size of the standard drone bores of today.

One interesting feature of the Bass Drone is the straight slide of about 16 inches in length. That is to say, the slide does not curve back toward the player. The standing section of this drone has the familiar refolded section outside the stock.

The regulators (tenor and baritone) were similar to the ones found on today's pipes, but possessed four and three keys respectively. (Click HERE to see the baritone regulator) These also had the remains of tuning rushes within them, but the rushes were too badly decayed to accurately determine just how much of the regulator bores they affected. The keywork was very well done of 3.5 mm thick brass, and the springs are still quite strong, even after almost 200 years.

All of the sounding pipes are listed in the Smithsonian's accession records as having been made of stained maple. This conclusion flies in the face of what I know of Reid and his approach to pipe making. Reid tended to use the finest materials in his making, and it doesn't make sense that he would stint on the materials for as nice a set as this. The alternative would be that the materials have been mis-identified in the records. Maple is not that good a tone wood, and there is no other recorded instance of either Reid using it in making an instrument. There would, however, seem to be a good possibility that it may be made of holly, or one of the fruit woods that has been stained.

Another interesting feature of this set of pipes is that the reeds throughout do not seem to be made of cane. In the drones, the material is definitely hollowed elder that has been sealed on the end. The regulator reeds would also seem to be made of elder. The regulator staples are conical brass sheet that has been rolled and soldered, with a throat of between 2.5 and 3.0 mm. Additionally, the accession records imply that there is at least one chanter reed in place, but this is not the case. There were no chanter reeds evident when I examined the set. All other reeds for the drones and regulators were in place, and were in sufficiently good shape to allow accurate measurements to be taken.

The material of the stocks is again at variance the accession records provided by the museum. In the records, they are again said to be maple, but I believe the chanter and main stocks to be of cherry. The other stocks are of a stained wood with a tight grain, but I couldn't readily identify it. The blowpipe appeared to be a later replacement piece made of blackwood.

The bellows bear no makers marks and have survived the years surprisingly well. (Click HERE to see the Bellows) They are not air tight, but all leather parts are in place and supple. The same could not be said of the bag. It has deteriorated severely, with only the stitching line and about 6 inches of the neck surviving. I would estimate that the main bag was originally 16-17 inches long by 7 or 8 inches deep, with a neck of about seven or eight inches long.

With the exception of the leather bits, I would say that the set is in surprisingly good condition given its age. All of the wooden pieces have warped to varying degrees, with the exception of the main stock. But this, again, is not unexpected given the age of the set.

All the metal work has survived intact. In fact, the springs on the regulator keys are stronger than some springs I have encountered on sets made in the last ten years. The keys are made of 3.5 mm sheet brass, and are mounted with brass springs approximately 2mm thick. The brass ferrules appear to have been formed from sheet brass of about 0.5-0.75 mm thickness.

The reconstruction of this set would seem to be a rather straight forward proposition. I believe the set should work if made to the measurements of the original, but the sound would be much quieter than a modern set, given the small diameters of the bores.

But this set does raise one major question. That is-Who is M. Dunn? The records available from the museum seem to contradict themselves on this point. On one page there is speculation about M. Dunn being a brother or son of John Dunn (another Northumbrian pipe maker who lived contemporaneously to Robert Reid). On another page, there is a mention of a Michael Dunn, a pipe maker, who emigrated to the United States, and died circa 1930 (although this reference has been struck out with a line through it). Whoever he was, it is obvious that he was a meticulous and knowledgeable worker. If any reader might have any information on this individual, please let me know. I would be very interested in learning more about him and his pipes.

If any members are considering a trip to the Smithsonian for this purpose, I can't praise their staff highly enough. They were very friendly and helpful at all times. Additionally, they were genuinely interested in anything that I could tell them about this set, and bagpipes in general. I would recommend the experience to anyone with the time to spend.

It would be interesting if some of the other members might go out to museums in their areas and ask whether there are any bagpipes in the collection, and how to gain access to them for measuring. You never know, there may be some other treasure just waiting for a piper to re-discover it. Maybe a set by Rowsome or Kenna or.......... Give it a try, it can't hurt. It can only help by furthering our understanding of the instrument.

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