Does anyone know anything about a maker of simple system flutes in London, circa 1850, named Beckett? The full name is Beckett, Wood & F_y. The last name is unclear.
Any help is greatly appreciated. My web searches have turned up nothing so far.
John Beckett worked in London from 1850 to 1873 having worked for Wood & Ivy
Sometimes described himself as From Wood & Ivy
Address 37, Green St. , Bethnall Green.
Wood & Ivy 1837 - 1847 at 50 New Compton St. Soho
John Beckett, flourished as a maker in London 1850-1873. Worked earlier for Wood & Ivy. His later mark:
Beckett (in cursive script)
FROM
Wood & Ivy (also cursive script)
LONDON
Terry
Heh heh …
“Snap!”
I hessitated to mention the " from " ( in view of the fact that I incline to Robert Bigio’s view that "from " tends to indicate the vendor,as perhaps in Wylde From Fentum ) but felt I should be honest !
Thanks for the responses!!!
That is exactly how the stamp looks.
It’s a four key flute with no cracks or fissures. It looks a bit too reddish to be ABW. Cocobolo or coucus perhaps? The keys and rings look like they are either plated or nickel silver. I’m new to chiffs, but it plays easily in the second octave. The low ‘D’ is a bit hard for me to get with a nice hard sound unless I play very slowly.
What is a fair price to pay for this flute, do you think?
Your flute is not likely to be the only old English flute known in cocobolo.
Cocus was normal.
Blackwood came in rather later, though I have a John Otten made earlier which the flutemaster says is blackwood ! Blackwood is not reddish, however !
Are you going to tell us the difference between a crack and a fissure ?
The first is a good natured poke in the ribs, something like your question. 
The second is a complete falling out. 
I used the terms to distinguish between a seperation in the wood that doesn’t go all the way through, and one that does. Sorry if it came off as pompous. 
So, flute makers did not use cocobolo or ABW at this time? That’s very interesting. At this time pipe makers were using ABW and ebony, as well as cocus, but cocus is more rare than ebony or ABW.
This flute looks black until you get it in the light, then you see reddish tints in the grain.
Thanks again for your help.
You say " at this time ". What time ? There is a lot of difference between 1850 and 1880 in the possible use of blackwood.The Otten I mentioned is probably from the 20s, so that is a puzzle.
It would be strange if cocus was rare in pipe making when it was so widely used in English flutemaking through the 19th C.
I would like to know when African blackwood did come in.Surprising if it really was used in preference to cocus in pipemaking.
I am glad you didn’t go into chasms , abysses, and the like !
When one considers that Sir Richard Burton was not in East Africa before the late 1850s and Livingstone was missing until 1878 it would not be surprising if the African Blackwood trade had not been established until the last quarter of the 19th century.
It is quite conceivable that Arab traders exported some earlier but its arrival in England must surely have been by chance ?
Any ideas ?
Not so surprising considering the lack of care most pipes receive. ABW supplanted cocus because of durability in extreme climates, rather than tonally.
And I’m talking highland pipes, not uilleanns. I don’t know about 19th-century uilleanns.
Stuart
But when did the African Blackwood come into use for bagpipes ?
Surely not until around the 1880s or so at the earliest ?
Perhaps ABW was used because it became available and was cheaper anyway,as well as tougher.
Cocus was still a popular option into the 20th century, wasn’t it ?
Oh, well, probably about then. I’ve seen one set of highlands from the late 18th-century which are cocus, and I’m told that many sets from that early period are cocus (if not native British hardwoods).
But pipes older than the late 19th-century are uncommon, on the whole.
Stuart
I would look at the catalogues to see what the old sets which have gone through the sale rooms were made of but the auctioneers have always called cocus rosewood, in spite of repeated telling !
If anybody finds an early blackwood set that would be interesting.
Or a flute before 1880.
I suppose the Uillean pipes wouldn’t need to be as tough as the Scottish ones as the Irish have such a delicate touch !
FWIW
Most of the Highland pipes made before 1900 that I’ve seen, including a set of MacDougalls I used to own, were made of ebony. I have seen one set made by James Center while he was in Australia that was made from cocus.
19th century price lists from MacDougall and Glen advertise ebony and cocoa pipes. In 1767 a pipemaker by the name of Robertson received a shipment of wood refered to as “cocko” and “coccoa” in the same receipt. Source: Highland Bagpipe Makers by Jeannie Campbell, 2001, Magnus Orr Publishing.
Keep looking at the old price lists, John. These will give the answer to when African blackwood was first offered.