Gunn, William

You are here: Home / The Makers / Gunn, William

William Gunn made bagpipes from 1834 – 1866 in Glasgow. This first set of pictures is of a bagpipe with chanter stamped W. Gunn. The bagpipe was owned and played by Dugald Campbell, born in Islay, Scotland in 1819. It is probable, based on searches, that Dugald played for the 79th Highlanders and was possibly its Pipe Major. He emigrated to Quebec, Canada, where he married and had eight children. He continued to play the pipes, and eventually, he played for the Prince of Wales at the Victoria Bridge Grand Opening (Montreal) in 1859. Mr. Campbell died at the age of 78, in 1897.

The bagpipe is made of cocuswood with bone mounts. It is of a style similar to bagpipes made 1830 to 1850 however there is not enough evidence to attribute the bagpipe to a particular maker. The chanter bulb is larger in diameter than the OD of the ferrule on the chanter stock, which suggests that they do not belong together. The bagpipe and its parts are shown in greater detail in the “Unknown Makers” as exhibit #6 

The images to the right show the Gunn Chanter, repaired long ago. I have manipulated the image in PhotoShop to better reveal the “W. GUNN” stamp.

The bagpipe to the left was one of so many classic instruments found by long-time good friend Jim McGillivray. Dunbar Bagpipes in St. Catharines does Jim’s restorations and they were able to find and preserve a very faint “W. Gunn” on a tuning pin.

The instrument below was found in Peterborough, Ontario. Along with the various pieces was a hand-written paper regarding the William Gunn family. This is hardly proof that the instrument is indeed the work of Gunn, but it was curious and caused some speculation. I have manipulated various pieces side-by-side with both the McGillivray instrument and a picture borrowed from Jeannie Campbell’s outstanding book, Highland Bagpipe Makers. Based on profiles and proportions, it does seem possible that this is a William Gunn bagpipe. Damage and repairs are present. It is interesting that the bass top section has both metal rings and binding to arrest the cracks.