Paling, W.H. and Co.

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W.H. Paling and Co. Ltd. had outlets in Brisbane, Newcastle, Toowoomba, Lismore and Rockhampton and was a primary player in the sale of pianos and other musical instruments and music.  I can’t find much regarding Paling’s trade in bagpipes.

Initially, from the scant information that I had, I strongly suspected that Paling was an importer of bagpipes and not a manufacturer. Some bagpipes attributed to Paling appeared to be of Middle East origin, and that may be part of the story. New information confirms that Henry Starck was a supplier of bagpipes for Paling. See pictures below. This does not negate that he may have been sourcing product elsewhere.

Many thanks to George Hannah for providing these latest pictures (below) and additional information.

Interestingly, Henry Starck seemed to deviate somewhat from standard “Starck” details when making bagpipes for private branding. Here we see projecting mounts without the typical cut-in and we see ferrules without scribe lines. These are details more often associated with Duncan MacDougall bagpipes.

Although difficult to read, the silver bears the “HS” stamp of Henry Starck along with hallmarks from the London Assay Office. Again, I hope to have better pictures to post soon.

“I came across this forum by chance while searching for information about my ancestry, and thought I might be able to give you some information you wre looking for. My name is Rebecca Paling, I am a desendant of William Herny Paling. He was born in the Netherlands in 1825 and died in 1895. He sailed to Australia in 1853. He was a musician, merchant and philanthropist, and imported pianos from Europe (mainly France I think) to Australia. One person asked about the age of their instrument. One Paling Piano at the Sydney Powerhouse Museum bearing the serial number 40004, is dated to between 1867 and 1870. But the company ran until the 1970’s so I’m not sure how old your particular instrument is. I hope that this information reaches you, and that it is helpful. Please feel free to reply with any other questions you have.”