Though I am now loathe to post someone else’s e-bay auction before it has come to a final resolution, this one is too unusual to not get some feedback on from the board experts. Has anyone seen anything like this before? Current owner doesn’t appear to have a clue about manufacturer…
Can this be a single-keyed version of this Clinton flute?
http://www.oldflutes.com/articles/india.htm
Though this one above looks quite modern, it seems to me. Can it be a simplified replica of an old 8-keyed Clinton?
Not Clinton, I suspect, but probably French (style of the Eb key is suggestive, apart from other things) and probably C19th - there are old threads somewhere here about this kind of thing, though I don’t think I recall a 1-keyer previously. No time to hunt them out just now, sorry. There are more pictures on the eBay listing.
I’ve seen and played one of those but it was fully keyed. I was vaguely interested but not impressed. I wouldn’t spend money on it anyway…
Some of you may know that I have a sort of obsession with conical metal flutes. I bid on this as soon as it was listed, and I do hope I can win it. If I do, I will certainly report back here with full pictures and details!
Ooh, please do tell if you win it and give us a review!
I would be bidding against you, but the lovely US health care system is going to get an original R&R’s worth of cash out of me to cover my son’s recent hospital stay. 
The kid’s worth it, I’m glad I can afford to pay it, but it’s amazing how much I pay each month in insurance premiums and how much this is still costing me.
Eric