Recently, while visiting friends in Bucks County Philadelphia, I went to the Mercer Museum to have a look at the Taylor Brothers set kept there. Since non-tripod photography was permitted, I took some photos which I would be happy to share. If this set is well documented elsewhere, I won’t bother. But if there is interest, perhaps D’Arcy would like them for his website?
The Mercer Museum is a fantastic horde of early American industrial and craft tools and products, with many small rooms set up re-creating workshops of various trades. It’s well worth a visit even without the pipes. I believe I read once that the Taylor Bros.’ tools are also kept there, though not displayed.
The pipes were in a display case right at the front of the museum with a group of other instruments. In another room of instruments, about 10 feet away and not labeled, was what appears to be another Taylor chanter, un-keyed.
Like most museums, only a fraction of their holding are on display.
Could you by chance supply pics?
A couple of years ago I went up there to see those pipes. Unfortunately, they’d been loaned out somewhere, so they weren’t on display. A couple of weeks later I met Mark Hillmann and he not only showed me his Taylor pipes (now sold to someone else), but he let me play them.
Lovely stuff Mr. Wind. Was there any mention as to who the original owner was?
Pat.
Chas + Wm Taylor, Drogheda, NYC, Philly
JE Brennan, 732 Butler st (which I got stuck in traffic pretty close to yesterday)
Robert Hutton, Wilmington.
O’Brien-Moran’s 1930’s Wilmington-made Hutton (?)chanter
Brennan’s Order book in Tom Standeven’s papers..
Mercer Museum, Doylestown…
…if only I could connect all the dots… 
btw illwinds…these pictures are coming up as boxes with red x’s for me…
You can see them along with the museum details at the bottom of this page:
http://www.uilleannobsession.com/diary_2008.html
Pat.
o I know what they look like Pat…last sale $124.00…I spent twice as much on groceries last night…makes me wince… 
There was nothing in the display about the provenance of this set.
If anyone has trouble seeing the photos, P.M. me your Email address and I’ll send you a link to the online gallery they are stored on.
BTW, the display of old medical devices was like something out of a Halloween haunted house. Glands would love it!