Duncan lived in Edinburgh between 1867 and 1873 and it was during these years that he purposely changed the look of his bagpipe. Notwithstanding we may find his bagpipes from this period with both rounded and cut beads on projecting mounts. Mounts may also have a cut-in on top or they may not. You will also find ferrules and rings with and without scribe lines. The profile of the stocks moved from being typical straight-sided to a more tapered profile with a rounded bottom. Cord holders may be very wide apart or they may be more typical. Tuning chambers may or may not be lined. It’s very important to take all these features into consideration when trying to assign a date of manufacture. Without the maker’s stamp is it sometimes risky to be absolute in reaching a conclusion.
In the one picture below (two projecting mounts with stamps) I have flipped the image to give you a better look. “EDINr” was affixed upside down!
