First off, let me start by saying that I’m new to this forum and am trying to figure out what exactly is going on here on this website, etc. I’m currently trying to find out information about this antique 8-key wooden flute and have gotten nowhere! The specifations are as follows-- hopefully someone can help!:
Headjoint, both barrels, body (one long piece), and footjoint are made of rosewood
8-keys, all made of nickel-silver/german silver w/ pewter plugs on the low C# and low C
Flat springs throughout
The headjoint and barrel are covered in a nickel-silver ‘sleeve’ and the headjoint is brass-lined as well. There is another barrel with only metal on the inside for the tuning of the headjoint which is a little longer than the other. The barrel that’s covered in metal, with the flute assembled, makes the flute play in C I believe (I didn’t have much time to fully test it prior to disassembling) however the other is about 1/4"+ longer (I can check measurements to be certain) and not covered in metal. The keys are slightly smaller than the normal German-made simple-system flutes which was leading me in the direction of possible French construction. The pewter plugs on the footjoint are bell-shaped and there are round nickel-silver rings over the tonehole area for the pewter plugs to be nestled in. There are no makers’ marks to be found ANYWHERE thus far and the keys will be cleaned tomorrow-- hopefully I can find some sort of scoring, etc. on the bottoms of the keys that may help. If anyone has a few free minutes, etc. and would like to attempt to assist me in finding out information about this flute, there are photos at: http://foreverwoodwinds.com/antiqueflute.html
not that i know anything, but it looks french. the lettering on the headjoint looks like it is in the old german script, but then again it could just be calligraphy (againg, i dont know anything).
either way, i think it looks pretty cool. how does it play?
Interesting flute, Suzie. (Welcome, BTW.) I haven’t seen anything exactly like it before. As you say, the main features suggest German, especially the sheathed head and the style of the key-work. I don’t think it is French - some of the German flutes do have slightly more refined, less chunky keys than most, and this falls within that range. However, the one piece body and the foot with pewter plugs aren’t at all usual on German flutes! I’d presume the alternate wooden barrel serves as kind-of a corps-de-rechange for playing at lower pitch than the tuning slide securely allows with the metal barrel - assuming the extra wooden one genuinely belongs to the flute (looks alright assembled!) and isn’t an interloper. The timber is almost certainly cocuswood by its looks. The general standard of workmanship looks pretty good. Odd to see a “Pratten” type division of the joints with small-medium finger-holes! The style of the pewters doesn’t look English. Are the leaf-springs held on by rivets or screws, and are they steel or brass? Can’t see properly in the photos, though look more like rivets from the top. Steel springs with screw fixing would suggest French, the alternatives more likely German. I wonder if this might be from somewhere else in Europe, e.g. Italy - heavily influenced by Germany/Austria, but with its own quirks(like the pewters)? (Just thinking of my own Rampone… which amongst other things has a similar C#/Cnat key touch arrangement with the C touch being a pseudo-roller.)
Sorry not to be more definite/helpful - it sure is a puzzle. Like Daiv, I wonder how it plays/will play?
At first I overlooked daiv’s response but just saw it and, as a response to your post, daiv, prior to disassembling the flute, the flute surprisingly sounded fairly decent given the fact that the leather pads seemed mostly intact although the cork on the tenons need replacing, etc. I was just telling my friend last night that it sounds MUCH nicer than my friend’s German-made simple system flute that I have around and the reach of the toneholes is much more comfortable than it as well. I’m hoping the flute sounds a hair better once all fixed up although, like I said, it sounded surprisingly decent (considering its’ condition) before.
The flute experienced its’ first ‘bath’ in a long time last night and I was thinking along the cocuswood line as well but rosewood didn’t seem too far off either. The flute has this sort of stripe of lighter reddish wood down the finger-hole area which was leading me to believe that it is, in fact, cocuswood, but the grain reminded me of both. The one-piece body reminded me of Thibouville-esque flutes which is why I was puzzled by the flute’s original between French and German construction as I’ve had a few Meyer flutes around and the keys on the Meyer’s were much less dainty to say the least! The flat/leaf springs are held on by rivets which, from what I’ve seen, is quite common with German construction and the springs are mostly steel I believe. I know one of the springs has been replaced (see pictures below) and it appears to have been done so with a brass spring. Here are a few pictures from last night:
Huller made flutes with the german silver sheath over the headjoint. The flute looks similar to a flute I had - mine was unlabelled, but matched another Huller flute exactly…except mine didn’t have the barrel covered in metal like yours does. The keys looks the same as well - German made but not bulky.
I’m not aware of other makes sheathing the headjoint in metal, but my experience is limited and there may well be other makers who did the same.