Alexander Glen must have been a man of considerable reputation and respect. This first exhibit (above) is the prize Alexander Glen bagpipe awarded to Archibald Forbes on August 25th, 1865, in Perth Scotland. My thanks to Jim McGillivray for these pictures. The original chanter is pictured to the left with the maker’s stamp above low “A”, barely visible. Newspaper clippings from the day show Alexander Glen himself was adjudicating.
It is not known where Alexander (or Thomas or George Glen for that matter) acquired their skills as makers of bagpipes. Certainly Edinburgh had a number of makers operating in the early 1800’s who might have taken on the Glen’s as apprentices or skilled turners. It must have been a magical time.
The first bagpipe is one I encountered in Maryland at Jim Coldren’s museum. I spent a wonderful day with Jim and took many pictures. I encountered this set years later and learned that it had been purchased ca 1970’s by Ellen Mole’s father. Ellen was a solid player in Ed Neigh’s Guelph Pipe Band and wife to Jim McGillivray. I’m not sure where it is today however there is a strong probability that it is indeed the work of Alexander Glen. The chanters all bear Alex Glen’s stamp.
Pictures above are of a reel size bagpipe with chanter stamped Alex Glen. The picture to the right shows proportions and profile. Below we have a couple of bellows pipes by Alexander.
A few more pictures of Alexander Glen bagpipes. As time went on, he seems to have moved away from the smaller mounts and we start to see more “modern” projecting mounts. Materials ranged from horn and bone to marine and elephant ivory.
