For those who have not followed the thread, my Boosey Pratten’s Perfected flute is up for auction on ebay from 8pm UK time on Monday 31st october 2005. Good luck to those who are interested
Another basket-case flute for sale on ebay, keys have already fallen off,
cracks etc, and the toneholes are of medium size? not the type of boosey–pratten that i know of, sometimes people learn the hard way,
all Boosey pratten stamped flutes are not Matt Molloy type pratten flutes.
We know from the advertisments at the time that Booseys made a range of Prattens, with differing numbers of keys, sterling vs nickel silver etc. I’m not aware of any other published variations (eg I haven’t seen any mention of the small-holed Boosey Prattens as turned up by David Migoya - it might have been a one-off). It would be helpful if Glinjack could suggest places to look for the type of variations he’s alluding to, and if Nigelwoodcock (and other Pratten’s owners) could respond.
In regard to the broken key mount, that’s not a difficult matter for a professional repairer to deal with. I didn’t see any reference to cracks in the Ebay account - perhaps Nigelwoodcock could confirm. It would be a relatively unusual instrument that didn’t have cracks in head or barrel. More likely in an instrument in the old world than one that risked its life in the drier climates of the US, India or Australia of course.
Incidentally, I think we can be confident that the timber is cocus. I have seen no evidence that 19th contury makers used rosewood.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Boosey-Co-R-S-Pratten-s-Perfected-Wooden-8-Key-Flute_W0QQitemZ7362382879QQcategoryZ10183QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
is the link to the flute in question.
The flute also would need repadding as the pads have dried out and do not provide an airtight seal
I am not a flautist myself but a friend of mine who is has played the flute and says it has a wonderful tone
Admittedly i’m total clueless when it comes to keyed flutes, but is it possible to make a flute that has knackered pads play with a “wonderful tone”?
This highlights the whole “buyer beware” aspect of Ebay. Meaning no disrespect to the seller, phrases relating to how a flute plays are virtually worthless. We cannot know the credentials of this flute-playing “friend” who claims the flute has a wonderful tone - and so the information is highly subjective. Having said that, plugging up the holes below the keys would make the flute airtight and would give a good player a reasonable indication of what they were dealing with - but the subjective aspect of the description remains.
I think there was a thread earlier where Patrick Olwell was selling a refurbished flute. In that situation the seller had a reputation upon which to trade, giving potential buyers some comfort. No such comforth can really exist in this case. However, a lucky bidder may just get a diamond of a flute - or another log for the fire!