Playing your instrument upside down is the sign of a great musician, just like Jimi Hendrix
RORY
and Libba Cotton
I could be wrong (it’s been a while since I’ve thought camera), but depending on the camera type at that period, couldn’t the image be reversed?
Dionys
so his chair was suspended from the ceiling?
…in which case that’d be a lefty set played righthanded.
Look at the vest. Men’s clothing has the buttons on the right, buttonholes on the left.
Or perhaps, as you suggest, the image is reversed, he’s playing a left-handed set right-handed, and he’s wearing a woman’s vest? 
Well if its a positive or negative image I cannot say,
but this is my theory:
Look at his face:
He’s proud as p*ss to be holding these pipes! This is one happy gent: AND a gentleman of some means too- his clothes actually look like they fit him(–this was not always the case with my Broomielaw ancestors of the same era.)
He’s just got them and now has run off to the photographer’s shop to get his portrait! 
(although…he may not be quite certain how they’re held…hmmm)
Still, he’s got more of a clue than that infamous, unfortunate lady who bought that full Pakistani set recently.. 
Thomas Coyne’s great-granddaughter sent me these photos and gave permission to post them. The first is Thomas as a young man (in the NPU photo), followed by Thomas in later years, and of his house (where the pipes were found in February), and his immigration document. The pipes he is playing in the later photo are set up for left handed playing and have the double bass reg…different than the set he is playing in the NPU photo.
www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/thomas1.jpg
www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/thomas2.jpg
www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/thomas3.jpg
www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/thomas4.jpg
www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/thomas5.jpg
On the other thread concerning these pipes, chanterdan had asked if I knew how old this set was, and if it’s been reeded yet.
I don’t know how old the set is, but it is stamped J.E. Brennan with his address on the main stock. Brennan is supposed to have made pipes in the first third of the 20th century. I imagine Thomas Coyne would have acquired them after 1911, as that is the year he immigrated to the U.S.
They have not been reeded yet, but Nick Whitmer put in a reed that was not made for nor adjusted for the chanter and said it sounded pretty good and was close to A440, so there is hope that it will be a good sounding chanter. We’ll know more about the drones and regs (and the chanter too) when Nick has some time to dedicate to it.
I’m having a new stock made (since I am right-handed). and because the stamp will not be on the new stock, I’ve contacted David Davidse at www.truehand.com about making a sterling silver shield to mount on the new stock with the maker’s info, along with the names of the previous owner and the restorer. I thought that might be a nice touch.
Cool stuff, Jeff, thanks for sharing!
There were pipers in various big cities in America who carried on playing all through the last century, I always wonder what their music was like - we have recordings of only a few.
jeff,sterling silver shield is a great idea,i want to do that with my old henderson GHB. Mr Whitmer is good man,and a fine craftsman.he is not far from me,and he should reed them up nicely. Cheers
I’m working on JE Brennan’s dates: my estimate is circa: 1865-1935.
There are 24 James Brennan’s buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery prior to 1940. They dont keep middle names, or home parishes on file.
the sleuthing will continue…
A good resource (sometimes) for finding people/geneaology is:
http://www.familysearch.org/
It’s run by the mormons (they’re keeping track of family histories to retroactively go back and baptize ancestors to make sure they get into Mormon heaven - at least that’s my understanding), but is totally inclusive and doesn’t evangelize in any way (that I’m aware of).
When I started playing in the early 1970s, as far as I knew there was no longer anybody making full sets, and I would have given my eye teeth for a fraction of the sort of wonderful arrays of mahogany gaspipes that are now coming to light thanks to the internet and, at least in many cases, falling into the right hands.
Following another link (that I’ve since lost) led me to the other set on eBay mentioned above. A detail struck me looking at the photos: is this the only unequivocally left-handed set of bellows in existence 
?
The ‘Attic’ Brennan set has been restored and is now airtight with all mechanical parts working. New bag, bellows, and a new mainstock has been turned for right-handed playing. No parts were modified from original (no undercutting, boring or anything of the sort). The next step is reeding (which might well be impossible). Nick Whitmer was kind enough to make measurements and give permission to post them. I’ll post pics in a few days. Here are drawings and dimensions for anyone interested:
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_mainstock.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_mainstockcup.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_tenorreg.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_barireg.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_bassreg.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_bassreg2.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_doublebassreg1.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_doublebassreg2.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_baridrone.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_bassdrone.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_chanter.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_chanter2.jpg
http://www.crossroadssoftware.com/download/images/b_chanter3.jpg
Wouldn’t it be possible to tell if it’s positive or negative by the buttons on his vest? Which way 'round would they have been at that time? Cheers,
Rob
In a negative image wouldn’t the whites of his eyes and the ivory mounts be black?
Thanks Carel I cannot believe that anyone could possibly believe that it was a negative image??Wot is wrang wi ye all.I blame digital cameras mesel 
Uilliam
There is a photographic process dating from that time called tintype. Instead of the emulsion being out on glass, it’s put on metal. Because the image is captured on the front of the plate it is reversed left to right. It’s actually a negative image on black surface so it appears positive.