Hunter and Co. is listed as wholesale and retail dealers in a wide range of items, including musical instruments. In 1912 that listing changed to Chisholm and Hunters at the same Tron Gate and Argyle Street addresses as above. Interestingly Hunter’s is said to have opened its doors on Chisholm Street in Glasgow in 1857, one year after John Chisholm was born. It would be interesting to learn the early history of that company. Entries naming Chisholm and/or Hunter’s as bagpipe makers ceased in 1949.
The picture above was their store of “10,000 wonders” with a bagpipe hanging in the window.
A few years back I snagged a bagpipe at auction that looked to be a James Robertson bagpipe. When it arrived it certainly had Robertson characteristics, however with different profiles and specifications inside and out. It did however line up with bagpipes that I had earlier documented as “Chisholm” so down the rabbit hole I went. Soon thereafter I learned that Robertson Bagpipes in Edinburgh had indeed made Chisholm bagpipes during the 1940’s. This information was revealed by George Kilgour, Master Turner and ex-foreman at Robertson’s shop.
I also came across this bagpipe (above) mounted in catalin, that I believe is a Chisholm bagpipe made by Robertson. The chanter bulb is very much in the style of Robertson chanters.
By my own reasoning, John Chisholm may or may not have been a bagpipe maker. Gord MacDonald of Bagpipe ID has documented a silver and ivory bagpipe where the silver was hallmarked in 1913. “JC” is the silversmith and is possibly John Chisholm. Interestingly, the only reference I could find when searching “JC” and “Silver” were Glasgow hallmarks from 1836 “John Chisholm – possibly”. As our John Chisholm wasn’t born until 1858, this invites many questions. That aside, the profiles of this 1913 bagpipe are very similar to Lawrie bagpipes of the same era.
John Chisholm seems to have been an ardent businessman. It is entirely logical that the “Chisholm Bagpipe” was manufactured and branded for him by another maker. We know that Robertson was involved during the 1940’s however it is unclear when this relationship began. Robertson didn’t move into John Center’s shop until 1908. The earliest Robertson bagpipe that I am aware of was made in 1914. James Robertson’s father was the suspected maker and we really don’t see much production out of the shop until James was released from the army in the mid 1920’s.
The bagpipe below is my latest acquisition. It was purchased, along with the original leather pipe box, stamped chanter, stamped practice chanter, Hunters’ Ads (newspaper clippings) and the purchase receipt from Hunters in 1912 indicating “second hand bagpipes”. All-in-all this is a tremendous find. Many thanks to Jon Hartsock (Washington state) for saving the bagpipe from a stated place on the wall and for eventually guiding it into my hands. Jon played the bagpipe publicly only once, when congressman Lawrence MacDonald of Georgia visited Kansas City in the late 1970’s. MacDonald later died in the Korean Airlines crash in 1983.
As stated, both pipe chanter and practice chanter are stamped “J. Chisholm Glasgow”. The mouthpiece is made of horn. Profiles and internal measurements line up with early R. G. Lawrie bagpipes. Ferrules are identical to R. G. Lawrie ferrules used prior to 1912, when they changed the style to the more common tapered ferrule. Rings appear to be an early bakelite or celluloid material. Bushings are ivory. One would be hard-pressed to prove that Lawrie did not make this bagpipe.
Here’s yet another compelling piece of evidence to support the conclusion that R. G. Lawrie was the maker of early John Chisholm bagpipes. The “thistle” stamp on the Lawrie practice chanter to the left is identical to the thistle stamp on both the Chisholm bagpipe chanter and on the Chisholm PC. The “ReGaL” stamp is probably a take-off on Lawrie’s initials, “RGL” but we are uncertain exactly when it was first put into use. Most agree this was done quite early. Lawrie was first listed as a bagpipe maker in 1900.
So, we have profiles, internal dimensions, straight-sided nickel ferrules, ivory bushings (inserts) with bakelite rings, and the thistle stamp all pointing toward Lawrie. We also have a receipt indicating that the bagpipe was purchased “second hand” in 1912. I submit that early John Chisholm bagpipes were made by R. G. Lawrie. I further submit that Chisholm bagpipes from the 1930’s and 1940’s were made by James Robertson. 
